SHORT COURSES
Features Masterclass: Write with Flair and Focus
From strong idea to brilliant read – how to structure, source and refine a compelling feature.
From strong idea to brilliant read – how to structure, source and refine a compelling feature
This feature writer training course will help you distil your ideas, plan your research, and write more engaging features that need less editing. This course is available in sessions of either four hours or six hours – see further details below.
What You'll Learn: Generating ideas, feature writing, and key interview skills
What makes a great feature? How do you come up with ideas and successfully pitch them to editors? We'll discuss how the best in the business conjure concepts that keep you reading to the end, equip you to think critically while assessing the current features landscape, and help you build a toolkit for developing winning ideas. You'll take part in brainstorming and pitching sessions that will leave you feeling inspired.
Working as a group, you'll examine what makes a great feature before we take you through the key principles of feature writing, from how to write engaging introductions to the art of weaving in quotes. You'll learn how using case studies can bring complex topics to life and how snippets of colour can elevate your work.
We'll also focus on how to get the most from interviews – whether a 10-minute phone call or an hour-long sit-down. You'll learn about the fundamentals of interview preparation – from finding interviewees and picking locations, to writing open-ended questions and preparing for tricky topics and questions – and we'll look at how active listening can transform your conversations.
How you'll learn
We offer this course in sessions of either four hours (two modules) or six hours (three modules).
It will be led by an experienced editor and trainer who will share their practical expertise through presentations, discussions, and practical exercises – ensuring you have the opportunity to reinforce your learning and test your understanding. As working on features can often be a relatively solitary exercise, we lean into the opportunity to bring people together to discuss their experiences.
Who the course is for
This feature writer training course is for you if you want to build a features toolkit of skills and knowledge that will elevate your ideas and your writing. You should have professional writing experience. If you're a budding news writer, you might like our News Writing Fundamentals: Write Stories with Impact course.
We currently offer this course as bespoke training for teams and can deliver it remotely or in your offices. Get in touch using the button below to discuss times and dates, as well as how we can tailor it to your needs.
Course Modules
Generating Brilliant Ideas
Exploring feature formats
Generating features ideas
Developing your idea
Regular and returning features
Build your own ideas – practical workshop
Feature Writing Fundamentals
Structuring your story
The intro: from scene-setting to drop intro
Establishing tone of voice
Sourcing and using quotes
'Colour' and what it constitutes
Interviewing Skills for Journalists (6hr sessions only)
Interview preparation
Approaches / techniques
Listening as a skill
Why and how to use case studies
How to tackle celebrity interviews
What our students say
What a great session we had on Communicating with Impact. Bridgid shared practical techniques to enhance and develop our communications skills so we can present and speak publicly or to senior stakeholders with confidence and impact. I speak for my whole team in highly recommending Bridgid Nzekwu if you are after effective and fun communication training.
The team is flexible, slick, well-resourced and overall simply first class. Their expertise and knowledge have been invaluable. I was delighted with our choice, so I’d have no hesitation in recommending them
PA Media Training were efficient, well organised and genuinely lovely people to deal with and, importantly for us, able to provide flexibility around our needs to create the bespoke training we required. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them for further training or to recommend them to other organisations.
The small class sizes nurture a comfortable environment where everyone supports and learns from each other. The staff helped me hone in on my writing skills and develop the confidence to feel comfortable on camera.
Interested in this course?
Talk to the Press Association Academy team about dates, fees and bespoke options.