It’s no great secret that the key to emerging from a media interview successfully is to prepare properly.
We’re pretty certain you know the importance of ensuring your spokesperson is aware of the messages, knows who the audience is and is prepared for the negative questions.
But are you missing something? What could you do to enhance this preparation and ensure your spokesperson is in the best possible position for interviews?
We analyse a lot of interviews, both during our media training courses and from what we see and hear on television and radio.
And we have identified nine advanced tips, you may be missing, to help you complete your spokesperson preparation.
1 Don’t over prepare
This may sound like a strange starting point, perhaps even a little contradictory, but we still see spokespeople preparing for their interview by swatting from huge briefing documents. These will include key messages, lines to take to negative questions and backgrounds on the journalists.
All important stuff, but a ten page document is going to be hard for any spokesperson to really absorb and recall when the pressure is on. It is information overload.
There is also a risk that if they do manage to retain some of these responses to specific questions they will be more like a talking robot, unable to create a natural sounding conversation, than an authentic media spokesperson.
It is also worth remembering the audience is unlikely remember more than one major point your spokesperson will make. So preparation should focus on honing the message to something which is memorable and truly resonates.
The best way to prepare a spokesperson is to spend 20 minutes talking through the objective of the interviews. Think about why you think they should do the interview; how you want the audience to feel when they see and hear the interview; what action you would like them to take; what you would want them to remember; what case studies and examples should be used to support key points; and, what negative questions are likely to come up.
2 Don’t use the press release
If media interest and an interview have been secured through the use of a press release, the temptation is to use the release in the briefing.
The danger here is that in many cases press releases are subject to huge approval processes, often involving senior people with little or no comms experience, who tend to like jargon.
And this threatens your message if your spokesperson uses that language in interviews.
The key is to rewrite any parts of the release you intend to include in the briefing document in as simple a language as possible - the same language that you want your spokespeople to use.
3 Loosen the messaging noose
Sometimes spokespeople feel uncomfortable because messaging contains language they may not be comfortable using.
Empowering and encouraging them to use their own words (within corporate guidelines), anecdotes and examples will not only increase their confidence but also help bring messages to life.
We regularly find some of our clients come back to us after media training courses to help them develop and fine tune messages so their spokespeople have more confidence in what they are being asked to deliver.
4 Anticipating the wider media topics
Any decent interview preparation should identify the negative questions which may be asked.
But our working journalist tutors find that often this does not go on to prepare spokespeople for the wider issues they could get asked about.
These questions are typically asked towards the end of the interview as a ‘while you are here’ type question and could focus on broader newsworthy issues in the sector, the country or perhaps some new Government policy. A likely question at the time of writing, for example, would be on the impact Brexit will have on your organisation or sector.
The danger of failing to prepare here is the spokesperson could say something controversial which ruins the interview or says something which creates a new angle that takes focus away from the main message.
5 Fragile confidence
Your spokesperson may have carried out interviews before and feel they know what to expect.
But what if the format was to change slightly? We often find on our media training courses, for example, that down-the-line interviews, really test a spokesperson’s confidence levels because of its alien and sometimes uncomfortable format.
Your spokesperson may feel comfortable with the idea of TV and radio interviews, but how would they feel if the format put them up against another spokesperson with an opposing view? Would they know how to conduct themselves in the more informal setting of a sofa interview?
It is important your spokesperson knows what to expect beyond the basics of whether an interview is live or pre-recorded and that they feel comfortable in these differing environments.
Equally, it is important you have confidence in them to be able to handle the differing formats.
6 Review interviews
One of the best ways to prepare a spokesperson for media exposure is to review previous interviews they have done. Identify what went well and areas that need improvement, but the key here is to have a relationship where feedback can be honest otherwise the exercise is largely pointless.
Then put this learning into practice by holding a mock interview or media training day ahead of the main event.
If you have a full day of interviews, think about how you can factor in a brief review between each one. This could prevent the spokesperson making the same mistake all the way through or with a few simple tweaks help them find a way of adding real emphasis to the key message.
Confidence is key so it is much better to do this level of preparation ahead of a media day. That way any larger issues can be picked up ahead of time so that you can focus on how they sound during the interviews as opposed to their ability to control the interview or respond to complex or unwanted questions.
7. Frankie says relax
A colleague of mine once used to swear by letting his spokesperson have a drink ahead of an interview. We wouldn’t advise this but it is important that you identify what the spokesperson wants from you before, during and after the interview. Some people will want feedback between interviews while others (perhaps with a more fragile confidence level) will perform worse to the instant feedback.
Ultimately, if a spokesperson is to speak as naturally and fluently as possible it is important that they remain confident and feel supported.
It’s for this reason that lots of our clients like to send their comms and media teams on media training courses. This helps the PROs (who may not be the lead spokespeople) to empathise with what TV and radio interviews feel like. It also helps them become better coaches who can offer more astute post interview feedback.
8. Warm up
A good way to warm up vocal chords ahead of a media interview is to read aloud a children’s book. Your spokesperson should also use this to vary their tone and practice including pauses for emphasis.
Having to clear your throat constantly during an interview can be distracting for both the spokesperson and the audience. They should avoid consuming chocolate or milk immediately before the interview as dairy products can tend to build up mucous in the throat. Sugary soft drinks are also often said to cause a similar problem.
9. Reassurance
Mistakes happen. Not every interview will be perfect. In fact, in 35 years of media training, I’m not sure anyone at Media First would claim that they’ve witnessed a perfect interview. It’s vital that spokespeople know this.
They should also know that if they make a mistake (so long as it’s not a major foot in mouth moment), it’s rare for interviews to be career limiting. On the contrary, most spokespeople tend to climb the corporate ladder faster than others. Why? Because they are brave, ambitious and willing to speak out.
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.
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