Organisations often automatically look to their senior leaders to front their media activity.
It does not matter whether the media interest has been triggered by a crisis media management situation or because it has a positive and newsworthy story to tell – it is normally someone at the top who is put in front of the cameras and microphones.
But the truth is that although they may be a great leader, they may not always be the best person to be put in front of the media.
When you are in the media spotlight you need someone who is compelling and enigmatic who will be able to connect with the audience.
We often find on our media training courses that it is not the most senior or confident member of the team who performs best in front of the cameras and microphones – sometimes the rising stars of the organisation, for example, can be the most captivating.
The spokesperson you choose needs to have a detailed understanding of the organisation and its sector and it is essential they have had recent practical media training with current working journalist tutors.
Strong body language and a professional appearance are also important.
You may find that you need to identify more than one spokesperson, particularly if you are planning to undertake a prolonged strategy of media engagement or you are managing a full scale crisis which is expected to last several days.
Additionally, if you operate across multiple sites you may need to look at identifying different spokespeople in each location, particularly if you are targeting regional media.
Regional spokespeople help you engage and win the trust of the audience and show a commitment to the area and people who live there. That’s why journalists love spokespeople who have accents – it shows you, and to an extent they, are not London centric.
Of course there are certain situations, such as during a crisis involving multiple deaths and serious injuries, where the media activity has to be led by the head of the organisation. But if you use them all the time you will dilute their impact.
Identify where it is best to use them and develop the media skills and experience of other senior colleagues in the organisation so that you have a pool of trained and experienced spokespeople and are able to choose the right one for the right situation.
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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