media training • presentation training • pitch coaching

Prepare To Excel When It Matters The Most

Whether you are looking for help preparing for media interviews, presentations, speeches, or investor pitches, or you simply want to elevate your communication skills or those of your team, we’re here to ensure that you excel. For more than 25 years we have been helping clients to show up for high-stakes situations fully prepared and delivering clearly and confidently.

Our comprehensive approach includes strategy and message development, preparing you for even the most challenging questions, and helping you develop the mindset, habits, and skills that will help you to be the best communicator you can be.

Your training with us will be customized, interactive, and effective. We work with individuals and groups.

Contact us for a complimentary consultation about your goals and needs.

310-479-0217

Services

Your training with us will be customized, but you can learn a bit about each of our services by clicking the links below. Our training covers everything from strategy and message development to techniques to effectively master and deliver content, to improving communication within an organization. We train our clients to bring warmth, professionalism, and confidence to every situation.

Philosophy

Our philosophy at Expert Media TrainingBeing able to communicate effectively is the foundation of success in many fields. Knowing something and being able to verbalize it concisely and compellingly are two different things. This is where training comes in, especially within the constraints of specific situations such as speeches, presentations, media interviews, and investor pitches.

We believe the best training combines education, practical application, and immediate feedback and recommendations to continue improving. The journey begins with listening to you, our client, and understanding your communication goals and needs so we can help you achieve and fulfill them.

Even the most accomplished people can feel vulnerable during the media training or presentation training process, so our approach is encouraging and positive. Yet, we challenge clients to become the most effective and magnetic interviewees or presenters they can be, whether they are preparing for media interviews, podcasts, a TED Talk, investor pitches, or another public appearance.

Our Training Process

The process outlined below pertains primarily to training services. We would employ a different approach to crisis communications and communication consulting but it would always be grounded in research and strategy.

Our process at Expert Media Training

RESEARCH – The first thing we do after bringing on a client is to research you, your industry, and other factors that might influence your business, career, or project. We also review relevant decks, documents, and videos that will help us provide the best training and advice possible.

STRATEGY SESSION(S) – To make the most of the training sessions, we begin with a strategy session(s) to discuss your goals, messaging, questions you might encounter in the situations for which you want to be prepared, and/or details of group training sessions that we will develop. 

TRAINING SESSIONS – During the training sessions, we work with you to elevate all aspects of your communication, including your verbal and nonverbal delivery and the strength of the messages you deliver. We also share preparation exercises to help you to manage nervousness and focus your energy so you can be at your best in high-stakes situations. The feedback and recommendations we provide are specific to each individual receiving the training. For media training clients, we will educate you on working with the media, traps to avoid, and how to work with various media formats and types of interviewers. For investor pitching clients, depending on your experience with investors, we will educate you on what investors are looking for and how to deliver it.

POST-SESSION FOLLOW-UP – After your training session(s), you will receive notes that summarize the feedback you have received during your session, videos of the session(s), and, in most cases, a year of complimentary tune-up sessions to keep you on track. The goal of the training is to bring out each individual’s brilliance and enable them to communicate strategically, effectively, and confidently.

What Sets Us Apart

BREADTH & DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE  •  BUSINESS & PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE  •  UNDERSTANDING & COMPASSION

What Sets Us Apart - Expert Media TrainingOur founder and lead trainer, Lisa Elia, uses an approach that draws upon her education in the field of communication, experience working directly with the media for decades while running her Los Angeles-based PR firm, and the business acumen she developed working alongside C-suite executives and entrepreneurs. Her experience delivering thousands of public speeches and presentations, being interviewed by national media, and pitching and serving clients around the world has provided her with breadth and depth of knowledge that informs her training style and ability to work with a wide range of clients.

Our approach to working with clients is comprehensive and strategic, always keeping the goal in mind while addressing not only the communication skills that are visible and audible but the many factors that influence how people think and feel in various situations. Our clients leave our training feeling and displaying greater confidence and clarity.

Working with clients that range from startups to Fortune 500 companies, to athletes, authors, and other public figures, Lisa has helped position brands and individuals for growth and to attract opportunities that include partnerships, distribution deals, investments, TV shows, and more. She continually thinks about how to shape her clients’ communications to bring them closer to their goals.

