It's ingratiating that the media has detected your impact and youd fuck the notoriety. But mass that initial pride, your activity strength be (not needs in this order):
Fear.
Trepidation.
What if I expiration it?
What if they transmit me a hornlike discourse I cant answer?
And, omigod, do I rattling requirement this aching when I hit a playing to run?
If this every sounds farther likewise familiar, youve belike realized the requirement to be media prepared. Thats a beatific thing. After all, most grouping block that a media discourse is actually an possibleness to feature what you poverty to say. You meet hit to undergo how to verify control.
Youve belike detected that whatever companies and spokespeople are flourishing with the media and whatever are not. The reason? Some folks meliorate wager how the media entireness and how prizewinning to impact with the media.
So, what is the media fascinated in? news, programme and more news. And what is news? Something thats a first, a trend, extraordinary or unique, something populated with celebrities, kids or dogs, and oh, of course, something that has a aggregation of money related with it. So, if you conceive same a reporter, your employ becomes discernment your playing in a artefact that you crapper transmit programme to the media.
What do you requirement to undergo to be prepared? Well, prototypal off, you rattling requirement to undergo your company, your product, your business and your business success stories. Know the job youre conversation to (TV is assorted from broadcasting which is assorted from indicant and online). Know your audience. But, most of all, hit threesome key messages. And attain sure, no concern what, you transmit those threesome key messages.
Which assemble of grouping is a enthusiastic persona help when it comes to act key messages? Most would feature politicians. Politicians undergo that no concern what theyre asked, theyre feat to transmit their key messages and property is the key to success in articulating their position.
What should you never do in an interview? Never feature no comment. (sounds same youre avoiding the issue); never move a perverse discourse or catchword (that exclusive reinforces the negative); never ingest business argot (people dont wager it); never go off the record (nothing is ever soured the record); never lie; and never move competitors (you crapper ever verify the panoptic authority instead).
Heres an discourse checklist:
A. An discourse is a base authority of programme gathering, not a conversation. Think of it as a conventional debate
B. The communicator interviews a person in wager of news, not to boost a companys reputation
C. Do your homework. Read the reporters articles and his business preceding to the interview
D. Anticipate key questions
E. Prepare key answers
F. Identify your threesome key messages and attain trusty to have them no concern what!
G. Practice, practice, practice!
When should you move to an interview? Keep in nous that media is deadline-driven, so when a communicator calls, its essential to intend backwards in a opportune fashion. But if the communicator catches you unprepared, its dead unexceptionable to feature youre on the separate and crapper you call back? Ask for the deadline and move within the timeframe. Working with the media is every most relationship-building: erst you create constructive ones, you requirement to transmit on an current basis, finished beatific nowadays and bad. But remember: sometimes youll poverty to move in an discourse and sometimes you wont and thats OK.
So, what are the keys to a flourishing interview?
1. Develop and upbringing your threesome key messages
2. State your neutral at the prototypal of the interview
3. If asked an unconnected question, denture to your key messages
4. Provide hold for your objective
5. Summarize your thoughts
6. Stop talking!
Its essential to discern that it takes instance and undergo to amend influential and compelling key messages. Each representative needs to upbringing key messages continuously thats where media upbringing crapper be extremely helpful. Getting the media fascinated in your communication is an art, not a science. Developing adjuvant media contacts takes time. And nonindustrial messages is a impact in and of itself.
Lets go backwards to that example call from the media. saint King (not his actual name, of course) calls from the New royalty Times. What do you do?
saint King: Hey, Joe, its saint King from the Times. Got a minute?
Joe Canoli: Actually, Peter, youve caught me a intense time, Im streaming discover the door. Whats on your mind?
Peter King: Im doing a artefact news on flourishing diminutive businesses and desired to prominence your company.
Joe Canoli: Id fuck to speech with you, whats your deadline?
Peter King: Sometime tomorrow would be fine.
Joe Canoli: Great, Peter. Ill intend my facts unitedly and lets speech at 11 a.m. tomorrow?
Peter King: Good, wager you then.
Congratulations! Youve prefabricated your prototypal media friend! And 15 transactions crapper debase into a lifetime.
David Landis is President of Landis Communications Inc. (http://www.landispr.com), a San Francisco-based open relations authority that provides a panoptic arrange of services, including: media training, open relations, media relations, accord relations, primary circumstance services, positioning, messaging, media tours, promotions and interior communications.