The interview of former President Bill Clinton by Fox News' Chris Wallace created a great deal of media fodder for a couple of weeks earlier this fall. The tempest raged over whether Clinton went
"over the top," whether Wallace was baiting Clinton, or whether the outburst was planned. These are all interesting discussion points, but from a media training perspective, the first few minutes of
the exchange served as a great example of the interviewee taking control.
As you prepare or coach others for media interviews, it's critical to figure out if and how you can exert control. Too many interviews are just a series of question-and-answer exchanges in which
the reporter's agenda dominates. If this agenda matches yours, no problem. But the reporter's questions aren't always congruent with your objectives.
Here are ways to take control.
Offer perspective. In the Clinton example, when Chris Wallace turned to the subject of preparation for a terrorist attack and began with a long, involved question positing "facts," Clinton stopped
Wallace before the question/statement was finished and basically said to Wallace: I can tell you have a series of questions. And I'm happy to answer them. But before I get through them one-by-one,
I'd like to address the topic of whether my administration was preparing for a terrorist attack.
He wasn't avoiding the subject; he was framing his response with a perspective and an opening statement on the issue. In this case, since the entire Q&A segment was shown, viewers could decide
if the answers/statement were credible, avoiding the subject, or a bit of both with over-the-top anger/energy thrown in.
Since most media interviews are edited, we advocate that a spokesperson have a clear statement of his or her perspective on the subject of the interview. This should be developed and thought
through well before the actual interview. This statement or framing can be delivered in response to an opening question, can be a bridge off a question, and/or can also be set up by the PR team
member who tells a reporter that there are some key points to be made in an interview.
Be assertive. Here's another great example of a less in-the-public-eye spokesperson taking control. A client of ours is an expert in the technology space. Over time, he has established strong
credibility with his trade media. When he fields a reporter's call, he often starts the conversation before the first question, or on the first question: "I know you have several questions for me.
But before I answer them, can I just share with you a couple of slides that I recently showed at a customer presentation on the topic we're supposed to talk about? The customers really responded well
to them."
How many reporters do you know who wouldn't bite at this request? This approach requires that you know your material, can be a little bit assertive with the reporter and deliver on the promise to
provide interesting information.
Control can be exerted with a good working relationship between the spokesperson and the PR team. If the PR professional knows the key messages in the pitch and sets up the interview, the reporter
learns what the spokesperson can best talk about. The reporter may have a lot of questions of her own, but she wouldn't be doing the job if she didn't say: "So tell me about...:" or "Bob Jones told
me about this area that you know a lot about...Can you expand on it?"
The end justifies the means. One final way to exert control is to take advantage of the last question. Most reporters will ask at the end of the interview: "Is there anything else you want to
add?" "Did I leave anything out?" The two best answers here are either to repeat your key message or bring up something that the reporter hasn't covered yet.
Some reporters - often the younger ones who don't know the next question to ask - may close off an interview by simply saying: "Thanks for your time," or "I've got to run off." Usually that's a
sign that the young reporter doesn't know the next question to ask you. In that situation, the spokesperson should exert control and say, "Let me sum up..." or "Before you go, here are a couple of
points."
Exerting control in an interview requires:
- Preparation - know what you want to say and have facts, data and proof points.
- Anticipation - think through the likely questions.
- Knowledge of the reporter - how and when you exert control is important to the credibility factor and how the reporter will use the information. If it's too pushy or contrived, the answer is
often disregarded.
- Practice - rehearsal always makes for a better performance.
Contact:
Andy Gilman is president & CEO of CommCore Consulting Group. He can be reached at 202.659.4177 or [email protected].