2. Speaking to the Media
In today’s day and age no business can operate successfully without a
positive and effective relationship with the media.
Whether it is Public Relations for a multinational corporate or simply raising
the awareness of a small sole trader, media relations are increasingly
important.
They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. While that may not be
true, publicity is absolutely essential to any business and how you manage
your publicity and your relationship with the media is critical to the success
of your business.
Journalists hold the key to a world of opportunities for your organisation.
Whilst both parties benefit from your interaction with the media, there are
several hints and tips available to make sure you get the most out of your
time in front of the camera (and avoid any damaging faux pas)
3. Prepare
It may be a cliché but nothing could be truer in this
case.
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail when it comes to
media relations.
Find out as much as you can before any interview
about the reporter, the media outlet and the audience
of that outlet.
Anticipate what you may be asked in advance or if
possible agree with the reporter on the topic of your
interview. This will allow you to better prepare any
answers to the questions.
4. Think Before You Speak
Part of preparing is so that you decide clearly on what you are going to say.
Outline beforehand what message you wish to get across, what tone you
wish to convey and what ultimately you want out of this interview.
Be clear on what you do and don’t want to say. Provided you stick to your
guns than you should maintain control of the conversation and as a
consequence what then goes out to the public.
Think clearly about each answer before you respond. There is no such
thing as off the record so make sure that everything you say you are
completely comfortable with reaching the general public.
If you are faced with a leading or probing question a simple “no comment”
is better than saying something you would regret in the future.
5. Use Layman’s Terms
Be sure and get your message across in as simple
terms as possible.
Avoid any confusing jargon or marketing speak which
could be misunderstood or misrepresented.
Similarly try not to ramble incoherently or use long
winded questions.
Keep your message clear and concise, giving the
audience the best opportunity to fully understand and
engage with what you have to say.
6. Journalists Work On Deadline
In the fast paced world of media, everything is
done to a deadline.
Whilst requests for interviews may come with
little time to prepare it is best practice for you
to adhere to any deadlines.
Editorial interviews are great opportunities and
failure to meet the requirements will likely
cause you to lose out on the publicity to a
competitor.
7. What’s Your Message?
You must decide on what message you wish to
convey though the media.
Outline clear and concise points which you wish to
make and make sure that they feature.
Manipulate and lead the questions to fit your own
agenda (the journalist will likely have their own
one), making sure the style and flow of the
conversation ensures you are able to get your key
points across frequently.
8. Time Is Of the Essence
In a similar way to adhering to deadlines,
make sure you always provide everything
which is asked of you from a reporter.
A small act of goodwill early on can lead to
highly trusting and positive relationships being
built allowing you to gain invaluable publicity in
the future.
9. Don’t Let Reporters Put Words
in Your Mouth
It’s all well and good getting your message
across, but if it is not in the tone or style that
you want it to be in, than it can be very easily
misconstrued or spun in to something
completely different (often through no fault of
either party).
Be very clear as to what you mean by what
you are saying and it will be simpler for the
reporter to paint the right picture to their
audience.
10. Practice the Pause
If you’ve said what you have to say – stop!
Journalists will often pause after you finish
talking to check if that is all you have to say.
Avoid taking this as a sign to continue talking
and end up rambling in to a topic of
conversation far away from your intentions.
11. There Is No Such Thing As Off the
Record
You must remember that there is no such thing
as “off the record”.
Journalists are under no moral or legal
obligation to not report what you say and it
would be naïve for you to expect otherwise.
If you don’t want anyone else to hear it – why
would you say it? It’s that simple really.
