Thursday, November 12, 2009

Briefing spokespeople for media interviews

Spokespeople should be properly briefed before being interviewed by a journalist or any other media interviewer. The better the brief, the better equipped they will be to prepare for the interview. A good brief will give them more confidence and allow them to anticipate questions that are likely to come up.

Going in blind will put the spokesperson in a vulnerable position and experienced journalists could use this to their advantage. It could also damage the spokesperson’s credibility and put his or her company at risk.

A written brief in time to prepare

A simple written brief with bullet points will suffice, and the spokesperson should receive this in plenty of time to prepare for the interview. A proper briefing should be a prerequisite for all types of interviews, including situations where spokespeople are interviewed by the company’s PR consultant or a hired journalist for writing a press release.

The brief should include basic information such as:

The purpose of the interview.
Whether it is face-to-face or on the phone.
The topic to be discussed.
A few discussion points around the topic.
A two-sentence CV of the media interviewer.
The name of the publication or radio or TV station.
The type of article or programme.
Whether the interview is face-to-face or on the phone.
The venue, address and directions if applicable.
The time allotted for the interview.

Handling sensitive issues

The spokesperson should also be aware of any sensitive company issues that might come up during the interview, such as a pending deal, merger or acquisition, an ongoing court case, market rumours or an old skeleton in the company’s cupboard. Journalists have been known to have hidden agendas when they request interviews on a seemingly benign topic.

The brief should specify how to handle with these questions if they come up, for example with a statement like, “I am afraid our corporate policy dictates that only our CEO can discuss that,” or “That question would need to be directed to our media communications people.”

If a formal interview has been arranged by the company’s internal media liaison or communications department or by an external PR company, the person who set it up should give the spokesperson a written brief outlining the interviewer’s expectations.

Similarly, if interviews have been requested by a number of journalists, for example as a result of a news leak or market rumours, it is even more important for the spokesperson to be briefed on the situation, the type of questions that are likely to come up and how to handle them. Spokespeople should be briefed on a similar basis when preparing to address a press conference or when making a presentation to any audience that might include journalists.

Unexpected phone calls

Even when spokespeople receive an unexpected direct phone call from a journalist or radio interviewer looking for comment it will pay them to obtain a brief on the spot by establishing a few things before responding. For example, by saying something like, “So that I can give you the best value here, could you tell me which publication this is for and what type of article you are writing.”

Depending on the circumstances, it might also be useful to establish whether the journalist has spoken to or is intending to speak to anyone else on the topic. Asking questions like these will give the spokesperson time to collect his or her thoughts and respond more confidently to questions.

In addition, knowing how long the interview is likely to be, will help the spokesperson to prioritise the information he or she is imparting and be even more concise if it is a short interview.

No excuse for not being briefed

During the media training workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions I run, spokespeople often complain that they are never briefed properly for an interview. My answer to this is that if they should insist on a brief or draw one up themselves, because if they don’t do this they could jeopardise their progress with becoming a sort-after spokesperson.

CEOs and directors of small businesses that don’t have their own marketing departments or external PR companies will need to brief themselves for media interviews. In my experience, many spokespeople in this category are a lot better at this than some of those who come from bigger companies and have a marketing and PR department to support them.

Having lunch with a journalist?

Spokespeople should also be briefed when they are meeting a journalist for lunch who they have not been exposed to before. During a recent one-on-one media training session the spokesperson told me his marketing people had organised a lunch with a journalist the following day.

I asked him the purpose of the lunch and he said he had not been told, and did not know anything about the journalist or the publication. He had just been told to pitch up at the restaurant. When I asked him how he felt about this, he said he was quite nervous because he didn’t know what to expect or what the journalist expected from him.

I suggested he, his company and the journalist might achieve more out of the lunch date if he asked the person who had set up the meeting for a brief. I also suggested that if he found out more about the journalist’s publication and the topics he or she writes about beforehand, he could break the ice by showing an interest in this.

From the feedback he gave me afterwards, this tactic worked wonders, the lunch went really well and it led to a subsequent interview.

