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Top Media Interview Tips
You have not had any media training but suddenly a key media outlet is on the phone or at your office requesting an interview. Use the guidelines below to get you through an unexpected opportunity in a pinch.
1. Be professional at all times. Interviews are not conversations. Remember that reporters represent the public and will sometimes ask hard or even deliberately leading questions to elicit an emotional or sensational response from you. Be professional at all times; do not slip into a conversational mode.
2. Set the agenda on what you want to get across in an interview. Select a few key points and be certain to cover them regardless of what specific questions the reporter may ask.
3. Steer the interview in any direction you choose. If you are good at it, you can use a reporter’s questions to springboard to the area you want covered. This is legitimate technique for conveying your key messages.
4. Reporters are not necessarily experts. More often they are generalists. Don’t assume they will know anything, yet alone everything about your area of expertise. Provide them with good, concise background material prior to or after an interview.
5. Reporters come in all personality types. Don’t put them all in any one category – “friends” or “out to get a sensational story.” And don’t assume that the same reporter will always have the same approach.
6. There is no such thing as “off the record.” If you don’t want something to appear in print or on the air, do NOT say it.
7. Control your emotions. Before and during interviews: breathe deeply…take time to gather your thoughts…be serious when appropriate and animated when appropriate.
8. Do not answer a question that you don’t know how to answer. Tell the reporter you will get back to him/her as soon as possible. Call back as soon as possible with the requested information.
9. Tell the truth. If you don’t, your credibility is ruined. If you cannot absolutely divulge information, say so, and state why. Do NOT say “no comment”; it will appear that you are not being honest or withholding information.
10. When interviewing for a live TV segment, dress appropriately at all times. Your overall appearance reflects upon you and upon your business.
Help! My Spokesperson is a Dud.
What can/should PR leaders/communication professionals do when their “go-to” spokesperson is a dud? It could be the CEO or a leading expert in a particular field. It could be someone who, politically, just has to be the one.
Reporter, health care marketing magazine
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By Jim Sweeney & Jennifer Manocchio
Let’s start first by defining what a “dud” is for each type of media. If we are talking about print media, then content is king and only the information can be a dud, so messaging and the ability to convey it successfully (especially in phone interview situations) are critical.
If we are talking radio, then voice is critical (strong, confident, sincere) along with the message. For TV, we add a whole other dimension. Let’s face it; these are all entertainment media, but none more so than TV. So our spokesperson must look attractive in some way, must have nerves of steel or natural on-camera speaking ability and must say all the right things (messaging). Before the Nixon-Kennedy debates, no one really cared what our corporate or political leaders looked like. Since the debates, that’s all we care about.
Messaging, delivery, personality, appearance (in that order) are important for spokespersons. We can work on the first two, but the last two are out of our control… other than to replace the dud with better looking, more adept speakers.
If you feel a spokesperson will improve by conducting training on messaging and delivery, consider conducting media training that includes interviewing and videotaping the individual. Also, consider incorporating a second spokesperson or potential spokesperson who is stronger in areas your current spokesperson is lacking.
We have actually experienced this challenge with a client who had one spokesperson that fell flat with delivery and another who had challenges staying on point. It was an excellent strategy to have both these individuals watch and learn from each other, and actually see themselves and each other on television when we played back their mock interviews. We were able to achieve a balance between the two that wouldn’t have been accomplished if they had not conducted the training together or seen themselves on television.
If your spokesperson doesn’t improve with training or is not willing to step aside for the better of the organization, it is completely acceptable for an organization to have more than one spokesperson. You can often find experts within an organization who can address different topics with the media. One way to accomplish this is to develop a matrix of experts in your organization, interview/screen these experts and train them so you don’t end up with another ineffective spokesperson.
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