When your spokesperson is interviewed on national radio the last thing you need is for them to use the phrase ‘national joke’ when responding to a question about the organisation’s leader.
It’s the sort of language that will stick with listeners even if the spokesperson is denying the accusation.
Repeating the negative language from a journalist’s question is an interview trap many spokespeople fall into.
And the latest person to become a victim is Peter Whittle, the deputy leader of UKIP.
Mr Whittle was appearing on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Breakfast programme, the morning after the party failed in its attempt to win the Stoke Central by-election, which you can listen to here (1hr53mins), when he faced a style of question which will be familiar to many spokespeople.
Presenter Nicky Campbell’s first question to him said: “It’s a problem for you now Paul Nuttall has become a national joke” and Mr Whittle responded: “Oh no, Paul is not a national joke.”
This is a common mistake when interviewees are defending themselves or rebutting an accusation. Often when being interviewed about a negative subject, a journalist may ask something like “This is very disappointing isn’t it? Aren’t you disappointed?”
The spokesperson will then answer: “I wouldn’t say it was disappointing…” But they just have and the journalist has a neat sound bite of them using the negative phrase – as Mr Whittle found out.
The key is to ignore the journalist’s choice of words in this type of question and get to your message - you don't need to repeat an accusation in order to rebut it.
Of course, repeating the negative is not the only broadcast interview trap spokespeople are likely to face and need to prepare to face.
On our media training courses we explain that another particularly risky one for interviewees is getting drawn into speculation. Journalists love to speculate about the future and often invite spokespeople to do the same. “What would happen if…?” is a question fraught with danger and the response can easily detract from the main message. Spokespeople need to be particularly wary during a crisis media management situation where reporters will speculate on the cause of the incident and the possible consequences.
Spokespeople also need to be wary of journalists who ask the same question again and again. The wording may be slightly different but it is essentially asking the same thing. The key here is to stick to your message but journalists know that many spokespeople either out of confusion, boredom or politeness, will give a different response which potentially deviates to more dangerous territory.
Another type of question which often catches spokespeople out is the ‘while you are here’ type question. This comes at the end of the interview when all the issues you have agreed to talk about have been discussed. Then just when it feels like the pressure is coming off, the journalist asks something about a completely unrelated topic – generally something topical, possibly about your organisation or the wider sector. At the time or writing something about the impact of Brexit or Donald Trump are possible questions. The key is to be aware of the wider issues you may get asked about and to have responses ready for likely questions.
It’s also important spokespeople are ready to face the personal question. They may have already successfully answered several questions using their organisation’s official lines when they are asked something like ‘would you like this major road next to your home?’ or ‘would you eat this stuff’?
The key to avoiding these traps is to be prepared and to spot difficult questions before they are asked and recent media training with current working journalists is vital.
Mr Whittle should have known he would face difficult questions when being interviewed so soon after an election defeat, yet he fell at the first hurdle, and struggled to regain any control.
His performance was no laughing matter, but it is something other spokespeople can learn from.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Click here to find out more about our journalist led Media training and crisis communication courses.
Subscribe here to be among the first to receive our blogs.
