If you are going to be interviewed by the media you must be believable
Steve Hemsley
MD at soft skills experts Hendrix Training, Journalist, Media Trainer, Actor, Podcast Presenter, Director S&A Publishing (Care Home Management magazine)
I was media training a lovely new European Parliament MEP in early July, and it reminded me that whenever I coach a politician, they do tend to view interviews differently to others.
They obviously know their stuff – well most of the time – but they can be unwilling or uncomfortable about telling a detailed story to back up the points they are making.
My MEP was a complete star and she soon relaxed and realised that storytelling actually made the interview easier.
Yet she is in the minority.
Many politicians are stuck in the old way of doing things. They still love the soundbite repetition which irritates their audience (voters) and often means they fail to land their real message and ultimately persuade.
Remember: ‘Strong and Stable’. Or ‘For the Many Not the Few’? Enough said.
These are slogans and not messages. They don’t tell the audience what someone actually means when they say such phrases.
When I am coaching potential media spokespeople, I work with them on the Why we should all care about what they are saying. Also, How they will do it and How what they do is different from their competitors.
Ultimately what makes them special and can they make us BELIEVE them?
Believability comes by sharing evidence and real examples.
These could be facts and figures or case studies. These proof points stop the audience, whether the reader, listener or viewer from thinking negatively that “Well they would say that wouldn’t they?”
It is not difficult to be believable. It comes from adequately preparing for any interaction with a journalist and not just answering questions with whatever comes to mind.
Of course, as an expert in your subject you must trust your knowledge and experience because this helps with confidence and control in an interview. But only with robust preparation will you have the words and evidence to win people over and meet your objective. And that is key. Why are you doing the media interview?
If the journalist does not believe you, the interview and the questioning will get more difficult, while the audience will not engage with you.
Believe me.
For more information on the media training course please email: [email protected] or visit www.hendrixtraining.com