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Key Takeaways
- You don’t have to answer all question, but you do need to cognize your ability and communicate it clearly.
- Prepare three key messages, guide alongside your chief point, and evade unnecessary jargon.
- Journalists desire helpful insights, not revenue pitches. Credibility and preparedness are essential.
Being a prosperous CEO doesn’t automatically create you a awesome media spokesperson. I’ve coached executives throughout financial services and another expert industries who can guide organizations, navigate complex challenges and command a boardroom, yet battle to communicate efficiently alongside journalists.
Even the most accomplished executives can undermine their credibility by talking too much, making unsupported claims or turning interviews into revenue pitches. Fortunately, these mistakes are avoidable. Here are seven I see most frequently and how to forestall them.
1. Thinking you have to be an expert on everything
One of the biggest misconceptions executives have is that they must answer all inquiry a newsman asks. You don’t. Even whenever a inquiry relates to your industry, it may autumn exterior your particular expertise.
Rather than guessing, say, “I’m not the finest individual to answer that, but I can nexus you alongside person who is,” or “That’s exterior my area of expertise, but what I can inform you is…” Journalists don’t anticipate you to cognize everything. They do anticipate you to cognize what you’re talking about. Of course, declining to estimate isn’t the identical as evading a legitimate, difficult inquiry concerning your business.
2. Talking too much before getting to the point
A newsman asks a straightforward question, and the administrator launches into a five-minute clarification filled alongside background, caveats and unnecessary details. By the period they create their point, the newsman may have misplaced involvement or run out of time.
My advice? Lead alongside the headline. Answer the inquiry immediately in one or two sentences, afterward stop. If the newsman wants more, recommendation an anecdote or compelling example that illustrates your point. Journalists affection stories, but don’t inter your chief communication below layers of explanation. If the newsman remembers lone one sentence, create certain it’s the one that matters.
3. Failing to prepared 3 key messages
Before all media interview, I trainer clients to acknowledge three key messages they desire to communicate. Not 10. Not 15. Three. These power connect to your business, expertise, merchandise or the matter being discussed.
Ask yourself: If lone three things I say create it into the story, what should they be? Even whenever a newsman calls unexpectedly on deadline, it’s sensible to ask, “Can I call you rear in five minutes?” Use that period to arrange your thoughts, assuming the reporter’s deadline allows it.
Don’t be fearful to fortify crucial messages naturally throughout the conversation. Preparation isn’t concerning memorizing a script; it’s concerning knowing what matters before the discussion begins.
4. Using terminology and underestimating the journalist
Financial services, healthcare, biotechnology and another specialized industries are filled alongside acronyms, credentials and specialized terminology. But fair since a term is acquainted to you doesn’t average the newsman understands it.
I advance executives to explain complex concepts as although they’re talking to a family associate about the meal table. Could your mother, grandma or 10-year-old comprehend your point? If not, simplify it.
And don’t confuse a journalist’s unfamiliarity alongside industry terminology for a deficiency of intelligence. Reporters shield multiple subjects, frequently under tight deadlines. A inquiry that seems apparent to you may be exactly what their readers need answered. You’re the subject-matter expert. Help them understand.
5. Turning the discussion into a commercial
A media discussion isn’t a revenue presentation. Journalists aren’t interviewing you to comprehend how fantastic your business is. They’re looking for information, viewpoint and insights that assistance them inform a compelling story.
Statements akin “We’re the finest in the industry” or “Our resolute offers unparalleled service” aren’t particularly useful. Excessive self-promotion can immediately undermine your credibility.
Instead, portion a amazing insight, explain an emerging trend, recommendation a contrarian viewpoint or provision a real-world example. It’s fine to provision backdrop concerning your firm, but don’t hijack the conversation alongside a commercial.
The finest media sources create the journalist’s narrative better, not their own business audio bigger.
6. Making claims you can’t substantiate
Unsupported statistics, exaggerated claims and overconfident predictions can quickly damage your credibility, particularly whenever discussing financial markets, economic conditions or another complex subjects anywhere forecasts are inherently uncertain.
If you citation a statistic, cognize anywhere it came from and be prepared to provision the source. If you’re making a prediction, differentiate your opinion from established fact. And if you don’t cognize an answer, say so. There’s nothing incorrect alongside telling a reporter, “I don’t have that fig in forefront of me, but I can inspect and prosecute up.”
Journalists recall sources they can trust. Don’t provision them a logic to inquiry yours.
7. Forgetting that everything you say could rotate into part of the story
When speaking alongside a journalist, assume you’re on the record. That includes informal remarks, offhand observations and comments made before or following the ceremonial interview.
I powerfully alert executives concerning going “off the record.” Many misunderstand what that method or assume they can province item off the document following saying it. They can’t. Such arrangements necessitate mutual accord before data is shared, and I mostly advise clients to evade them unless there’s a compelling logic and plainly established terms.
The safest method is simple: Don’t say item to a newsman that you wouldn’t be comfortable seeing in imprint or hearing repeated publicly.
The finest interviews are conversations, not performances
A successful media interview isn’t concerning demonstrating how intelligent you are, answering all inquiry absolutely or finding opportunities to advance your business. It’s concerning being a credible, informed and helpful source.
The finest spokespeople prepared without sounding rehearsed, recommendation insights fairly than commercials and cognize whenever to halt talking. Ultimately, being quotable isn’t concerning saying more. It’s concerning having item meaningful to say and knowing how to say it clearly.
