Jonathan Hemus

Media Interviews: Effective Preparation for Successful Performance

Many business executives get extremely concerned about the prospect of a media interview.  Others take a more cavalier view, believing that they can blag their way out of any question.  Both groups should remember that thorough and effective preparation is the key to success for any media spokesperson.

Preparation begins once you have established by whom you will be interviewed and the purpose of the interview.  Once you know, this you can spend time planning your interview strategy: use the following five headings to do this.

Understand the audience

Many people fall into the trap of beginning their planning by considering what they want to say.  It’s the wrong approach.  Begin from a different perspective:  who will be viewing, hearing or reading your words and what would they be interested in?  Understanding your audience helps you to prepare interesting, relevant content.  Imagine what they want to hear and tailor your messages accordingly.

Establish clear objectives

Without clear objectives, you cannot possibly plan your interview approach or evaluate its success.  You must work out exactly what you want to achieve and why you  are doing the interview.  Having this clearly fixed in your mind makes the rest of the planning much easier.

Develop key messages

Now that you understand your audience, their interests and your interview objectives, you should create your key messages.  These are the main themes or headings for your interview content.  Plan no more than three key messages for each interview and have evidence to support them to ensure that they are credible.

Consider likely questions

Brainstorm the questions you are most likely to be asked and develop strong answers for them. Think also about the toughest questions you could be asked during the interview and plan a response.  Knowing that you can deal with the most challenging of questions provides confidence that you will succeed, come what may.

Visualise success

Go into the interview with a clear image of the final article or broadcast in your mind.  Visualise the perfect headline or the killer soundbite.  Doing so further focuses your mind on your interview objective, as well as instilling a positive frame of mind. 

Like many things in life, preparation and planning is the key to success when conducting a media interview.  Consider the five areas above and you will be well placed to succeed in the media hotseat.

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