Learning from the pros...?: Media Interviews 101

Oral presentations? Not a problem. 20 page campaign proposals? No sweat.

But this week, when me and my fellow PR majors were asked to write a good key message and prep for our first on-camera media interview the room went suddenly quiet, oozing nervous tension.

And rightly so. Media interviews are no small undertaking – what with handling nerves, using appropriate body language, speaking clearly, remembering your key messages, and fielding difficult questions.

I went online to see how the professionals do it, and on top of the good ones, there are some really stellar bad ones too!

Lesson #1:

Where to start? I suspect the Managing Director of BT Retail knew that this was going to be a tough interview, but he made it worse with his a) poor eye contact, b) interruption, and c) nervous fidgeting (watch his feet!)

TIP: For seated interviews, try the BIBS (bums in back of seat) method mentioned in this blog which discusses the interview.

Lesson #2:

Don’t get emotional. In this clip, André Visagie, secretary general of AWB, a political group in South Africa, forgets two of the most important rules in media relations: stay calm, and remember you’re always speaking to your audience first through the reporter. Instead of politely refuting the allegations against him and then going on to deliver his key messages, he argues with the interviewer and gets pretty hostile.

Lesson #3:

Definitely something us regularly sleep-deprived CreComms should keep in mind: before an interview, get adequate sleep! (I’d really like to know, however, if the former Israeli president answered the questions correctly while nodding off! Now that would be talent.)