6. Beware the Hidden Sequence of Questions
Few really good reporters are going to come right out and ask you a question they know you won’t answer. For example, “What will your revenues be next year?” or “What are your growth projections for the coming fiscal year?” No one in their right mind at either a private or public company is going to answer those straight up. To get around this some experienced writers will get to the bottom of this through a series of questions they ask in between a bunch of unrelated questions. They might ask, for example, about your distribution systems and supply chain partners and want to know how many you have. A little later, after several unrelated questions, they may ask about field quotas for the various regions. More time passes and they may ask something like this, “I suppose like most companies, you impose huge quota increases year over year?” Few CEOs will let that go because how do you keep the sales reps you have, and get new ones, if the word on the street is that quotas go through the roof every year. Anyway, you see where this is going, right? With enough data points, a good writer can connect the dots and get to some fairly reasonable estimates… and will have your spokesperson’s own words in support of the estimates.
7. Give the Overwhelmed Reporter a Gracious Way to Admit to Utter Confusion
At anytime, but especially if a reporter’s eyes start to glaze over, train your spokespeople to say something like, “Am I making any sense here?” or “Have I been clear on this point?” You do this because in my experience reporters, especially new ones, are reluctant to admit they don’t know what in the world you’re saying. By asking if you have been clear, you put the responsibility for the confusion back on you rather than them. It is much easier for a reporter to say you haven’t been clear than to say he or she isn’t getting it.
8. Take a Few Minutes Getting to Know the Reporter and Gauge What They Know
First of all, as much as you’re trying to sell a news story to a reporter, you’re trying to form a relationship on some level that may prove useful in the future. Plus, people like it when others show an interest in who they are as people. You may not always think so, but reporters are people, too. So spending a couple of minutes up front in conversation unrelated to your news is useful. Ask how they got in to the business. Ask them if they like it. Ask them where they trained. Ask them any appropriate question that helps you know them better. Then, at the very start of the Q&A with them, you should have the first Q and it should be: How familiar are you with our company/product/service, etc. Their answer will help you keep from talking down to them or talking way over their heads. One last tip in this regard: you should read anything you can get your hands on of recent vintage from the reporter. Reading what they’ve written will illuminate their style, depth, intelligence, and sometimes even some biases they may have. Yes, reporters have biases. It is just that some show them and some don’t. It is best to know that in advance.
9. Take Notes
Here’s a low-tech suggestion with a high-value return. During media interviews, someone should be in the room with your spokesperson whether they are meeting a reporter face-to-face or over the phone. The reasons for this is different in each case. Reporters won’t like me saying this, but in face-to-face meetings, if someone else is taking notes like they are, it has been my experience the reporter takes better, more careful notes, too. Well, I can’t actually know that because you shouldn’t really try reading a reporter’s notes. I guess I’m saying that interview outcomes have been better in general when I’ve taken notes during an interview with my spokespeople. I’ve never had a reporter object to this practice. Even if you’re hearing your spokesperson saying the same thing over and over in repetitive interviews, take notes. For phone calls, the reason you take notes is because the actual spokesperson probably won’t and it is very hard after the fact to remember every question and answer. Your spokesperson is also typically so focused on saying the right thing, he or she won’t always be sure how the interview went. With good notes, even if you only heard one side of the conversation, you can review the answers and fine tune them.
10. Know Who You’re Talking To and Who Their Audience Is
This may seem obvious but it is in here because it happens too often. Your spokesperson needs to know, and use, the correct name of the writer and should be aware of that writer’s chief audience. You can’t change your basic news story from interview to interview, of course, but you can lead with a different emphasis in each interview. For example, if you’re talking to a reporter from a consumer magazine, lead with the consumer implications of your news. If it is a business daily, lead with the business implications. It is even OK to say something such as, “Given your audience of consumers, your chief interest in this news will probably be that…” This takes some practice and some advance thinking. Too many spokespeople want to know what the one pitch is and they want to give it the same way, with the same emphasis, to everyone. You’ll get better results if you tailor your delivery a bit to reflect the reporter’s interest in his or her primary audience.