Yes you are the Principal of the college, or the Head of Marketing, or the CEO of the firm, but even with the title and all the responsibility that goes with it, you are not expected to know everything during a media interview.
If you crowd your head with all the facts and figures beforehand, terrified that you will be caught out, you will not be ‘in the moment’ in studio, or mindful enough to make the most of the opportunity.
The journalist is not an examiner and she is not testing you. All she is doing is trying to make you interesting to keep her listeners tuned in, or keep her readers going to the end of the article.
Journalists are not out to get you. They are out to get the story.
So if you are honest, interesting and engaging, they won’t have to get out the spade and start digging, nor will they become argumentative or difficult. You will have made their job easier by giving up good solid material that is interesting for the listener, viewer or reader. Media training might help you formulate interesting, concise messages and work on your delivery.
The alternative is to be flat, boring and evasive, and then to have the interest extracted out of you by a clever, probing journalist, in the same way a dentist uses those noisy instruments. The choice is yours!
From: Speak Now. Communicate Well in the Workplace
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