You’ve Got 24 Hours
to Figure Out What To Say To the Press

by Mark G. Daly

Summary: The process of preparing for and giving press interviews is discussed, including preparing key messages and sound bites, anticipating questions and typical aggressive interview techniques.

Dangerous Corporate Apathy, Indeed

In mid-July, a Burger King employee brutally murdered a woman in one of the restaurant chain’s bathrooms. “These sort of things happen,” was the response from Burger King headquarters. On July 20, the Boston Herald ran a story with the headline: “At BK, Apparently, ‘These Things Happen.’” The article continued on page four of the newspaper with another bold headline: “Burger King Response Shows Dangerous Corporate Apathy.”

The article went into detail about events in Burger King’s past; connecting employees with violent rape, throat-slitting, stabbing, strangling, beating and beating deaths, sexual assault, shot-gunning, killing sprees and other acts of violence and aggression. The article quoted the company saying, “We cannot dictate to [franchises] the policies involving personnel,” and went on to highlight the company’s control of menu options and cooking methods among its restaurants. Reporter Cosmo Macero Jr. quoted the phrase, “These things happen,” no less than three times and ended his story with those words.

Bad News Travels Fast

There’s a lesson to be learned from Burger King: What you say in response to a crisis is as important as the crisis itself. The media can quote anything you say, so you must choose your words carefully. A simple mistake could turn a PR incident into a fiasco.

When the Media Comes Calling

The media is the most effective means of communicating to the public. Knowing what to say—and what not to say—to reporters is critical, especially during a crisis. There is often little time to create responses, so advance preparation is key. If you’ve done your homework, you can make a powerful impact during an interview.

An interview should be seen as an opportunity to build a relationship with a reporter and a news organization. Interviews also provide an opportunity to communicate key messages and positive statements about your organization. Refusing an interview could generate negative press, as it may appear that you have something to hide.

Most reporters are concerned with honesty, accuracy, getting the story first. Their primary goal is to collect information. Journalists are never off duty, so be sure to never say anything you wouldn’t want to appear in the newspaper or heard on the air.

When reporters call, it’s not necessary to give them an interview over the phone immediately. In fact, it is better to put off the interview to give yourself a chance to prepare. Ask them when their deadline is and try to accommodate their schedule. Find out details about the structure and content of the interview. Find out if the reporter has specific needs for his or her story or an agenda. Set a time for the interview and stick to it.

Ready!

Use the time before the interview to learn everything you can about the audience and the reporter and the reporting medium (the publication, show, etc.). Read the publication (or watch the program) and read previous articles by the reporter.

Refresh your knowledge of your company’s corporate identity. Read recent corporate press releases and remember the organization’s key messages. Broaden your knowledge base surrounding the subject of the interview by talking to experts and staff members.

Have your own agenda. Prepare three to five data points that relate to the subject of the interview. These could be your corporate key messages, or they could be messages created to address specific issues (like a crisis). Distill these messages into succinct statements and memorize them.

A sound bite is jargon for a snippet of information that is pithy or quote-worthy and is a few sentences long in print or about 20 seconds of broadcast time. Some PR pros suggest that the use of sound bites is archaic, but reporters are looking for pieces of information to bring life to their story. Bite-sized facts, figures, quotes and messages are often gobbled up by reporters who use them to lend credibility to their stories or to make certain points.

One of the most important steps in preparing for an interview is to anticipate questions that the reporter will ask. Be prepared with answers that include your message statements. Get help from colleagues who can mock interview you with questions of their own. Hone your answers until they are succinct and memorable.

Set!

Welcome the reporter. Be cordial and friendly. Have an adequate, private space available for the interview. Don’t act as if your time is too valuable to waste on the media. Be colorful, personable, and confident. Put the reporter at ease.

Interview!

Listen attentively to the reporter’s questions and answer him or her with a brief statement. Make your point immediately and concisely. Remember to repeat your data points. You prepared for the interview, now use your savvy to get your message across to the public.

Speak to the target audience of the publication; the reporter is just the conduit. Explain your most important point first and don’t stray from the topic. Rambling will dilute your message and there’ll be more opportunity for you to be misquoted. Keep your answers simple and avoid jargon. Be accurate. Tell the truth: no guessing and no lies. Don’t speculate either. It’s better to say, “I don’t know,” if you don’t know. Respond to the reporter’s questions quickly and with confidence, and use data to back your answer up.

Don’t fill dead air, let the reporter do it. Don’t rush your answer; ask for more time to get back to a question if you need it. Don’t avoid questions. Failing to answer a question may give the impression that you are hiding something. Saying “No comment” could be the kiss of death, as could referring questions to an attorney.

Ideally, a three-part response to questions works best:

1. Answer the reporter’s question as briefly as possible (often yes or no is quite acceptable)
2. Support your answer.
3. Transition to your message.

For broadcast interviews, remember to project your voice, articulate, and don’t rush your words. Wear professional attire and eliminate all visual distractions. Be aware of your posture and smile. Also, don’t shift your eyes, look at the reporter. Keep your stress in check; the camera will catch it if you don’t.

Note that some reporters will throw ‘curve ball’ questions. Be prepared to stay calm and collected even with difficult, unfair on unanticipated questions. Some of the potential tactics that you should be prepared for are:

• Machine Gunning - the reporter fires off a rapid series of questions;
• Interruptions - the reporter doesn’t allow you to finish speaking;
• Paraphrasing - reporter misquotes you and asks you to corroborate it.

Do not allow a reporter to provoke you. Just take questions one at a time, go back and finish what you were saying if you were interrupted. Correct any false statements immediately.

End the interview by thanking the reporter.

Measure!

When the interview is over, review it to learn from it. Did you convey your messages? Did you project a strong positive image? Were you prepared? Discuss the interview with your peers to get their opinions. Make necessary changes to improve the next interview.

Evaluate the final story. If you liked it, compliment the reporter. Building relationships with the media will make your job easier in the future.

The Interview Short List:

1. Prepare questions, answers, sound bites, and messages.
2. Listen carefully.
3. Answer concisely, truthfully, and with confidence.

Mark G. Daly is an independent PR analyst in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He’s been in the PR analysis business since 1996. Write him at markgdaly@aol.com.

|