13 More Media Tips for Working with the Media

Posted on September 9th, 2007.

As promised here are the rest of the tips from media trainer Ann Convery.

1. No one will ask you the right questions – your job is to help the media do their job, and then wrap your message around their questions. Learn the art of the segue.

2. Speak in plain English, not jargon and do not use abstract words. Use stories instead. Doctors often have trouble speaking in anecdotes, as they are trained to speak in data.

3. Have at least eight fascinating, little-known facts from your book or business that you can talk about (Use Google. Everyone else does.) This will stir curiosity in your audience and help them remember you.

4. The average TV news story is 90 seconds. You probably need more than 56 or even 285 words to tell your story. But if you can’t explain the essence of your story in 30 seconds to a minute, chances are reporters won’t be interested. Get to the point.

5. What if you are ambushed on air ? Have a clear message, and keep your boundaries. Take the high road – repeat your mission statement, the one that is closest to your values. Remember that this ambush is for the audience’s entertainment, don’t take it personally.

6. You don’t have to answer every part of every question. You don’t have to answer anything that makes you uncomfortable. Answer whatever you can and learn to segue to one of your three main points — “That’s interesting, but what’s more important…”

7. Don’t use unhearable words. “Great, fantastic, safe and effective, good, better, nice.” Don’t tell. Show.

8. Drink warm water before the interview to loosen your vocal chords. Don’t drink caffeine or anything cold.

9. Don’t just “be yourself”. You may have 160 seconds to market the best self you’ve got. This is a brilliantly disguised sales pitch. You want yourself, polished, presentable, and practiced. This is not a venue for personal self-expression; it’s professional presentation time.

10. Warm up. It takes most people at least 10 minutes to warm up. If you have only a 3-5 minute interview, you want to practice until you are warmed-up in ten seconds. Talking and laughing with people, and especially putting others at ease, will do it.

11. Passion: Why are you there? Because you want to make money or sell books? Probably. But try this motivator instead: You have a mission. You want the public to know the truth! Having a mission will make you come across like a dynamic expert whom the public can trust, rather than a talking head.

12. If you’re shy and you can’t believe in yourself that much in front of strangers and a microphone, believe in your story, or your product, or your message. Can you help people? Can you make their lives better? Then let us have it!

13. It’s not a joke to reduce your life’s work to a series of sound bites, it’s brilliant media. You may only have 2-5 minutes. Make the most of it.