Facing the media - twenty tips
- Make sure you are media trained
- Be clear about your three or four key messages
- Know what you want the outcome of the interview to be
- Get background on your interviewee, their programme and their angle
- Rehearse with a Q&A session and be ready for awkward questions
- Remember the kind of audience you are addressing
- Print and online journalists need to know if you are on, or off the record
- Use language that your audience will understand and not jargon
- Come up with a single line that captures your big message
- Be armed with some killer facts to illustrate your points
- Remember appearance is important for media interviews
- Avoid loud clothes, stripes and small checks and spots
- Be friendly and enthusiastic
- Ask what the first question will be
- Look at the interviewer and stay alert
- Answer the questions but get your key messages across – repetition is reputation
- Be conscious of the time available
- Correct inaccuracies and try and have the last word
- Conduct a post mortem on your performance and learn from your mistakes and successes
- Refresh your media training on an annual basis
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