|
July 2007
Coming back to the rain in Britain has been a bit of a relief. I’ve spent the first half of the year in the Middle East where temperatures have climbed into the forties, so it makes a change not to be reaching for the sun block before stepping outside!
I’ve been working as a Communications Expert on an EU project in the Palestinian Territories, which has knitted together my skills as a journalist, media consultant and media trainer with my knowledge of the region gained through academic endeavour, (an MA in Middle Eastern Studies) and endless interviews with political leaders over the years for my programmes on BBC World and CNN.
My brief was to raise visibility for the Temporary International Mechanism both locally and internationally. A film, an infomercial, matters of design and distribution of written and broadcast material ensued. But, perhaps surprisingly, one of the most interesting aspects of my time there was preparing the Head of the EU project for the press briefings he gave to Palestinian and international journalists. What questions was he likely to face, how should he answer them, when should he make it clear that some comments were strictly off the record, and how should he comport himself so that his body language didn’t belie his anxiety? As one more used to firing questions than fielding them, holding the hand of someone reduced to a state of almost crippling nerves in front of the media allowed me the opportunity to partially make amends for all those times my “victims” were made to suffer under my intense line of questioning during my TV programmes.
If you also suffer from conference nerves or media interview anxiety then perhaps I can help and make amends more often!
|
