“Journalists are accused of being lapdogs when they don’t ask the hard questions, but then accused of being rude when they do. Good thing we have tough hides.”
- Gwen Ifill, Journalist
Every day, I receive phone calls from potential new clients seeking media training.
When I ask what concerns prompted their calls, they almost always say the same things: “We’re not good at getting our messages across,” or, “I tend to say too much, and I’m afraid the audience isn’t getting my point,” or, “I’m terrified of going on television, but it’s my responsibility as the executive director to do so.”
Toward the end of the conversation, many callers ask—often skeptically—whether we can help. They wonder whether a day of media training can truly make them feel more confident and in control during an interview.
It can.
I often ask the callers to rate their media skills on a scale of 1 to 10. If they score themselves a 5, I tell them they can become a 7 in just one day of training. Our clients regularly leap a couple of notches in just a few hours simply by learning how to identify and focus on the areas that most impede their effectiveness. By removing their own roadblocks, budding spokespersons experience noticeable, often dramatic, and occasionally shocking growth.
My goal for this book is to help you achieve the same growth without me being there in person (and for thousands of dollars less than we charge our private clients). You really can go from a 5 to a 7—or whatever your equivalent—simply by reading this book. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you jumped more than two notches, but I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver.
Almost everyone we work with has the capacity to improve, no matter how great their challenges. It’s true that some people are born with the tremendous gift of being captivating communicators, but that’s not the case for most people you see on television. They blew an interview or two early on and suffered a few media missteps along the way. But they stuck with it, nurtured their communications skills, adjusted their approaches, and improved over time.
You can too.
Great spokespersons know that it doesn’t matter if you stumble over a few words once in a while or lose your train of thought on occasion. You don’t have to be perfect—in fact, the public often regards “perfect” spokespersons as slick and inauthentic. If you’re a perfectionist, I’m going to ask you to try your hardest to abandon your perfectionism—it will only get in your way and inhibit your most effective self from stepping forward.
You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that you already share some traits with the world’s most gifted spokespersons. Most of the greats, regardless of personal style, ideology, or cause, have the following six traits in common:
First, they’re authentic. The audience may not agree with their perspectives, but viewers can tell that the spokespersons genuinely believe in their own messages.
Second, they’re natural. The best spokespersons are the ones the public perceives as being the same person on camera as off, the same in a television studio as in their living room. They’re the spokespersons who bring the same passion to their interviews that they express privately when discussing similar topics with their friends.
Third, they’re flexible. They know that breaking news, technical issues, or a shifting storyline can change the nature of their interview with little notice. They know that rolling with the changes, maintaining their composure, and displaying a touch of humor—where appropriate—will enhance the audience’s impression of them.
Fourth, they speak to their audience. They know that their primary function during an interview isn’t to impress their bosses or peers, but to forge a direct connection with each person reading or hearing their words.
Fifth, they self-edit. Great media spokespersons know that their job is to reduce information to its most essential parts, never to “dumb down” but always to simplify. They know not to try to say everything, since doing so muddles their message and confuses their audience.
Sixth, they’re compelling. They know how to express their points in an engaging manner that helps their audience remember them. They know how to use stories, statistics, and sound bites to make their messages stand out, and are adept at coining phrases that stick in the minds of every audience member.
Here’s the bottom line: if you’re capable of energetically delivering a credible and memorable message that you genuinely believe in, the audience is likely to perceive you favorably.
Possessing those six traits, while critically important, won’t guarantee media success. You’ve probably noticed that even the most experienced spokespersons occasionally say the wrong thing or respond with the wrong tone. Almost every day brings another high-profile example of a public figure committing a humiliating media mistake, whether it’s a politician whose offhanded remark costs him an election, a CEO whose thoughtless comment causes her company’s stock price to plummet, or a nonprofit executive whose answer makes clear he doesn’t truly “get” the scandal that’s engulfed his organization.
This book will teach you how to avoid committing the types of media mistakes that lead to humiliating headlines, embarrassing television stories, and disastrous YouTube video clips.
As you’ll see in the pages that follow, most media mistakes are preventable. Too often, I see spokespersons who offer tentative replies instead of powerful messages, appear defensive instead of self-assured, deliver monotone responses instead of infusing their quotes with the passion they genuinely feel, and commit the deadly “seven-second stray” that takes them far away from their intended message.
