Reputation management and communications consultancy


8 April 2009, Making the most of media opportunities – ten tips for the company spokesperson By Jonathan Hemus, Insignia director

A media interview can be extremely stressful – indeed research shows that a TV interview is less popular than having a tooth filled! – but it also provides a great opportunity. The following tips provide a template for a successful media encounter.

1) Prepare well
Never, ever conduct an interview without taking time to plan for it – the biggest disasters often happen when a journalist “doorsteps” an unwitting interviewee, or less dramatically finds someone willing to talk on the phone without having first understood the parameters and purpose of the interview. Always buy time – even 30 minutes – to establish your gameplan for the interview.

2) Set objectives
Never conduct an interview without knowing why you are doing it and what you are seeking to achieve. Being clear on your objectives provides you with focus and clarity to prepare for the interview and plan what you want to people to know, think and do as a result.

3) Audience first
Many people begin their planning by thinking about what they want to say. Wrong move. Planning begins with understanding the audience – What kind of people are they? What are they interested in? What’s the relevance of you and your organisation to them? Spend time in their shoes and you will deliver a much more effective and empathetic interview.

4) Develop key messages
Decide on three - an absolute maximum of four - messages that you want people to hear (remember they must be relevant to the audience, not just what you want to say). Key messages are themes or ideas that you want to communicate during your interview – they form your personal agenda for the conversation.

5) Prepare evidence and examples to substantiate messages
Key message run the risk of sounding like corporate puffery if there is no evidence to back them up – “people are our most important asset” and “safety is our top priority” will only retain credibility if you can provide statistics, awards, case studies or other examples to underpin them.

6) Take control
It’s easy to forget all your preparation when the red light goes on and you’re “on air”. Avoid this fate, by staying calm and being pro-active in taking control of the interview. This does not mean being aggressive or ignoring the questions, but it does mean grasping every opportunity to communicate your key messages. Don’t wait for the perfect question: it may never come!

7) Be yourself
The best spokespeople are natural and human, so allow your personality to come through: don’t become overly corporate or your interviews will appear stilted and cold. Use simple, down to earth language to ensure you communicate clearly with listeners or viewers.

8) Tell stories
The best spokespeople go beyond communicating ideas, concepts and dry theories, and instead tell stories which connect with people listening or watching. These spokespeople paint pictures with their words conjuring up images in our minds. Most importantly, they talk about how their subject affects people and this makes their ideas relevant and engaging.

9) Avoid jargon
When appearing on radio or TV, imagine you are talking to a family member or friend, not a colleague. Much of the audience will fail to understand management-speak, so avoid phrases like “business process re-engineering”, “system optimisation” and “customer solutions”. Remember also to remove industry, profession or company jargon from your comments, otherwise you exclude the vast majority of people that you want to reach.

10) Be enthusiastic!
Radio in particular sucks life out of the voice, so the best interviewees compensate for this by speaking with enthusiasm and passion. This will draw listeners to your interview and make them want to listen. And in any case, if you don’t sound excited by your organisation, product or service, how can you expect anyone else to!

Insignia is a reputation management and communication consultancy which offers communication and media training to executives. Insignia’s communication coaches provide techniques, practice and constructive feedback that result in enhanced confidence and greater effectiveness. Training can be delivered on a one to one basis right through to communication best practice sessions for hundreds of delegates at company conferences. Our objective is always the same – to enable executives to better deliver their chosen messages to their stakeholders. Please contact Jonathan Hemus (jonathanhemus@insigniapr.co.uk, +44 786 832 9102 or www.insigniacomms.com) for more details of our services.

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