Are you ready for your close-up?
When a major media opportunity comes your way, it pays to be ready. Try these tips for looking and sounding your best in a media interview:
- Be professional – show up on time and eliminate distractions like cell phones and e-mail alerts.
- Prepare main messages - make strong, concise, sincere statements and avoid ”corporate speak,” which may appear cold or stilted.
- Keep it short and sweet – avoid long-winded responses. Your main points may get lost when you share too many details or you may lose your train of thought.
- Avoid filler words – saying “umm,” “you know” or “like” could convey unprofessionalism and lack of trustworthiness. Sharpen your public speaking skills so you can appear focused, confident and articulate.
Gaining ground
8 tips for weathering a PR storm
What can you do when your organization is caught in the middle of a public relations crisis? While it’s tempting to fire off a news release and hope the issue blows over, there are more effective ways to manage unwanted media attention. Aware offers the following tips to weather a PR storm.
- Get ahead of the game
Crisis communications should start long before a crisis occurs. Develop a strategy that can be quickly organized and implemented, no matter what the problem. Even having an outline of a strategy can help set your plan in motion – the snapshot below provides a good example for getting started.
Timing
Audience
Messages
Deliverables
Channels
Owner
1-2 days
Customers
Error occurred
Talking points
Web sites
Corporate communications
1 day
Customers
Error occurred
Q&A
Facebook page
Marketing manager
1 day
Customers
Error occurred
Press release
Twitter
Media relations consultant
Once you have developed the basic steps, practice your plan! Maggie Jensen, media relations consultant at Securian Financial Group in St. Paul, Minnesota, recommends companies take opportunities to practice their strategy on smaller scale issues or announcements. “By going through the drill before a major crisis, you can discover glitches in your plan when there’s less on the line,” she says.
- Develop a holding statement
As soon as you become aware of the problem, release a statement acknowledging the issue as well as its source and known impact. Describe any management action to resolve the issue, identify any positive points and promise to be forthcoming with information as it becomes available.
Jensen affirms that “Releasing a strong statement early on buys you time and establishes the company as a reliable source of information.”
Schedule media briefings as significant information comes to light. This positions your company to influence the conversation as the situation unfolds. - Designate a spokesperson
Most public relations crises involve an executive group responsible for gathering information and making decisions. A senior communications executive with a strong grasp of media relations must always have a seat at this table. He or she can help the rest of the group understand why they must react quickly and honestly. This person also can help prevent faux pas like former BP CEO Tony Hayward’s comment after the Gulf oil spill: “I’d like my life back.”
The spokesperson should be confident and comfortable in a public speaking role, but does not necessarily have to be the CEO. Press conferences in the White House, for example, may include the President and the Chief of Staff or Secretary of State, depending on the issue. - Practice transparency
Take accountability for the problem; do not ignore or dodge the issue. Playing the blame game will get you nowhere; authenticity and transparency go a long way. Be upfront about your mistake, then focus on your solutions and the immediate future.
One expert recommends the acronym “OSTA”: Objective, Strategy, Tactics and Audience. Set your sights on your desired outcome, and determine the steps you’ll take to get there. Consider your audience and what they’d most like to hear from you. Remember, the media are always an audience. - Communicate with confidence
In the presence of a journalist or recording equipment, anything you say is fair game: You are always on the record. To avoid losing control of your message, answer a reporter’s question and refrain from rambling. As social beings, we feel compelled to fill the silence. Resist that urge. Another advantage to short answers: it gives journalists a chance to catch up on their note-taking, increasing accuracy. - Be prepared
Winging it will look like just that – winging it. If you walk into a media interview with nothing prepared, at best you may come across as unprofessional. At worst, you may say things you never meant to and which you can’t retract.
Take the time to go over your main points – the preparation will be well worth it. Joanne Krotz, an author on Microsoft.com’s business web site, recommends practicing a question and answer session with a trusted friend or spouse. Encourage them to ask tough questions, and plan your answers accordingly. Do you have a concise and appropriate answer for the really negative questions? Prepare honest answers and practice saying them. - Know the facts
Be very clear both about what you do and don’t know. It isn’t in your best interest (legally or otherwise) to speculate on what might have happened. When communicating with the media, concentrate on the basics of the story and be comfortable responding with, “I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Never say, “no comment,” which the media and the public perceive as an attempt to hide the truth. - Consider social media
When two Domino’s Pizza employees were busted for a YouTube video of kitchen duty gone horribly wrong, Domino’s management reacted quickly by posting their own YouTube video response, apologizing to customers, condemning the workers’ actions and reinforcing the company’s concern with health codes and hiring practices. Domino’s decision to use the same media channel where the problem originated was both a savvy and timely response.
Social media tools offer instant communication with customers and a forum for positive response. Your customers will talk no matter what, but you can initiate the conversation and set it in the right direction.
Sources
Krell, Eric. Be ready to meet the press. HR Magazine, August 2009.
Krotz, Joanna L. Six tips for taking control in media interviews.
McCarthy, Ed, CFP. 10 tips for delivering solid media interviews. SeniorMarketAdvisor.com. October 2010.
Sweeting, Lindsay. How to turn a real world mistake into social media gold. Blue Blog. July 5, 2010.
