South Africa, March 10 -- An interview by a political principal last month is a stark reminder of how some people, particularly leaders, don't see media training as necessary. Remember, the media are merely conduit so that the interviewee can engage with its audience, who could be a customer, constituent, partners, etc.

There are countless examples of leaders, whom we expect more of, who have gotten this completely wrong. One can point to the disastrous interview by Ford SA's CEO on eNCA Checkpoint on the Kuga fiasco or the Momentum CEO explaining why they repudiated a life cover claim, even though the clients passing has nothing to do with their reasons, as per policy wording. These are just a couple of countless examples where leaders ...