A newspaper reporter for 12 years before becoming a PR counselor, Jill Allread, president of Public Communications Inc., has seen media interviews from both sides of the fence. Here are Allread’s key steps for preparing a spokesperson for a media interview:
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Prepare Key Points. You are not just preparing to answer media questions, but also to get your messages heard. Prepare two or three specific communications objectives you want to get across in every interview.
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Learn how to “bridge” to your messages. Answer a reporter’s question, then bridge back to one of your message points.
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Use examples and stories. Dramatize and create visual images that help people relate to and support your message.
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Anticipate potentially negative questions. Prepare responses that focus on positive points, and get to those points by bridging.
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Be on guard. There is really no such thing as “off the record.”
(For a deeper dive in bridging, message maps and interviewing
PR News Subscribers can read more about how to prepare and deliver key messages in the Case Study: "Olympian PR Effort Helps Those With Chronic Medical Malady Find Their Way to the Nearest Powder Room."
(For a deeper dive in bridging, message maps and interviewing techniques, order PR News’ Media Training Guidebook - Vol. 4.)