With a mixture of other trainees from a range of organisations by booking a place on a public session open to all. Typically online. Think scheduled airline.
With colleagues exclusively from your own organisation by booking a private group session. Online or in-person You choose. Think charter airline.
One-to-one with a trainer by booking a largely off-the-peg session just for you or a colleague. Usually online but in-person if you prefer. Think up the front with the pilot!
By booking bespoke online coaching and/or mentoring sessions by the hour. Think holding all the controls.
By sitting one of our self-guided online courses. They're authored by the same experts who facilitate our live courses but are designed to be taken at your own pace and in your own time with the same access to our brilliant client-only training resources. Think flight simulator.
BOOKING - AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...
All you have to do is navigate to the course of your choice and opt for your preferred delivery method. Or weigh up the pros and cons and prices of each option first.
ONLINE OR FACE-TO-FACE?
Our online courses were initially a repsonse to Covid-19. But we quickly became convinced that, pandemic or not, this method of delivery was the future and invested in a purpose-built, virtual training studio. With no loss of learning outcomes (in fact in some cases they're enhanced) online training is better value. And not just financially. It's better for the environment and more flexible too. But, of course, there are circumstances where in-person is appropriate so talk to us if that's your requirement.
ZOOM OR TEAMS?
We prefer to use Zoom to deliver our interactive, facilitator-led training because we reckon it's the most user-friendly and flexible. But we know some organisations use MS Teams and are happy to use this platform instead.
LEARNING AT YOUR OWN PACE
We absolutely get that not everybody wants the live, interactive experience of our virtual training studio; that some of you would much rather learn at your own pace, in your own time, in private. So we’re also authoring a series of self-guided courses - the fifth option mentioned above. Think of them as a series of videos – each one in the box set short enough not to induce screen blindness or deep vein thrombosis. If at any point you’d like a bit of supplementary one-to-one help from our trainers then you only have to ask.
ONLINE COURSE LIST
Here's a list of all the courses we're currently offering online. Some are scheduled to book as open courses in the coming weeks and months. Others operate a waitlist system or are available only to order. Click on the magnifying glass to see a short overview of each course or on the name to read the full description.
A hugely practical and highly effective workshop where you'll learn how to: stay in control of media interviews; discover techniques to focus on your key messages instead of worrying too much about the questions you're asked; and find ways to deliver those messages in a clear, concise and compelling manner. All without sounding like a slippery politician!
Awkward customers. Prickly colleagues. Meddlesome managers. Difficult behaviour can manifest itself in many ways in the workplace. But whoever it comes from, one thing’s for certain: the stress it causes can really hurt - even to the extent of illness and absenteeism. It also takes its toll on productivity and can be extremely time consuming. So, in this virtual training course you’ll learn how to deal rationally with difficult people whose behaviour can become demanding and aggressive. Find out how to say no and mean no. Discover how to be more assertive. Develop skills to cope by not taking things personally. And recognise the key stages in conflict escalation.
Giving a presentation fills most of us with dread. Even the thought of standing up in front of a few colleagues (or, these days, sitting down in front of a webcam) can turn our legs to jelly. So, the prospect of speaking to an audience of hundreds can render normally calm and coherent individuals into gibbering, nervous wrecks. It doesn't need to be this way. Say hello to your nerves. Embrace them and turn the energy they bring into something productive rather than destructive. Let that energy stir your creative juices and make your next presentation – online or offline - extraordinary instead of ordinary. Memorable instead of forgettable. Enjoyable instead of tolerable (for you and the audience). But, most important of all, effective instead of ineffective.
Listening, like all skills, can be mastered through guidance, practice and persistence. This three hour practical and cost-effective online course is designed around numerous examples of good and bad listening techniques so delegates can see clearly which methods work and which do not. All sessions include exercises to allow delegates to practice the listening skills discussed. Delegates will explore listener personalities, types of listening, bad listening habits, toxic words, questioning skills to encourage constructive conversations and much more.
For press and PR people, heads of departments/services and senior managers who already have a good understanding of the interview process – in particular the importance of identifying key messages and “selling” those messages through techniques such as repetition. The workshop will build on existing skills and benefit anybody who may have to represent their organisation in times of emergency and/or crisis. Participants are likely to have been interviewed many times before on radio and by the print media but perhaps have less experience in front of camera.
We appreciate that your training needs may not be fully met by one of our off-the-peg workshops so we'd be delighted to tailor-make one that delivers exactly the outcomes you desire. It could, for example, combine elements from our communications and organisational development courses. The choice is yours and we can usually design a workshop that meets your requirements after an informal training needs analysis.
Hour-long interview sessions via Zoom aimed at those who've already attended our (or other companies) broadcast media training and want to develop their broadcast skills further. Can be booked as a one-off session, perhaps as a dress rehearsal in advance of a significant real life interview or as a series of sessions over a period of weeks or months.
A hugely practical and highly effective online workshop where, with no more than three other delegates, you'll learn how to: stay in control of media interviews; discover techniques to focus on your key messages instead of worrying too much about the questions you're asked; and find ways to deliver those messages in a clear, concise and compelling manner. All without sounding like a slippery politician!
This course is aimed at individuals and organisations who may have to deal with the media during a crisis, whether that event is externally triggered – for example, by a so-called “act of God” – or internally by some kind of error, omission or malpractice. Participants are likely to be experienced in media and communications or hold senior management positions. During a crisis their roles may be public-facing or behind-the-scenes. Attendance is strongly recommended for staff from organisations such as local authorities, health trusts and housing associations that have a legal obligation to plan and prepare for emergencies under the Civil Contingencies Act.
This practical and effective course is aimed at those who are managing awkward or dysfunctional teams. It can take just one difficult team member, or someone who displays challenging behaviour, for a team to stop performing and lead to low productivity. If you are managing a difficult team, which will ultimately reflect badly on you, then this course is an ideal way to learn how to turn things around.
Aimed at anyone who needs answers or training in a hurry. You may have been asked to appear on Newsnight tonight, The Today Programme tomorrow morning or BBC News may call to say they're sending a reporter to your home or office in three hours. A media coaching session with will optimise your chances for a winning on-air experience.
An ability to handle the media is increasingly becoming a key competency in the recruitment of senior personnel in both the public and private sectors. ACM Training offers tailor-made media exercises that enable selection panels to assess the ability of candidates in a fair, objective and transparent manner.
We don’t read like we used to. In a linear fashion. Line by line. Page by page. Chapter by chapter. These days words are viewed more on screens than they are on paper. The web has turned us into skimmers and dippers - skimming online content until we see something interesting and only then dipping deeper. Which presents writers with a huge challenge. Because reading differently means writing differently.
Zoom has rapidly become the go-to platform for home workers everywhere. But few are using it and other services like Microsoft Teams to their full potential. So this three hour online workshop will help you make the most of the Zoom boom by guiding you through the technical, editorial and presentational barriers to effective communication.
Some courses are fiendishly difficult to categorise so if you can’t find what you’re looking for under this heading maybe it’s listed elsewhere. You can check on the complete range on our A-Z course finder page.