Jennigay Coetzer is a business and technology journalist with 25 years experience. She has run more than 150 media training workshops and writing skills workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions. She can be contacted on +27-(0)83-212-5754 or at: jennigay@icon.co.za. Her website address is: www.jennigay.co.za

Tiips on Media interview techniques

When being interviewed by journalists and other members of the media a good spokesperson will interact in conversational layman’s terms, listen carefully and respond directly to questions without preamble, and will not preempt the journalist’s questions.

Media training, will help spokespeople to acquire and hone the techniques that will enable them to give and get the best value in media interviews, but here are some tips to be getting on with.

Whether being interviewed by a journalist from a print publication or on radio or TV, imagine you are speaking directly to the audience. Don’t leave it to the journalist to interpret what you are saying.

This could be dangerous, especially if you don’t get the opportunity to check the article before publication. Speak clearly and deliberately slow down your pace, especially if you are a fast talker.

When interacting with print journalists don’t jump in to fill the silence gaps – they need to assimilate the information you are imparting, discard what is not useful, and take notes.
Similarly, radio listeners and TV viewers will need to be able to absorb the information being imparted, and it is difficult to do this if the spokesperson is speaking too quickly.

Portray confidence, but don’t be arrogant and don’t assume the audience has prior knowledge of the topic you are discussing. Avoid marketing speak, industry jargon, unexplained acronyms and over-descriptive words like UNIQUE.

Don’t keep punting your company’s name, and know how much time has been allotted for the interview. Don’t waffle! Those who lack content waffle - lots of words about nothing, which could result in a fragmented article.

If the media interviewer is knowledgeable about the topic being discussed, give him or her credit for this, acknowledge their comments and take the opportunity to share knowledge and ideas with them.

A knowledgeable journalist, will want to control the interview. So it is no good trying to download a pre-structured format of what you want to tell them, as if you were giving a presentation.

Those that do this run the risk of railroading their interview and could end up talking on parallel lines with the journalist - i.e. each having their own, different conversation. So go with the flow and watch out for opportunities to slip in your messages - without going into sales mode.

If the journalist is inexperienced, adopt the role of mentor and take this opportunity to educate them on the topic, without being superior or condescending. If you do this, the trainee could become a valuable media ally as he or she becomes more experienced and moves from one publication to another, as tends to happen.

Jennigay Coetzer is a business and technology journalist with 25 years experience. She has run more than 150 media training workshops and writing skills workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions. She can be contacted on +27-(0)83-212-5754 or at: jennigay@icon.co.za. Her website address is: www.jennigay.co.za

Spokesperson tips - understanding Agendas

Companies appoint spokespeople to interact with the media to build brand awareness and image, get their marketing messages across, keep the market up to date with what they are doing and how successful they are, attract new business, and encouraging customers to buy more of their products and services.

But journalists and other media interviewers have a different agenda. They are looking for information that will interest and enlighten their readers, listeners or viewers, keep them up to date with the latest news and trends and keep them coming back for more.

It is important for company spokespeople to understand these conflicting agendas, and media training will help them to do this.

Journalists are not interested in how much money your company is making or how good its products and services are, except when this information is of interest to their audience - for example when they are reporting on a listed company’s results or a new company listing.

They know their readers are looking for information that will keep them up to date with what is going on locally and globally that could affect their lifestyle or business interests, the economy, the political environment or the markets in which they operate.

Spokespeople therefore need to understand and identify with what the audience would be interested in hearing as opposed to focusing solely on what they want to tell them, when preparing for a media interview.

In essence, the media interviewer is a conduit between the spokesperson and the audience. So during an interview the spokesperson needs to imagine he or she is speaking directly to the lowest common denominator of the audience.

For example, I have a technology background, but I write articles about IT and telecommunication for a business audience. The spokespeople I interact with therefore need to speak in layman’s terms. It is not up to me to interpret their industry jargon and gobbledegook into the language my readers will understand.

When I write articles, I am looking for interesting views from spokespeople who are prepared to share knowledge and ideas that will enlighten my readers and enable them to use the information to make better decisions.

Even when discussing a new concept, product or service, readers, listeners and viewers will want answers to questions such as who it is targeted at, how it will benefit them, how it works, where it can be obtained and when? How it fits into the bigger picture of the market, whether this marks a trend, and so on. In other words, what’s in it for them to absorb this information?

