Television Presenters Course | FAQ's, Tips & Information

Q Are you established and reputable?

A Since 1991 we've consistently been the UK's most successful trainers of television presenters, with hundreds of ex-clients finding work - you can see a list of over 350 here». Some people find this hard to believe, so much so that recently, The Advertising Standards Authority officially and independently checked out our claims. They conclusively confirmed our position and reputation with the following quote:

"The Authority noted independent advice confirmed that (Pozitiv) were both the largest and most successful trainers of television presenters and considered that (Pozitiv) had supported the claim to having hundreds of ex-clients finding work"

The Advertising Standards Authority, July 2000 (www.asa.org.uk)

Over the past eleven years we've built up an excellent reputation for quality, integrity and professionalism, with countless industry contacts, many press reviews and two BBC fly-on-the-wall documentaries along with other shorter TV features under our belt. If you're at all unsure, we'd advise you to ring round a few of your media contacts, mention our name and gauge this reputation for yourself.

Q What's your success rate?

A The list of participants who subsequently found work as presenters now numbers well over 350 people - this works out at around 15 to 20% of those who've attended. You can see a list of some of these people here. Impressive in itself, but when you consider that many more have chosen to find work behind the camera - and take into account that not everyone who attends the course is specifically attending with the aim of being a presenter on television - this figure takes on even greater significance. And remember that just about every single one of them had no previous experience before attending this course. The media is a difficult business to break into and it's certainly not for everyone. However, we know of no other similar one-day - or longer - television course that's resulted in such spectacular results based on the ratio of total participants to number of success stories.

Q I've seen "similar" courses - how do I compare?

A There are one or two excellent courses out there. And there are many truly awful courses! Things to check:

Q Will you sign me up to an agency?

A Let's clear up one or two myths here. You don't need an agent to get work as a presenter. In fact, it's highly improbable that any reputable presenter's agent would take on a newcomer, without that person having established themselves first. The best agents generally have only a handful of experienced clients on their books. And if you don't believe us, just call up any reputable agent - they'll give you the same advice. We'd advise you to be very wary of anyone who says that they'll sign you up, or get you work, when you're just starting out - this is often a sign of a poor agent whose client list is, in the main, cosmetic and can ultimately do your new career more harm than good. Whilst it would be nice to think that finding work was this easy, it's sadly this sort of practice that leads to disillusioned, jobless clients and in turn, tarnishes the reputation of agencies in general. Do your research first - if the majority of the agent's clients are working, then chances are you've hit upon a responsible agency. But remember, when you're looking for your first job, no-one will work harder than you.

Q Does the course include a "free" photographic shoot?

A No. Why? Well, these things aren't often "free". You'll find that a large number of photographers will shoot a roll of film with you and provide a contact sheet for absolutely nothing. The catch is, they'll charge quite handsomely for any copies and since they also own the copyright in the photograph you won't be able to copy them yourself. If you decide upon a new career as a presenter, we can help you find your own photographer, suited to your style and budget.

Q Will you provide me with a contact list/regular job information?

A We often give specific contact names to suitable participants but we won't give you a tired old "contact list". Our research and experience clearly demonstrates that the common approach of cold calling and mailshot-ing a list of people from a contact list is nowhere near as powerful - and cost effective - as making and nurturing your own contacts. We show you exactly how to do it from scratch using methods that have resulted in many past participants securing work in a matter of weeks, not years. And as for regularly circulated "job information", you'll find that these are generally just gleaned from reading the broadcast trade newspapers and are often out of date by the time you receive them - and, of course, you're in competition with all the other recipients of this "job list". The best jobs are never advertised - but we show you exactly how to find out about them.

Q How can I possibly “sell” myself as a presenter after just one day?

A You don’t. You’re not selling yourself as someone who is a presenter. Rather, as someone who wants to be a presenter - and has demonstrated that by investing in a day in a studio. Whether you spend a day, a week or a month in studio, you can't realistically claim you are a professional presenter unless someone's been paying you to do it!

Q Is one day enough? Why don't you run a two or three day course?

A First of all, given the intensity of your course day coupled with only a maximum of only six participants, you are in fact getting all the benefits of a typical two-day course in a single day. And, by doing it this way, our - and consequently your - overheads are reduced, providing you with considerable savings against investing in these facilities and staff over a standard two-day period. In addition, the intensity of the day mirrors the sort of hard work and stamina involved in a typical day's shooting in the real world. We've also found that participants tend to perform better - and produce a stronger showreel - when they're "thrown right in" instead of having too much time to reflect and prepare. And, the majority of clients who managed to find themselves work, did so on the basis of experience gained from just this single day’s course. Others often got more experience - and added further material to their showreel - by means of a camcorder, unpaid work etc.

Q How much do I need to prepare before the course?

A Simple - all you have to do is pen your Autocue piece, familiarise yourself with your location report (which you can create from scratch or base on one of the hundreds we've pre-prepared) and have a quick scan through your Information Pack. That’s it. There’s nothing you need to learn since everything is explained on the day. We find that people who do too much preparation or spend several weeks “psyching themselves up” don’t perform as well as those who just turn up and do it. That’s because one of the main features of a good presenter is their apparent spontaneity - something that’s over-rehearsed has a tendency to look flat and stilted.

Q Why is it so expensive?

A Well, this is no ordinary, “classroom-style” course. And neither is it, “a camcorder and a room”. We’ve always insisted on this course being held in a full broadcast television studio, inevitably packed with several hundred thousand pounds worth of equipment. You’ll also find up to nine coaching, technical and production staff on the day - outnumbering the actual participants. As a result, you'll find that the quality of both your showreel footage and the individual attention received is truly exceptional. Yes, we could, like some media-related courses, settle for mediocre or "home-made" facilities, maximum participants and the minimum of effort. But we don't think the course would be nearly as successful - and the bulging files of unsolicited "thank you" letters in our office suggests that you think so too.

Q Why is it so cheap - there must be a catch?

A We get asked this question a lot as well - particularly from those who work in television and understand the costs involved. Firstly, as a prolific user of facilities we have tremendous buying power, the resultant savings of which we can pass onto you. Secondly, both our course team and facility-providing partners understand and make allowances for the fact that the available budget for a course bears no relation to that of a television programme. And thirdly, since this particular course is a small percentage of our total business, we can operate on slim margins - whilst the prestige and knowledge gained from working with a wide variety of future media stars has a huge impact on the rest of our business.

Q Why don’t you edit my material down to a few minutes on the day?

A Well, we could easily just skim off your best takes, stick them together and call it an “edited showreel”. But whilst this might sell your services to your grandmother, it has little effectiveness with a prospective employer. Most producers will tell you that watching a stack of showreels is not a pleasant task and, in fact, most are ejected after less than 50 seconds viewing. Editing a showreel is an art in itself, often taking several hours of careful consideration and planning. It’s a sales tool - its primary purpose is not to get you the job, but to get you the interview or audition. Therefore, we’re not going to let you down with this most crucial of tools, by casually stitching together a take from each of your on-camera pieces. Instead, since everyone is different - needing to highlight their own specific areas of expertise or preference - we tell you exactly and specifically how to make arrangements to do this yourself, as well as the format we’ve found gets the results you’re looking for. And this isn’t necessarily expensive - it can cost as little as £25. Plus, by not doing this straight away, it gives you the time to mull over exactly how you want yourself portrayed, as well as giving you the option of intermingling any further or existing material you may have.

Q Do you give advice - both before and after the course?

A We're always happy to give free, unbiased and practical advice - indeed, we've helped secure work for many of our past course participants. And if we don't think our course is right for you, we'll tell you.