When you’re dealing with the media, having a strong, coherent message is vital. If you’re responding to a problem and trying to get your stance across, it can be difficult when there are lots of competing views, voices and arguments being bandied around.
Media Training is Important
While some people advocate having a set of three or four key messages ready to go, you must focus on what is important for your business. It’s much better to have one powerful message that resonates with the public rather than watering everything down by saying too much and throwing too many ideas into the mix.
What you need to consider is the nature of the interview or engagement that you are undertaking. If it’s a radio or television interview, you may have only a minute and a half to get your point of view across and nail your message.
That’s why it’s important to understand what your most powerful message is and to stick with that.
You will want to repeat that message more than once during your interview. If there is time, you need to get it in at the beginning, reiterate it during your conversation and, hopefully, get another airing for it close to the end so that the audience knows implicitly what you are trying to say.
Be Clear About Who You Are Talking To
Putting together the right messaging means that you must have an understanding of who you are talking to.
Contrary to popular belief, this is not the journalist you are being interviewed by. It’s the people watching the news or listening to the radio. Different outlets tend to have different demographics. It’s critical to understand, whether they are predominately male or female, what age they are, what sort of business they are in and so on.
Simplicity is Best
You don’t want to overcomplicate your messaging, whatever your audience looks like or thinks. Simple, straight-to-the-point messages tend to be remembered more easily. Refrain from over-explaining or using industry or corporate language that is likely to confuse.
A strong message should be relatively short, lasting no more than 15 seconds and should be tailored to the person who is delivering it. We all have different ways of imparting information and it’s critical to not be tied into a particular set of words or tone but to have some flexibility.
Adding Stories to Your Key Message
While you may have a short message that you want to get across, you can also make it more powerful by adding an example as a way of explanation. The more ‘human’ this is the better as it helps build a connection with the audience. For example, if you’re talking about a new product or service, you can tell the story of how it helped someone and made a difference in their life.
Statistics and facts and figures also help to substantiate a message and can make things clearer for an audience.
Factor in the Push Backs
Finally, however great your message is, there are likely to be several areas where a skilled interviewer can push back and explore negatives. It’s important to be aware of these and to have your answers ready – planning for the negatives ensures that you can stay on message and avoid being led by the journalist.