The pandemic has forced a lot of people who would never dream of facing journalists to give media interviews.
Organisations never previously in the glare of the media spotlight are suddenly finding themselves front and centre.
Over the last six months I’ve media trained a chief exec who needed to reassure the nation about oxygen supply for hospital ventilators and the CEO of a charity that found itself expert in a key Covid symptom. Then there was a retired GP who had gone back to frontline hospital work to help the pandemic response.
Last night I found myself giving last minute guidance to an animal conservationist looking down the barrel of a BBC interview about the difficulty of wildlife rescues during lockdown.
Many of my corporate clients have been doing media interviews for years and know it comes with the territory. But these newbies were all thrust into the limelight and suddenly needed to know what to do.
There’s a lifetime of learning to go into here – and at least 3.5 hours’ worth of training session – but the basics of How to Give Media Interviews are:
1 – Weigh up the risk and reward. Decide if the risk of putting yourself in front of the media is greater or lesser than the possible positives. The top tip from me is that it is nearly always worth it… as long as you follow rule number 2.
2 – Be prepared. Time spent preparing is as important as time spent on camera/in front of the microphone. Work out what you want your audience to think, what you want to say, and how you want to say it. Next work out how you’ll prove it. Then write it down, practice it, and turn it into muscle memory. I give all my clients a handy template to use for preparation. To give press or broadcast interviews without preparation – winging it – is a recipe for disaster.
3 – Know who you’re dealing with, what organisation they’re from, and work out what they want from the exchange (ask them!). Journalists can’t operate without you. You’re giving them the content they need. There’s a mutually beneficial relationship here. But understanding what they will and won’t do/will and won’t ask, makes a big difference. They’re rarely the unprincipled ogres they’re often portrayed as. The vast majority are decent people. But they have a job to do and you need to understand that job, too.
And finally…
4 – Once in front of the mic, say what you planned to say, back it up with your evidence, and then say it again. People need to hear your key messages to be persuaded by them. And if the answer to their third question is the same as the answer to their first question, say it again. Say it with confidence, with colour, with imagery. Nail your messages!