Practicing for a media interview
Be ready with your best quotes and your most believable answers
Take a few minutes to prepare for a media interview to ensure the best results
By Edward R. Van Herik
It can be daunting to face a reporter. Stories abound about misquotes, ruined careers and rude reporters. But there are techniques that can improve the chances of a favorable outcome from an interview, whether the story itself is favorable or unfavorable.
To begin with, pick the three most important points you want to make and do your best to stick to them. But beyond that, practice answering the questions. It may seem like a grade-school exercise, but actually taking a few minutes to practice greatly improves most interviews.
Before you start, though, remember who you are dealing with. While a reporter may be friendly, he or she is not your friend. They are talking to you because it is their job, and the interview is a business discussion that’s important to your activities. Even if the reporter is funny, or good-looking, or seems to be on your side, always stay focused on why you’re there in the first place.
Draw up a list of questions with some softball inquiries and some absolute stinkers. Even if the reporter is doing a puff feature on you, good journalists will usually toss in a tough question or two about industry problems, any bad publicity your company or industry may have had recently and any personal embarrassments that become news.
Then work through your answers. Make them plausible. If there have been industry problems, acknowledge them and explain what’s being done to correct them. That goes for answers to questions where you can appear in a positive light. It’s always best to keep your answers short and to the point, but be prepared to provide more detail if asked.
Also, consider how to respond to questions about any past problems. You may want to go through the whole thing again, or you may simply say that you discussed the issues thoroughly at the time and have nothing to add.
In any case, it is worthwhile to develop three key talking points that you’d like to see in the news and make sure to mention them several times. A reporter wants to know what you think is important, so make it easy for them.
Finally, ask yourself how you want to come off, as well. It’s best to be amiable, friendly and non-defensive. Even a story that you expect to reflect poorly on your efforts can be written a little more positively if a reporter thinks that’s the way to go.