This will require getting onto the audience’s wavelength as opposed to expecting them to get onto yours, which many spokespeople make the mistake of doing.

Jennigay Coetzer is a business and technology journalist with 25 years experience. She has run more than 150 media training workshops and writing skills workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions. She can be contacted on +27-(0)83-212-5754 or at: jennigay@icon.co.za.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

How to be a good media spokesperson

In 25 years as a journalist I have interviewed many hundreds of spokespeople and less than 10% were able to speak authoritatively on the topic being discussed. Many spokespeople are too wrapped up in their company, products and services and their marketing messages with little thought as to what the audience might be interested in hearing about.

In many cases they have a superficial view of bigger picture trends around the topics they are discussing and merely regurgitate what has already been said or written by others instead of digging deeper into the whys and wherefores to get a broader perspective. These individuals are typically intent on downloading their views on the journalist instead of sharing their knowledge in a two way discussion.

Good spokespeople explore trends

Sort-after media spokespeople are those who keep up to date with what is going on locally and globally in the markets in which they operate. They are knowledge seekers and explore the trends and topics on which they wish to be interviewed in the media. Skilled media spokespeople also have a high-level understanding of the economic and regulatory issues that could influence trends in their markets and how these relate to the topics on which they wish to be interviewed.

These individuals are constantly on the alert for new market developments and trends to add to their knowledge base. They hone their interview skills by attending media spokesperson training workshops or one-on-one coaching sessions. Good media spokespeople work hard to build relationships with specific journalists, they ensure they have been briefed about the expectations of the media interviewer and they spend time preparing for the interview.

Journalists and other media interviewers will be keen to enter into discussion with these individuals and will value their views. No wonder you see the same people quoted time after time in the media. With the right training, media spokespeople can have a big voice in the media, regardless of the size of company they work for.

Ego driven know-it-alls operate in a vacuum

Mediocre spokespeople are often those with big egos who think they know it all. Sometimes these individuals are subject specialists and line managers of large organisations, who appear to operate in a vacuum and their knowledge is confined to the narrow boundaries of their own divisions, products, services and day to day jobs.

In some cases these people don’t even have a high-level view of how their own company operates as a whole or its overall business objectives. Media training will equip spokespeople at all levels to give better value in an interview as opposed to flying by the seat of their pants. A bad interview will invariably lead to a disjointed article that does neither the spokesperson nor the company any favours, or will portray them badly to a radio or TV audience.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Creating an effective media policy

Interacting with the media is always a case of risk versus reward. Companies should therefore have a dynamic media policy that is aligned with its business objectives, sets out who should say what to the media and is continually updated.

Managing risk areas

When dealing with the media, risk areas include situations such as spokesperson’s comments being taken out of context, factual errors in published articles, negative speculation after a “no comment” statement or a spokesperson not being available for comment. Another risk area is journalists asking spokespeople to comment about recent market speculation or press articles about the company or a competitor.

An effective media policy should anticipate risk areas such as these and include a strategy that will equip anyone dealing with the media to handle these types of situations. This will mean getting input from all those involved to ensure their requirements are covered.

To safeguard the company to the greatest extent, a media policy should be applied at all levels of the business from top management down to the people on the switchboard and not just stuck away in an archive in the hopes that someone will refer to it.

The guidelines in the media policy should be clearly stated and enforced to ensure journalists are treated appropriately if they phone in and prevent employees from inadvertently giving away information to them. Some journalists use social engineering tactics like befriending receptionists, switchboard operators and other operational level employees to part with information.

A behavioural blueprint for spokespeople

Depending on the content of the media policy, it can provide a behavioural blueprint to ensure spokespeople are broadcasting consistent messages and do not cross certain boundaries. It will also safeguard against a spokesperson operating in one division inadvertently making controversial comments about the biggest customer or potential customer of another division.

For example, a spokesperson makes a negative statement about government to a journalist and meanwhile another division has a major government tender pending. Without strict guidelines spokespeople can also be guilty of voicing personal opinions to journalists, which are totally out of line with the company’s views.

A well thought out media policy will give spokespeople more confidence in knowing what they can and cannot say. It will also allow them to refer to corporate policy to avoid answering controversial questions without alienating the journalist.

