JULIA Gillard has enlisted the help of an image consultant and media training guru (who glossed up former Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett) to sharpen up her public performances.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the Prime Minister has undertaken intensive coaching at Kirribilli House with a renowned “leadership skills trainer”.
Ms Gillard, who has struggled to translate her feisty parliamentary performances into convincing interviews and speeches, took the crash course ahead of two major prime ministerial addresses.
Image Media Services trainer Mike Macnamara met with Ms Gillard just days before she delivered her nationally televised address to the nation spruiking the carbon tax.
The lesson also came on the eve of the PM’s speech at the NSW Labor conference in July.
Despite Mr Macnamara’s expertise in “media interview technique and stand and deliver presentation skills”, Ms Gillard’s televised address received mixed reviews, with some labelling it wooden and overly scripted. And her speech to the party faithful was also oddly subdued.
