Interviews are the place where you can judge a person’s eligibility for the task, he/she is perfect for the job. Many times, organisations will choose a spokesperson based on their experience. But being an expert in a field does not always translate to delivering a great media interview. If you are not prepared to face an interview, even a seasoned veteran in his field can quickly tank an interview.
Enrolling in one of the best marketing courses can set you on the right path when it comes to face interviews. And here are some more ways in which you can improve your interview skills:
1. Know the audience:
Learn more about the reporters’ style and interests by reading past articles and stories they have done for their publication. If they get technical, you will know that it would be okay to use more advanced vocabulary based on your industry. If they seem to reference more data from the past, educate yourself with it. Referencing the reporters’ past article from a publication will show that you have come prepared for the interview. This exudes a great first impression!
2. Practice key messages:
Jumping into an interview and directly answering the questions without considering what the audience wants to know would be a bad idea. This is where you should be working with your public relations team, which will help you identify two or three key messages that you should be communicating to the audience through the interview. Best marketing courses can help you in delivering your key messages.
3. Prepping beforehand:
Once you have defined the key messages you will be communicating through the interview, prepare a list of potential questions the reporter might ask you. When setting up the interview, you or your public relations team can get in touch with the reporter to understand the likely questions they might be asking during the interview. With this list of questions, you can have definite answers for them. This is a great opportunity to see where you can weave in your key messages, so all the answers run straight back to your communications objective. Also, make sure your answers are short and to-the-point. Long answers might result in key messages getting lost in translation. A management course can help you beforehand with your preps
4. Prepare for the worst:
It is crucial to stay prepared for the questions that you are likely to be asked by the reporter during the interview. But it also essential to stay ready to face the worst. Think about the topics or questions that you really do not want to talk about or those which you do not have an answer for. Therefore, stay prepared for these questions!
5. How to bridge back when the reporter goes off-topic?
It would be smart if you are prepared to bring the topic right back to your key messages in cases where the reporter goes off-tangent with your interview. Bringing back the interview to the main discussion can create a good rapport with the reporter.
Amazing interviewing skills takes practice. Get your organisation’s spokesperson ready for the interview with management courses. These courses can get you right on track with your messages, and methods for speaking in front of an audience. LBTC’s courses can help you represent your organisation correctly in front of an audience. Visit our website to learn more.
Leave a Reply