Media Training Podcast

Is it okay to say “I don’t know” in a media interview? Well, the short answer is yes, but it doesn’t happen very often. Rather than saying, I don’t know, it’s usually a good idea just to bridge onto something you do want to discuss. So you might say, that’s a good question, I don’t have an answer right now. But what I can tell you is (my key messages). This way, you’re playing the interview game. Interviews are pretend conversations where a casual chat happens in front of tens of thousands or millions of people on air. Saying you…

We’re discussing why you should avoid repeating negative questions in media interviews. Now, I think the best way to illustrate this is with perhaps the number one example of how to get this wrong. It is very old, but it’s a brilliant example, so apologies to anyone under the age of 65. I’ll let you Google the circumstances, but roughly speaking, in 1973, the then US President Richard Nixon was at the height of the Watergate scandal, and he said this in his defence: Example: Nixon – I’m not a crook – 1973 Richard Nixon: “And want to say this…

How to look and sound relaxed in a media interview, performance tips. First up, performance tip No.1 is don’t speak too fast. This is a common problem and it’s completely understandable. You’ll be highly adrenalised especially if you are new to performing on TV, radio or podcasts. Many people feel like they’ve got to fill airtime and get the whole experience over as soon as possible. Some people gabble, hardly take a breath and just keep going. From a performance aspect, this leaves the impression that you are very nervous, and you probably are! Slowing your delivery slightly, taking a…

5 tips for profile interviews in the media. Profile interviews are generally longer and can focus on your life, career, beliefs, achievements, and personality. They aim to give the audience a deeper understanding of who you really are. Now, I’m doing this episode because MJ, a model based in the USA, has been in touch. She sent me a fashion magazine profile interview she appeared in called “The State of Plus Size Fashion.” There’s a link in the show notes. MJ’s issue was that she felt the interview was just a bit meh—it didn’t do her justice. She asked me…

Media Interviews: The Unwritten Rules. We are discussing the unwritten rules of appearing in the media, specifically TV and radio news. But a lot of this advice also extends to other media, print, online, and podcasts. Right, let’s get into it. Unwritten rule No. 1: You won’t get the questions in advance What? That doesn’t seem fair. Why does this happen? Well, there are a couple of reasons. Journalists prefer not to share interview questions beforehand because it’s 100% likely that you’ll over-rehearse your answers, possibly even script them in advance, and that will look and sound terrible on air.…

Public apologies, how to say sorry in the media and mean it. If you are here because you’re a company executive with a serious cock-up on your hand, buckle up! In the next 10 minutes, I’m going to walk you through how to say sorry and mean it. How to write a media apology: The fine line between expressing regret and apologising When planning an apology firstly, ask yourself: Do I need to express regret, or do I need to apologise? Now this may sound like the same thing, but being sorry about something and actually apologising are very different.…

Understanding off-the-record. What do these phrases mean and when should you use them: -Off-the-record -This is for background -This is for guidance Let’s get started with the term everyone’s heard but rarely fully understands – and that is off-the-record. What does off-the-record mean? In my 25 years as a journalist, I rarely encountered this and rarely agreed to it. Reason coming up. So, what does it mean? Well, the common belief is it means, “Let me tell you a story, but you didn’t hear it from me.” Strictly speaking, that’s not the case. Here’s how the Associated Press news agency…

What are key messages in the media? Key messages are designed to be concise and clear, They’ll include the most important points for your audience to remember. And they’re designed to engage your audience, influence their thoughts, and motivate action. What should be left out of key media messaging? Let’s kick off by talking about stuff that shouldn’t go in your key messaging. Here’s my brief and incomplete list of elements to avoid: Excessive Details: Avoid cluttering your message with too much information, phone numbers, addresses, or complex technical details. That’s just distracting. Repetition of your business name: Yes, reinforcing…

Give your leader feedback after a media interview. Effectively provide feedback to senior leaders after interviews on TV, radio and podcasts. Navigating the challenges of giving feedback after a media interview Ok, if you are a PR or Comms professional I know this is a headache. Giving constructive or mildly critical feedback to your CEO or someone more senior is a common pain point. It may be you don’t have the skills or confidence to tackle these issues head-on. Often you’ll have leaders who are quite set in their ways when it comes to media appearances. Maybe they take your…

Why avoid corporate speak and office jargon in media interviews? Corporate speak won’t make you sound clever on air it’ll alienate the audience, be a switch off and be a waste of a journalist’s time. Remember, in your organisation, chances are that you spend most of your time with a specific type of person. For example, when I worked for the BBC, many of my colleagues were white, middle class and university-educated. But when you are on-air you’re not speaking to your peers, you’re speaking to a mass audience made up of a diverse group of people from all sorts…

Media interview preparation checklist. Let’s create a media interview preparation checklist. Sharpen your pencil. This is for you if you’ve been invited on TV, Radio or a podcast. It’ll help you get your ducks in a row before you appear on air. 1. Research the media outlet and journalist. Before you go into that interview, it’s crucial to do a bit of digging. Who’s this journalist and what’s their outlet all about? So, if they’re from the BBC, are they from a specific show? Are they a national or regional reporter? Understanding this really shapes how you’ll prepare. A lot…

How to create a founders’ origin story. step-by-step detail how you can create your own founders’ narrative using a basic rags-to-riches story structure. Founders’ stories are uber popular, CEO interviews take up a huge amount of podcast real estate. You’ll hear them on podcasts like How I Built This with Guy Raz and radio shows including Desert Island Disks. But if you’re a founder or the founder’s marketing & PR department why should you consider preparing and telling your story? Well a compelling, one-hour-long podcast interview about how you made it, will be an enduring record. It’s a narrative from…

