162589 Resource 149173 155860 149257 1174350178763 1174407881716 Controlled Small Business Public Relations: Presenting Yourself to the Media, Part 3

Interview tips for talking with a reporter in order to represent yourself and your company professionally

So you’ve landed an important interview with a reporter, you’ve prepared yourself as much as possible, and the big day arrives. Here are some tips to ponder as you participate in the interview itself: Make it interesting. Try to make your answers or explanations short and to the point, but memorable. Think of ways to express yourself that might make great quotes. Don’t be too wordy or stray from the topic, and try to include appropriate anecdotes to illustrate your points. Sound like an authority, not a sale rep. You’ll be a big turn-off if you start sounding like a cheesy salesperson. Most likely the reporter will immediately sense that you’re seeking publicity and hesitate to use your information. Being a confident and informative source of information will be sufficient for your publicity needs. Keep your cool. Even if the conversation gets heated or confrontational, never lose your temper. Remain calm, polite and diplomatic. If you are asked a difficult or challenging question, you can buy time and diffuse the tension by saying, “John, that is a really good question, and …” This also compliments the reporter, which may help calm both of you down. Stay away from off-the-record. Even though saying, “Is this off the record?” sounds great in the movies, most reporters will take the approach that everything shared during the interview is on record. Even if a reporter assures you that something is confidential, there is no signed document that can hold them to their word. Rest assured, most reporters are trust-worthy and will uphold confidentiality, but never take it for granted, and don’t say or share anything that you wouldn’t want to be made public. If you practice your responses in advance, and prepare as much as you can for your interview, chances are the experience will be a positive one for both you and the image of your company. 10 application/xml false interview tips public relations small business small business public relations talking with a reporter Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30; .NET CLR 1.1.4322) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 cmalmstrom false true false false true 189572 false false true false false false true 149173 blog blogsite/FreedomVoice/web