Speaking confidently and safely to a journalist or in front of a TV camera is not something you’re taught at school or university. Some people are naturals, most are not.
As a senior executive at a company doing work of public interest, engaging directly with the media might well be something you are asked to do at some point, and you need to be ready.
I recall an occasion when a colleague at Scottish TV was reporting on the unusual discovery of human remains on a beach. Now, the details are a little too gory to share here, but suffice to say that it was abundantly clear the “discovery” had been deceased for some considerable time.
The reporter asked a senior police officer at the scene to detail the chain of events, and he replied, “We discovered the remains at approximately 12 hundred hours, and death was confirmed at 12.15”.
Strictly speaking, the officer was accurately reflecting the legal process involved. Death can only be confirmed by a pathologist, even if it is obvious the victim has long since passed away.
My point is, conveying key messages in a ‘natural’ fashion and not sounding rehearsed, confused or scared, or, as in the case above, stating the very obvious, will ensure your message lands positively. I fear the police officer in my example above would have “gone viral”, had social media been as prevalent back in the 1990s as it is today.
Today, almost any little slip up might end up on social media, be it an awkward podcast interview or a clumsily worded X post.
With a combined century of experience in managing media engagement here at Hot Tin Roof, we can prepare you for the difficult questions you might face. Here’s how…
- We tailor the training to your area of expertise. Too much media training is “off the shelf”, preparing you for questions you’ll never have to face. We will train you to answer questions about your organisation, your latest news, your sector and the wider landscape or indeed a challenging situation you need to manage as effectively as possible.
- We’ll call out waffle or jargon. The untrained interviewee tends to try to share as much information as possible or go off on their own tangent. Often, less is more when talking to the media. We’ll train you to keep your answers ‘on message’ and clear.
- Preparation. Confucius said, “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” Knowing how to prepare for an interview, what to ask a journalist before they turn the recording device or camera on, is half the battle.
- Avoiding “ the pink elephant”. Those in the public eye often tell us what they aren’t or what they don’t want to be known for. This just turns into headline gold for media outlets. We train you to avoid the negative and focus on positive language. When attempting to deny involvement in the Watergate scandal in his address to the nation, President Nixon tried to be clever by saying, “There can be no whitewash at the White House.” Unfortunately, the global media dropped the words “There can be no” and used the rest as the headline.
I’m not going to tell you all of our training secrets, but, essentially, we want to make the experience as realistic as possible so you’re really ready for your first interview.
Remember, effective communication is critical to how you and your brand are positioned and perceived by the public, it’s not worth taking a punt on media engagement.
The Irish poet and playwright Brendan Behan said, “There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.” I expect Richard Nixon would disagree.
If you want to be media ready or even prepare for an important event or meeting, give us a call for a tailored quote.
