(published in the New Zealand Herald 29 April 2004)
After speaking in public, talking to the media is one of people's greatest fears. Many otherwise well performing managers and professionals stumble and fail, but success is easier if you follow some simple rules.

The first and greatest mistake is to think that you have to talk to a reporter because one calls you for comment, or asks you to appear on a programme.

Flattered - perhaps. Obliged? No.

There may be a down side in saying no, but yes doesn't have to be the automatic response. Pause, think, call back if necessary.

Then try this. Ask what kind of opportunity is this for me and my organization. Ask, what can I usefully say on this occasion, through this medium, and to the audience who will hear, see or read what I say. If the opportunity doesn't measure up, say no. Say it politely and firmly, but say no.

If the opportunity does measure up, then ask whether you are the right person to say those things. Ask also who else will be in the article, or taking part in the programme. What is the angle of the story or the approach of the programme? (If you don't know - find out).

Only if overall the positives outweigh the negatives should you say yes. Otherwise why risk it?

I put two simple questions to ten current journalists and communications advisers recently.

I asked what was the most common mistake people made when they are being interviewed?

The journalists talked of dishonesty, evasion, lies, and being deceptive. The communications people talked of lack of preparation.

Common faults were:

Not understanding what the interview is about. To go into an interview without asking questions first, full of bravado that you can wing it can spell disaster, commented a TV journalist.
Other journalists referred to "attempted evasion, closely followed by use of bureaucratic jargon or management talk", and being "misleading, obfuscating, failing to give a straight answer, lying."
An interview is an opportunity to say something. Your comments may inform, entertain, rebut another point of view, shift the ground on an issue, promote a person, brand, opinion or product, any of those things. But your participation has to aim to achieve something for you: otherwise why do it?
To prepare properly: ask what is the one single point that you want to get across. Focus on that, write it down and rewrite it until you can say convincingly and naturally. (And assemble the facts to support it).
As Jim Hacker famously said on Yes Prime Minister, "if you have nothing to say, say nothing. Better still have something to say and say it, no matter what they ask." An overstatement, but valid.

So what marks someone out as being good in media interviews? The journalists said:

someone who projects as open, accessible and out-going is going to be well received.
having a clear message, with facts and figures to back it up, but more importantly honesty.
A good interviewee, one adviser said, is "in command of their subject, will be able to translate complex issues into very simple language that is accessible to any audience. If it's a TV interview the person needs to look the part. "

Electronic reporters refer to interviewees as 'talent'. 'Good talent' often earns a place in a news story because he or she adds colour, robust comment or in-depth knowledge. 'Poor talent', no matter how knowledgeable, is often avoided or cut.

So assess the opportunity, prepare properly and perform strongly. Then you communicate with conviction and credibility.

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