In this episode, practical techniques and strategies for effectively managing difficult interviews. Also, how to handle combative interviewing styles, identify and respond to loaded questions, and maintain your composure under pressure. Whatever you taste in TV news these sort of hard-hitting interviews are seen as ratings grabbers by the broadcasters. They’ll find an issue people like to argue about, be it immigration, transgender equality, or emissions charges for city centres, and we’re off to the races. You’ll witness hostile or negative questioning on talk-based radio and TV shows and magazine news programmes. Unusually for a former journalist, I find this…

In this episodes simple techniques to build trust and sound genuine while appearing on TV, Radio or podcasts. The number one bit of advice you usually hear about being authentic in the media is: “Just be yourself.” But what if yourself isn’t great? The challenge of authenticity in media interviews “Just being yourself” is an issue for many of us because let’s face it, we’ve all got aspects of ourselves we’d really rather not broadcast. Also, when you are live on air, or being interviewed on TV, Radio or even a podcast. It’s nerve-wracking. Your palms are sweaty. Adrenaline is…

Crisis Management: How to write a holding statement. In this episode about crisis comms communication, how to craft an effective holding statement for the media. The episode includes a practical scenario to test your skills. What are crisis comms holding statements? They’re a brief initial response from your organisation. A first statement that needs to be issued quickly when things go sideways for your organisation. This might be some sort of accident, financial issues, or other wrongdoing, basically, a PR crisis. The importance of crisis comms holding statements Now before we get into this, Crisis Comms is a big topic;…

How to create a successful media soundbite. We’re talking about soundbites. What are they? Well, you hear them in news headlines on TV, in radio news bulletins, and in news reports. They’re short, punchy snippets of speech that really grab your attention and capture the essence of an idea or story in a memorable way. Soundbites are brief, and they’re often funny. Now, politicians and public figures try to use them to get a key message understood. The skill really in soundbites is that they often encapsulate complex ideas in a simple yet appealing manner. So, in short, soundbites are…

Free press release template download (Word). In this guide, we will work through writing press releases. Listen to the podcast audio guide and download the FREE press release template. Maybe you’re new to the idea of sending a press release, or your business doesn’t have a PR firm or PR department, but you’ve got great news to share. You’re in exactly the right place. Download the press release template To get started, Download the FREE press release template which I’ll discuss in this episode. What is a press release? Before we start writing our press release, let’s talk about what…

How do you handle a media question you don’t want to answer? Today we’re going to discuss how to answer difficult questions from the media. This is probably the number one question that is Googled by people who’ve just put the phone down after speaking to a journalist and agreeing to appear on-air. “Oh no. I’m gonna be on TV. Quick, how do I avoid saying the wrong thing?” Why do you want to avoid a media question? Before we get into how to waste everyone’s time by just avoiding answering questions on air let’s look at your motivation for…

How to use #JournoRequest to get media attention for my business. Today we’re gonna talk about how to contact journalists specifically when you’re replying to a reporter who’s put a shout-out for help online. What are #JournoRequest and #PrRequest? Now, if you aren’t familiar with online journalist requests, jump on X, formally Twitter and search for a couple of hashtags #JournoRequest and #PrRequest. Just to warn you there is all sorts of stuff on here. There are journalists from around the world from all different media, from online to TV to radio to print, asking all sorts of unusual and…

How do I prepare for a TV interview online using Zoom, Teams or Skype? You’ll have noticed that increasingly on news shows, live interviews are done online from people’s home offices. So, let’s get into how we might do these quite well. Prepare for a TV interview online – Set up the shot First things first, set up your laptop and the space around you. The space that’s going to be in the shot basically. Clear your junk Too often, people look terrible in these interviews. You’ll have seen them. The camera angle is low. It looks like it’s filming…

How to appear on a business podcast. Today we’re talking about appearing on a business podcast. But why should you or your people consider doing this? Well, where do I start? The last time I checked, there were 2.5 million podcasts globally. And there are lots of established shows covering just about every business niche and interest. Why appear on a business podcast? But you might say, why a podcast? Well, for most of us, the idea is less onerous than appearing on live TV or radio. You can share your expertise, get known, liked and trusted, tick. That’s what…

How to handle a difficult media interview. Today we’re talking about handling difficult media interviews and straight off the bat, I’m not going to “drivel on” with generic advice. I’m not going to tell you to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. I’m not going to tell you to practise your key messages. I’m not going to tell you to practise a mock interview. People are terrified of difficult media interviews and they needn’t be Yes, you can do all of those things, but let’s address the elephant in the room, people, that’s you, are terrified of media interviews and they needn’t be.…

How does the news work? The news media is an industry, its product is news stories, current affairs journalism and factual articles. Its raw materials are news events, tip-offs, press releases and information supplied by public bodies, organisations, businesses, established contacts and the public. It’s the journalists’ job to identify news stories among this flow of facts, events and information. Their skills lie in deciding what is newsworthy and then telling those stories in the most compelling way. The expectation is they should check their stories are factually accurate, legally sound, and balanced (tell both sides) before being published.…

How to prepare for your first TV interview. Don’t panic. A TV news appearance is an amazing opportunity to share your insight, knowledge and expertise. Determine the Schedule: Find out when the interview will take place to gauge your preparation time. Research the Show: Identify which show or news outlet has invited you. Watch a few episodes to understand its interview duration, question style, tone, and format.…

Why do reporters shout questions? In April 2002, I was a reporter for BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat in the UK. On assignment at Manchester airport, I shouted a question at Manchester United’s star goal scorer, David Beckham. I shouted, “David, does it hurt?”…