Even when they do everything perfectly, they worry about their intended message making it past the media middleman. Our clients frequently—and quite understandably—express dismay that the era of unbiased journalism (to the degree it ever existed) is in decline, only to be replaced by a form of journalism that prioritizes opinion and sensationalism over facts and information. It’s little surprise that many spokespersons have encountered a dishonest reporter, dealt with a biased news organization, or suffered from an incorrect story that spread across Twitter in the blink of an eye—or the click of a mouse. As a result, they turn a jaundiced eye toward the media as a whole.
Many of their objections about the media are accurate. But I don’t usually linger on that point for long. That’s because while none of us has the power to change the way the media operate, we do have the power to effectively work within the confines of today’s flawed media culture to reach our audiences and achieve our goals.
Despite what you may have heard (or personally experienced), most reporters aren’t out to get you. More often than not, they just want reliable information from a spokesperson who can deliver a media-friendly quote. Sure, you may occasionally face aggressive reporters—and this book will prepare you for them—but you’ll more commonly face ones who want little more than to file accurate and engaging stories.
So it’s well worth your effort to build constructive relationships with the press. Positive media stories can inspire legions of people to buy your products, support your ideas, and vote for your preferred candidate. They can help you build your business, grow your name recognition, and enhance your reputation.
I’ve worked in and around media for close to two decades. I remain absolutely convinced of the tremendous opportunities that news stories can deliver for you and your brand.
About This Book
My objective in writing this book was simple: I wanted to provide readers with the most comprehensive book on media training ever written.
In the pages that follow, you will find 101 lessons, 36 real-life case studies, a web address to access more than a dozen videos, and numerous exercises.
The case studies will bring to life the media training techniques you’ll soon learn. Some are entertaining and others are horrifying, but all are instructive.
Although I’ve done my best to explain the case studies featured in this book, my descriptions are no match for seeing the videos for yourself. You’ll notice a (V) mark next to the titles of selected case studies. You can click that symbol to view the video on our video page, or you can visit the video page directly at http://www.MrMediaTraining.com/Book/Videos.
You will also find several exercises throughout the book. These exercises are your opportunities to make this book relevant to your own work, so I hope you’ll spend some time working through them. When you finish, you will have three winning media messages supported by compelling stories, statistics, and sound bites. You will also learn the best way to prepare for a media interview, an effective method for conducting crisis drills, and a technique to help you eliminate the “uhhhs” and “ummms” that plague speakers.
This book is organized as 101 two-page lessons divided into eight sections:
In Section One you will learn eight crucial ground rules for working with reporters.
Section Two teaches you how to create compelling media messages and develop the “message supports” that make them even more memorable.
In Section Three you will learn how to master the art of the interview.
Section Four offers techniques that will help you answer even the toughest questions with (relative) ease.
Section Five helps you understand what your body language communicates and what your attire says about you.
In Section Six you will learn more about the different media formats and how to navigate each of them with ease.
Section Seven highlights the 10 truths of a crisis and arms you with tools to counteract negative press.
Section Eight guides you through the final steps you should take when preparing for media interviews.
Finally, the Conclusion provides you with resources for additional learning and offers you guidance for selecting a media trainer should you decide to pursue in-person training for yourself or your colleagues.
The advice contained in this book has been successfully field-tested by thousands of our trainees over the past decade. I, along with the other professional media trainers who work for my firm, have watched the techniques described in this book work for almost all of the media interviews our clients have delivered. Although no book can account for every possible scenario, we’re confident that these techniques will help guide you through the majority of them.
I encourage you to read the entire book rather than skipping ahead to a single section. The techniques in this book build upon one another, and almost every skill influences the next. For example, you might be interested primarily in learning about proper body language. But you may be surprised to learn that almost everyone automatically has better body language once they become more comfortable with their message. Your words and performance work in alignment with one another, and it is difficult to succeed at one without succeeding at both.
One final note: You will learn hundreds of pointers throughout this book. Don’t worry about mastering all of them right away. A brief self-analysis toward the end of the book will help you narrow everything you’ve learned down to the three things you need to focus on most. Only when you become more comfortable with those three things should you add a fourth, then a fifth, and so on.
By purchasing this book, you’ve expressed your commitment to gaining the skills and confidence you need to excel in every media interview you deliver. I’m delighted you’ve placed your trust in me.
Let’s get started!