Everyone wants to feel prepared when being interviewed by the media, and preparation is a positive action clients can take. I work with founders who know what they do well and are confident in describing their work, so what exactly is needed for someone to feel ready to talk to the media, and why? What is the purpose of the hundreds of hours of formal media training some professionals undergo, and are these practices advisable? If not, what are the alternatives?
Authenticity
When we sound rehearsed, it’s clear to the listener. “It sounds like you’re reading from a script sometimes,” I’ve even heard friends say to me when I turn to a canned response in my brain to answer a question about my work. No one wants to listen to a generic phrase or story pre-created for every moment. Referring to a pre-written blurb when we speak takes us away from being present with the human with whom we are building a relationship, whether a friend, family member, or media member. Ultimately, the media want to learn what we do, distill the information for their audience, build a relationship with us, and understand who we are and why we operate. If we are truthful and our words resonate, they will be won over without carefully crafted talking points.
Additionally, the most inspiring discoveries happen in rich dialogue when we discuss the times in our lives when we felt a certain way or experienced an “aha” moment and decided to make a change that led to the start of our organization. Personal narratives are deep, nuanced, and often the best storytelling elements, and we don’t need to prepare as we already lived these experiences.
All that is required is for us to be open. Sharing mental health stories is a trend among founders today, of how they entered the wellness space because they were burned out or why they started a psychedelic therapy company as plant medicine helped them overcome PTSD. There is no better way to build compassion and empathy with a journalist than to express our why, which comes from within.
Talking Points
Is it helpful to prepare talking points? We can enter a media interview with our top three topics to share, whether it’s our most recent product news or the favorite aspects of how our organization is making a difference. Still, we will not know what the journalist wants to hear for the particular angle they believe will be compelling. Ultimately, if we want to be covered in an overall positive light, the person writing about us needs to trust us. If they ask a specific question, and we pivot their query to our planned speeches, that action hurts their trust in us. Or, if this happens in a televised manner on a TV show or podcast, the audience will notice that we did not honor the question, which may also damage their confidence.
A favorable story about us or our work aims not just for awareness-building so that people hear our brand name but for people to concur that we are the go-to, trusted resource with whom they should engage. Ironically, what we think people want to hear could impact us in the opposite direction if we are known to evade questions, as they will wonder whether we have something to hide. Instead, I encourage bringing a few exciting ideas of what to share—perhaps a unique anecdote about what inspired the start of our organization that we haven’t discussed before or items we will launch in the coming months—but let’s be fully prepared to let those go and follow the conversation. The journalist is an expert at creating an engaging dialog, and if people are fascinated by what we have to say, the narrative will be strong, and everyone will be pleased with the result.
Mindset & Trust
The need to feel prepared comes from a lack of trust in ourselves (to say the right thing at the right moment), the person interviewing us (they could spin what we say), and the reader (to make the right choice of whether to engage after they absorb the information). The “gotcha!” interview can happen, but it’s rare and mostly found with investigative journalists. More common is the dual narrative, which is sharing the pros and cons of our work. For example, my client Nushama offers ketamine therapy, which has benefits for people right for treatment and risks for those for whom it’s unsafe. The journalist must report on all sides of the story, which we want so the reader feels a complete, fair account of information to choose from for themselves. If it’s a 100% glowing story, exclusively sharing the upsides, it could sound too good to be true. Then we achieve the opposite of what we wanted as we have already lost the reader, and they are back on Google or asking friends for alternative options. Ultimately, we don’t want what feels like an ad or promotional piece, but we do want a net-positive story.
The best way to embrace trust is to look at why we lack it in the first place, and that’s a better topic to discuss with our mental health providers, and it is the training PR professionals lack. Over the years, I have sent clients challenged with anxiety to those who can help us get more comfortable with the media — those practitioners have been therapists. Of course, if our interview is tomorrow and we don’t have time to examine these issues more deeply, I encourage meditation or breathwork, even if it’s just 20 minutes prior. Walking into a meeting with the media, feeling more grounded, and appearing less anxious already helps achieve a calm and confident mindset, allowing someone who just met us more likely to believe what we have to say.
Translation Communication
On a high level, one other way to be in a state of readiness is to keep our listeners in mind. When we accept a media interview, multiple stakeholders listen: the journalist, their colleagues, and their readers, listeners, or viewers. The interview journalists shape the story by asking questions they believe their audience wants to know. They will next share the story they edit, whether written or recorded, with their editors or producers, who play a part in whether the interview is published, in what section of their platform it will live, and for which demographics. They need to agree this piece is a fit for their viewers as a tool to inform, intrigue, or entertain. Our role is to be an educator about the topics we speak about with the goal of resonating.
For example, I represent lawyers Allen Bromberger and Carly Leinheiser. While legal subjects are not my specialty, they discuss social and environmental business structures with the media in a way that answers what they and their readers want to know, translating legal terminology for the reader, which is usually a social venture business owner—they understand this listener because they have clients with whom they communicate daily, offering opportunities to practice. They also give presentations to other lawyers without media present, enabling them to use more sophisticated terminology. Knowing their audiences, they capture and hold attention.
Common Questions
Hard-nosed journalists will not share interview questions in advance, carrying forward the industry’s history of ethics. While others, like podcasters, might offer their interview outline beforehand, it’s just a starting point to the conversation that may change. While we can never be certain where the exchange will traverse, I find the best way to make people feel prepared is to walk them through commonly asked questions from the media.
When I work with founders, these questions often follow an arc, from what inspired us to start our organization to how our products or services work and the transformation that happens. This information is intuitive to most founders, and if we are in a relaxed, confident frame of mind, we will tell a good story and be happy with what is translated to the audience.
These common questions are not much different from what friends, family, and colleagues ask, so we have had plenty of practice. The style of practicing is one I encourage—natural and comfortable with people we know and already engage. This approach is different from media training, which involves a rehearsed tone, anticipating questions and answers, and imposing a rigid framework from the moment someone begins an exchange with us. Media training can share tactics to evade a question or state our key messages, but we want to avoid a style that feels contrived, and we cannot control the cuts an editorial team makes if we don’t at least try to give them what they asked for. It’s like dating—a first date could feel like an interview. Still, it’s more enjoyable when we forget we just met, get lost in the moment, release expectations, be open with our responses, and start to build an authentic relationship.