How to Emerge from the Media Unscathed

Many people look on the idea of being interviewed by the media with horror, but it’s worth remembering that the very great majority of interviews are fairly straightforward.

“Good evening, Jeremy…”

Many people look on the idea of being interviewed by the media with horror. This is hardly surprising, considering many of us get up in the morning to the soundtrack of Mr Humphries tormenting some hapless Minister, then wind down at the end of the day to the sight of Mr Paxman doing the same thing to the same Minister, who by now is wondering whether it is too late to run away and join the circus.

But it’s worth remembering that the very great majority of interviews are fairly straightforward, fact-finding affairs which offer a great opportunity for you to put forward your views whilst at the same time exposing your organisation to the light of a little gentle publicity. But let’s not be naïve: things can get rough from time-to-time. A little sensible preparation will see you safely through any type of interview – and with time, you may even grow to enjoy the process:

1. Do a little research on the newspaper or programme, its readership or audience, and the journalist who’ll be interviewing you. Adjust your answers and/or style accordingly.
2. Make sure you know the “hook” and the “angle” for the interview. The former is the reason the journalist is doing the story, the latter is the side of the story that is to be covered. A story on the recovery in the stock market may have the FTSE 100 hitting 6,000 as the hook, whilst the angle may be how the continuing unrest in Iraq has affected investor confidence.
3. Prepare the ingredients of a great interview: a strong key message, two or three crisp figures, a unique viewpoint, a human angle – and some new information that the reader, listener or viewer would find useful and engaging.
4. Identify the difficult or tricky questions you may face, then prepare a response. “No comment” is unhelpful and defensive. Try to prepare a “bridge” using the ABC technique: Address the question; Bridge to something more comfortable; Communicate the answer you want to give.
5. Give your planned responses the “So what?” test. If they don’t sound exciting to you, they certainly won’t to your audience. Can they be made a little snappier?
6. Rehearse! Button-hole a colleague or friend for a few minutes, and get them to throw likely questions at you. Practise your responses a few times. Aim for an upbeat, relaxed, friendly style, as if you were making an important point to a friend. In the real thing, be courteous, friendly and positive. 
7. Be pro-active. Look on the interview as an opportunity to put your side of the story. Don’t feel pinned down by the questions, but use them as a platform from which to put forward your own views. Remember, the interviewer wants you to do well, whatever the medium. A flat, low-key, uninformative interview benefits no-one. 
8. Thinking of going “off the record”? Are you even sure what the phrase means? What can you do if your “off the record” comment appears on the front page the next day? Play it safe and simple: don’t say anything you would not want published or broadcast. Your main enemies on this point are alcohol and vanity. Beware of both.
9. Try to be helpful. Explain any point you think the journalist or audience may not understand. Keep things simple – an interview is not the time for depth.
10. Build a relationship with the journalist. Answer his or her calls promptly and give answers relevant to his audience. Journalists need to work fast – if you make their lives easier, you may well find your experiences of the media go all the more smoothly.
    
    

© Neil McNeil. March 2004 (revised April 2006)