Media interview techniques: a complete guide to media training

Machine generated contents note: Foreword

Why do a media interview?

Have something newsworthy to say!

When to decline a media interview

Summary

Exercises

Preparing for your interview

Basic information you need

Anticipate the questions

Know your organization's line on sensitive corporate issues

What's topical in your industry that the journalist might ask you about?

The role of your PR department

Become a great spokesperson

Get media trained

Summary

Exercises

How to create a resonant message

Make your business objective action-oriented

No more than three key messages

Constructing a 'message sandwich'

Get to the point...

Remembering your messages

Summary

Exercises

Keeping your cool

Too much adrenaline - nervousness

Too much adrenaline - anger

So should you ever lose your cool?

The exceptions

Not enough adrenaline - over-confidence

What's better: live or recorded?

Summary

Exercises

Voice and body language

Eye contact

Posture

Pace of delivery

Other aspects of good voice and body language

Dress sense

Summary

Exercises The perfect tone of voice

A W.I.S.E tone

Keeping your delivery as conversational as possible

Using mind pictures

All elements of wise working together

Curtailing your curtness

Finding the full stop

Humour

Summary

Exercises

Keeping control of the interview

ABC: the bridging technique

The helicopter technique

The caving technique

Avoiding the question - rarely a good idea

Repetition of key messages

How to get off to a good start in a live broadcast interview

Handling unfair questions

The honest truth

Apologising

Getting your company name into a broadcast interview

Off the record

Summary

Exercises08 Winning over sceptical and hostile audiences

The spectrum of opinion

Bridges of empathy

Cooling things down

Empathy must be genuine

Attentive listening

Empathy as a message

The 'open sandwich' - starting with your example or evidence then hitting the key message

Insulting, offending and patronizing people

Empathy in politics

Does empathy work everywhere?

Summary

Exercises09 Crisis media interviews

How not to handle a crisis media interview

'I'd like my life back'

A formula for handling crisis interviews

Concern/sympathy

Action/explanation

Concern and action working together

Perspective

Being ambushed or 'doorstepped'

Summary

Exercises

Capitalizing on your interview

Analyse what went well and not so well

Use social media to ensure your interview is seen, heard or read by your target publics

And if you don't like something the journalist wrote?

Build a strong relationship with the journalist

Summary

Exercises.