What Our Clients Say

“Lisa has been a great pleasure and has enhanced our team’s abilities from the moment we met her.  With her guidance and support over a very short period of time, our team’s confidence and ability to present have grown tremendously.”

Jarred Walker

Co-Founder, GCX

“Working with Expert Media Training was a wonderful experience. Lisa is so knowledgeable, patient and a true expert in helping you develop just the right tools to improve your presentation skills and make you shine with confidence and energy.

Thank you, Lisa and Expert Media Training!

Suzanne F.

“I look forward to each interaction with Lisa. She takes the mystery out of presenting and arms you with simple concepts that build confidence in everyday communication while simultaneously making you aware of how you may be perceived. Her process and teachings are enjoyable and produce immediate results.”

Greg O'Connor

Co-Founder, GCX

“I worked with Lisa to develop and polish a keynote and she was a phenomenal presentation coach. Lisa created a safe, inviting atmosphere to practice and provided direct, specific, constructive feedback – ranging from strategic to tactical – that dramatically elevated both the quality of my presentation and my presence. I recommend her highly!”

Dina Denham Smith

Executive Coach & Owner, Cognitas Coaching

“Lisa is an all-star pitch coach! She is incredibly thorough when it comes to giving feedback to enhance your presentation and spares no detail. I specifically appreciate how she’ll take the time to comb through your content and take the seat of the audience to ensure no stone is left unturned in your pitch. She is a very calming presence which puts you at ease, and is extremely generous with her time and expertise. She truly wants the best for her clients and is the consummate professional in her field.”

Sashee Chandran

Founder and CEO, Tea Drops

“I was speaking at a charity event earlier this year, and the skills I learned from Lisa allowed me to give a compelling speech to a rather large crowd which included media coverage and two State Senators. 

If you are going in front of the camera, giving interviews, speaking at a fundraiser or merely giving a presentation at a small board meeting, Lisa’s experience in PR, media interviews, public speaking, and body language will serve you well. She can teach you how to be a better public speaker and how to present the best version of yourself. I highly recommend her services.”

Gary W. Smith

Sales Manager, Mercedes Benz

“Lisa Elia at Expert Media Training has been instrumental in preparing our leadership team to tackle interviews across all mediums (live TV broadcasts, recorded TV, print, and digital media). Her friendly, but firm, training has helped to reshape the way we think about speaking to journalists – focusing on clear, concise answers to the journalist’s line of questioning as well as how to get our core message out to consumers even when not prompted to do so. The best part is once training is complete, Lisa doesn’t just leave you hanging. There is always opportunity for further follow-up and analysis to continue to improve our PR and media efforts.”

Jeff Bishop

Director of Marketplace Operations, Soothe.com

“It was such a pleasure to work with Lisa! I had an opportunity to pitch to some investors, but English is not my first language. One of my business friends recommended strongly Lisa to me, and she was right, Lisa is great! Lisa prepared a full list of questions that the investors may ask and went through them one by one with me to make sure I feel comfortable and confident to answer. After each session, Lisa would send me feedback to list the points I needed to practice. Lisa is very patient and I am grateful to have her to guide me through the process. It’s a great investment!”

Celine Zhou

Owner, Delight Patisserie

From Our Founder

You Can Enjoy, Not Merely Endure, Making Presentations, and Delivering Interviews

 

When you’re busy, it’s easy to think of delivering a media interview, presentation, or investor pitch as something you have to do; something to be endured before you move on to the next thing.

There is a state you can achieve where you actually enjoy interviews, presentations, and pitches. It’s when you get into the zone.

You are in the zone when you are focused on your mission and your message, rather than worrying about what people are thinking of you.

You are in the zone when you have done the work to not only master your content but to master yourself: you’ve created the habits that help you to show up at your best and feel that incredible state of being simultaneously relaxed and energized.

It is a privilege to have people give you their attention. It’s a rare opportunity when you get to broadcast your message to the world. Prepare for these opportunities like you would other major events in your life. 

Stop enduring, start enjoying your time in the spotlight.

Lisa Elia

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