It’s one thing to put together that stellar press release and pitch it to the media, but what about surviving the media interview?

In the post I tackle preparing for a media interview, which involves:

Know your message

What is the message you need to get across to the media? Work on having one key message and then three supporting points to back up that main idea.

The key message is your hook. The supporting points are what keep you on track during an interview. It gives you something to come back to.

But it doesn’t stop there. You also need sound bites or golden quotes, as we called them in the newspaper industry. They are those quatoable quotes or tweetable tweets that a journalist can’t help but quote word for word.

You can learn more about developing sound bites in Publicity Alchemy.

Know your interviewer and the media company

You need to ensure the story you’re sharing and the way you share the story is aligned with the media company you’re appearing in. You don’t want to go into a 2 minute radio interview with a long story that’s more suited to a long Sunday newspaper read.

You may even change the way you share your information based on the journalist or media company too. Where one might be a relaxed light-hearted TV interview, the next might be a more formal and serious radio interview.

Determine how you will tell your story

What is the best way for you to tell your story? Often, we can want to create a story that we can share in differnet formats. The story can be shared in a 30-second bite or it might be shared over a half an hour story.

Make sure you can adapt your story so it can easily be applied to the interview.

Are there certain things you want to share and others you’d prefer to leave out?

Find out how long you have to tell it

A little along the same lines, but you want to ensure you know how long you have to tell a story. There’s nothing worse than getting part way through your story and the interview is over.

If you’d like to learn more, you can also find the top media interview tips you need to know before opening your mouth.

Preparing for a media interview is the best way to prevent things going wrong on the day.

Yes, being interviewed by a journalist can be incredibly daunting. There’s always that fear you’ll say something embarrassing or project the wrong image. Being prepared is key.

A case in point was when The Wiggles were unprepared for an interview and appeared to come off worse for wear when popular member Sam departed the group.

What do you need to know to ensure you’re fully prepared for a media interview?

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