Once an unintended message is conveyed to a reporter or blog writer, there is often no way to retrieve what has been said or done. After all, nothing is “off the record”.

History is littered with examples of ‘faux pas’. With the proliferation of various media channels, the impact of such incidents only increase exponentially.

Media training and role playing can be extremely helpful – even for the most high-powered and successful of people. We even recommend tailoring short practice sessions beforehand, based on an in-depth understanding of the media requesting for the interview.

Your objective

Good spokespersons come across as:

• Polite, friendly
• Sincere, caring
• Patient, even tempered and calm
• Open and honest
• Confident, trustworthy (especially important for TV interviews)
• Responsive
• Having good moral standards and professional ethics
• Well-prepared

For this to happen, here are some helpful tips below. You can also read How to prepare for a media interview.

During the interview

Don’t

• Assume the interviewer is well-prepared, be prepared to be helpful and patient.
• Get their name or title wrong.
• Present information that is inaccurate, incomplete or irrelevant.
• Promise to send information but forget to. Assign such tasks to your public relations consultant or executive.
• Be afraid to repeat your prepared key messages.
• Use jargon.
• Over promise or over claim.
• Try to give an answer when it is off-topic or sensitive.
• Say “No comment”. It only invites more questions.
• Be brought into conflict.
• Feel you have to fill an embarrassing silence.
• Ever say anything negative, quotes can be edited or taken out of context.
• Comment on your competitors, good or bad.

Do

• Be clear, concise, consistent, colorful and factual. Structure your responses.
• Use simple, positive and everyday language.
• Remember to smile and maintain a pleasant appearance, no matter how jet lagged or agitated you may be.
• Keep your answers brief – approximately 20 seconds for each answer.
• Remember the “agenda” – stick to the facts and key messages.
• Say “we” or “our company” rather than “I” when being interviewed on behalf of your company.
• Remember you are not speaking to a business colleague or friend. Be friendly but not casual. A reporter’s job is to get a story out, the more controversial the better.
• Create a good impression. This also helps to create good impression for the company.
• Use the best sitting/standing posture to ensure your body language shows you to be sincere, alert, engaged and genuinely interested. Anchor your feet and make your movements slow and deliberate. Alternatively, clasp your hands in front of your hips.
• Remember that nothing is “off the record”.
• Have fun!

Providing good sound bites

Reporters like good quotes and sound bites.

What are some good sound bites? We suggest you try preparing beforehand:

• Interesting analogies.
• Facts and figures.
• Relevant cliques.
• A humourous perspective (if appropriate)
• Your personal and positive response to any given situation.

Read our other blog entry on Q&A: Tips from a broadcast news producer.