Media training should make us more human. Not less.

I spent the weekend reading an interesting book called "The Most Human Human: What A.I. teaches us about being alive" by Brian Christian. In the book, the author describes how corporations spend a lot of time and effort converting every possible aspect of work into best-practice playbooks, templates and scripts so that they can be easily taught to, and carried out by, basically anyone - even machines. The result? Better sales, more consistent delivery, and lower costs. Or so the theory goes.

Yet, when we actually experience these playbooks played out in real life -- for instance, when we listen to telemarketers -- it can feel like something essential, something human, has become lost in our attempts to pursue efficiency at all costs. Several years back, when we did a pitch with an unnamed government agency, the evaluation panel included three junior admin executives at the presentation, whose apparent purpose throughout the entire one-and-a-half-hour session was to fill up a template containing three pages of evaluation criteria. A hastily stolen glance at one of the forms was revealing. One question asked: "How would you rate the creativity of the agency's proposal? Was it... a) Very creative, b) Somewhat creative, c) Neutral, d) Somewhat uncreative, e) Not creative at all".

I can understand the motivation for the process: it helps to provide a quantifiable measure against which all agencies can be evaluated, and even inexperienced staffers can perform the evaluation. But it felt so faceless. We could be forgiven for thinking that our presence - not to mention the sweat and tears put into the proposal - served nothing more than to help our clients arrive at an average score: human intuition and subjectivity be damned.

Which brings me to the topic of media training. In our training sessions, there's quite a bit of emphasis on process: how to dress for an interview, how to block and bridge, how to deflect tough questions. But with slavish adherence to any process, there's a real danger that spokespersons may end up like robots, dressed in same colored suits, mouthing the same 'say-nothing' platitudes. That's why we always remind them that they need to deliver the messages in their own personal style, using real words and examples. They need to retain that all-important human spark that makes them special.

So, try and keep these three things in mind.

When reporters cover stories, they ask two questions: 1) who cares? 2) why should they care? The media wants you to answer questions that they think viewers want to hear, not spout corporate messages. This simple fact seems obvious, but you'll be surprised how many of our B2B clients insist on using extremely accurate, but non-emotive terms, e.g. "Our leading-edge software defined networking solution helps our clients achieve transformational abstraction of the control plane from the hardware plane." (Say that again?)

We believe that, no matter how technical your product is, there's always a more human way of getting the same message across. Try instead: "With our affordable solution, your IT manager spends less time fixing network problems. Your business manager won't tear his hair out searching for information. And it doesn't matter what network equipment you use: our solution plays nicely with everything you own." It's warmer, people are involved, and it's easier to remember.

2. Treat reporters as reasonable human beings

Too often, spokespersons are fearful of deviating from the script because they think the media is out to embarrass them for better ratings. Contrary to popular belief, reporters -- especially in Asia -- want to maintain good relations with you, because they need you just as much as you need them. In crisis situations, it's even more important to treat the media as an important friend, because they can help you get your position out to the wider audience in the quickest and most effective way possible. But the moment you start treating the media as your enemy, chances are they'll become one.

3. You, not your techniques, make you special

Yes, media training 101 techniques are useful to prevent the proverbial 'foot-in-mouth'. But we should never stop at hygiene factors: we want to help our clients stand out and connect emotionally with an audience they can't see or hear. The elements that make us most human can't be put into a playbook: we're enthusiastic, passionate, engaged and energetic. We're funny, we don't take things too seriously, we don't mind being imperfect. We sing. We dance. We love Star Wars.

So remember this the next time you face the media: anyone can follow a script. But only you can be you. Embrace your uniqueness, express it, and never settle for the facelessness of a playbook.