Can I Quote You On That? A Special Media Training Report On The Tricks Reporters Use
Related Public Relations Articles
By Chris Roycroft-Davis MediaMasters (London) Ltd www.mmasters.co.uk
Media training ensures that being interviewed by a journalist for a printed article or a radio or TV programme needn’t be the disaster many people fear. The secret is to prepare and know the tricks of the trade that journalists use. After more than 30 years in Fleet Street, I’ve seen all the pitfalls and learned how people can avoid them. Now I’ll share my media training skills with you…
RULE ONE:
Don’t fall into the trap!
Some journalists or interviewers develop a specific style of questioning designed to make you say something you don’t want to. Sometimes they’ll use two or three of these techniques in the space of a few minutes. Beware – answer with care.
Leading questions
“Everyone knows your company puts profits before safety. Which do you think should come first?”
Make sure you squash the ugly insinuation before you answer the question. “That’s nonsense. My company has one of the best safety records in the industry and spends millions each year on ensuring the safety of the public and the workforce.”
Sweeping criticism
“Your rivals say your product is second-rate and over-priced. They’ve got a point, haven’t they?”
This is a classic Jeremy Paxman/John Humphreys trap. Don’t budge one inch. Just declare: “No, they’re wrong. Our product is second to none and very competitively priced.”
Media training teaches you to be prepared for the interviewer to come back with concrete examples to back his original example. In which case, you’ll have to give a little ground: “It’s true that a few years ago one of our products was below the high standards we set, but we’ve spent millions on improving it so that now it is the best you can buy.”
Note “best you can buy” which doesn’t necessarily mean “the cheapest” but appears to fully answer the question without actually addressing half of it!
Hypothetical questions
“What if the worst should happen and your company runs out of money?”
“You say that, but what if you’re proved to be wrong?”
“Suppose you discovered one of your workers had assaulted a customer at her home?”
How do you answer? My media training advice is simple – you don’t.
“You’re asking a hypothetical question which I can’t answer. But I can tell you that…” then launch quickly into one of your prepared key messages.
The killer punch
“Let’s face it. Your cars are dangerous, aren’t they?”
“Come off it. Your company is raking in the profits at the motorist’s expense.”
There’s a simple answer which media training will teach you: “No! That’s not true.” But then you must deliver one of your key messages to support your case. “Our cars were voted second in a Which? Magazine poll last year.” Or “Shell has consistently kept the price of petrol below the level of our competitors.”
You’re going to need facts to back you up. So you can see the importance of good preparation and media training.
The paraphraser
This interviewer aims to annoy you by repeating everything you say but with a slightly different, incorrect spin on it. “So what you’re saying is…” Never agree with a paraphraser. Just state simply: “I obviously didn’t make myself clear. What I am saying is…” then make your original point again. The paraphraser will soon realise you’re not walking into the trap.
The interrupter
The interviewer’s aim is to throw you by stopping your flow of thoughts with constant interruptions. He hopes you’ll get flustered and make a mistake. Do what politicians do if they’ve had good media training: Stop what you are saying, listen to the interruption, then carry on as if nothing has happened. “As I was saying…”
After you’ve got your key message over, turn the tables on the interviewer. “Now John, you asked me something else. What was it again?”
The repeater
Another classic Paxman technique that crops up a lot at press conferences. The repeater will ask the same question over and over again, but with a slight change each time. When this happens, point out politely to the interviewer that you’ve already answered that question.
The silencer
Another tactic meant to throw you. As you complete an answer, the interviewer will sit there looking empty and saying nothing. If you’ve had media training you won’t let the pause unnerve you. Just launch into another one of the key messages you have prepared. Silence from the interviewer is a golden opportunity for you to make points that might otherwise have gone unsaid.
The fishing hook
The interviewer has a hidden agenda. He’s not really interested in you but wants you to dig the dirt on someone else in your company or your industry. “I’ve heard rumours that XYZ Ltd is in financial trouble. What have you heard about that?”
Unless you’re being interviewed to supply expert opinions on an industry or business, you must resist the temptation to answer. Don’t swallow the bait. Be the good guy. “I’m sorry, I never comment on rumours, only on facts.”
NOW YOU’VE SEEN WHAT JOURNALISTS WILL DO TO GET THE STORY, YOU’RE READY FOR ANYTHING. ALL YOU NEED IS MEDIA TRAINING AND GOOD LUCK!
Chris Roycroft-Davis has been one of Britain's leading journalists for three decades. He is the former Executive Editor of The Sun, the UK's biggest-selling daily newspaper, and currently writes for the Daily Express and The Times of London. He is a founding partner of MediaMasters (London) Ltd, which specialises in effective communications through advertising, websites, corporate literature, branding, marketing and corporate identity. He is skilled in media training and helps business people get the best out of media interviews.
Copyright MediaMasters (London) Ltd 2007
Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of ArticlePros.com and/or its partners.
