Clarity must survive pressure.
We start with what your audience needs to understand and what you can say clearly and honestly. Then we test every weak spot: claims that fall apart under follow-up questions, answers that sound defensive and details that pull attention away from your point.
We prepare leaders for television, radio, print and podcast interviews, along with meetings, testimony, speeches and other public appearances.
Practice for difficult questions.
James draws on years of interviewing elected officials, business leaders, entertainers and subject-matter experts to ask obvious questions, uncomfortable questions and questions that can change an interview’s direction.
Recorded sessions let clients see what an audience will see, not simply what they intended to communicate. The goal isn’t to repeat a slogan until an interview ends. It’s to answer directly and return naturally to the point an audience needs to remember.
Prepare the message and the room.
The Modern Fire also develops speeches, testimony, public statements, employee announcements, talking points and town halls. For remote appearances, we review camera, lighting, sound, connection and platform so technical problems don’t undermine the person or the message.