Creative Corporate PR agency Numen is introducing a new training program designed to teach spokespeople how to provide strategic counterweight within their own organizations. The training was developed because the internal perspective of organizations frequently clashes with societal views and journalistic principles. Thanks to this training, today's spokespeople learn to better align internal direction with the reality of the outside world.
Spokespeople experience daily pressure from boards, legal departments, and the public. When an organization clings to a narrative that does not resonate with society, reputation damage occurs. "The best spokespeople are not those who simply read a statement, but those who dare to tell their own board why that statement misses the mark," says Frank du Mosch, co-founder of Numen. "With our method, they learn to translate societal pressure into strategic opportunities. We give them the ammunition to make a difference during a crisis."
The four-hour training session begins with drafting a "counter-briefing." In this phase, the internal interests of management and legal departments are weighed against the external interests of society. Participants learn to bridge these perspectives using arguments based on connective communication. Subsequently, the corresponding messages are drafted, for example in the form of a statement, after which their viability is tested on camera. In a professional studio in Hilversum, talk show settings and radio appearances are simulated to practice delivering the message under pressure.
Numen co-founder Stijn Zwinkels adds: "We prevent corporate tunnel vision and transform the spokesperson into a strategic partner. This gives professionals the confidence to make their organization resilient and future-proof."