For example: “I would love to talk to you about that Bill, but it is corporate policy not to disclose that type of information,” or “I am afraid our corporate policy dictates that our CEO is the only one permitted to speak on that subject.”

Making statements like these is better than saying “no comment”, which is like slamming the door in the journalist’s face, and it moves the responsibility to a corporate level without jeopardising the spokesperson’s relationship with the journalist.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Tips on self-publishing a book

When I wrote my first book A Perfect Press Release – or Not? I was faced with decisions about editing, publishing, distributing and publicising it. This was a wake-up call for me because as a journalist I was used to writing articles, handing them over to the editor at the newspaper and moving on to the next assignment.

So, how to get a book published?

The traditional approach

I spoke to a couple of people at reputable publishing houses, who showed interest in the book and told me how the process would work. It seemed I would hand over the manuscript and they would then be responsible for the entire process from editing to production, printing, distributing and publicising the book - at their expense.

But, this process would take about nine months – from when the book was accepted - and it meant relinquishing control over how the book turned out – including the cover design, which, being a control freak, did not suit me at all. Plus, an author friend of mine said the publisher takes most of the profits.

I had also recently received a book to review that had been published by a well know publishing house. It was so badly put together, that the lines of print were sloping upwards, the print was small and densely crammed onto the pages and the cover had started peeling off before I had read it.

Exploring alternatives

So I did some research on self-publishing and spoke to a local consultant who specialises in this area. One of the most valuable things she told me was: “If you know there is a market for your book, you should self-publish it.” She then told me she would handle the production process, including the printing, and would charge me R150 a copy.

As this was a 107 page book that needed to be affordable to as many people as possible and I was planning on making a profit myself, this did not appeal to me. Plus I would still have to handle the distribution and marketing of the book myself, at additional cost.

I paid the consultant for her time and walked away with some good tips about what can go wrong during the production process. Confident that there was a market for my book and having looked at my finances I decided to tackle the publishing process myself.

The self-publishing process

The first step was to get an ISBN number for the book from the National Library, where I found a really helpful lady, Margaret Kabido, who issued me with this on the spot. I then approached my old Business Day surveys editor Gordon Amos, who is now a freelancer, to handle the editing of the book because I knew he would suggest improvements instead of being prescriptive and was always open to debate.

A marketing strategist friend then introduced me to the idDigital design and DTP studio, which had previous experience with books and its prices were reasonable. She also introduced me to her printer consultant Mike Eiserman of Taringa Press, who finds the best printer to do the job at the best price without costing you any more and manages the process – what a win!

For 1000 copies of the book it cost me less than R30 a copy (ex VAT), bearing in mind that half the quantity would have cost almost double that price per copy, and the more copies printed in a run the cheaper it gets. My total set up cost was about R50,000, including the printing of the first batch of 1000 books.

Potential production pitfalls

During the editing process, formatting problems can occur when the author is using a different version of a word processing application to the editor. So it is best to create the copy in plain text. Formatting problems can also happen during production, and the content needs to be checked each time the DTP studio produces another proof to ensure no gremlins have crept in – like missing copy, pages or page numbers. I must have checked the content of A Perfect Press Release – or Not? 20 times or more.

Then when the PDF file of the book goes to the printer, proofs have to be checked again.

Being a bit of a control freak, I insisted on checking a proof after the final print run of the 1000 books, but before they went for binding. It is a good job I did, because the first few pages were fine, but the ink became fainter and fainter with every page after that.

On investigation, it appeared someone had forgotten to top up the ink before the run and the printer had to do the print run again at its own expense – all organised by the print consultant. If I had signed off the previous proof, I would have footed the bill for this.

The fact that the cover design and the DTP was done by the same team turned out to be a major win because, as I had been warned by the self-publishing consultant, the fitting of the content into the cover is one of the areas that is prone to error.

Another potential pitfall is not to forget to get the design studio to produce a barcode containing the ISBN number of the book, which needs to be included on the back cover for the bookstores to scan when they sell the book.

Distribution

I initially decided to sell the book off my website and only later get it into the shops.

So I set up a website, applied for an online merchants account with Standard Bank and set up a payment gateway through MWEB SafeShop, with an automated link to the Internet Express courier service. But I discovered that many people don’t like to pay online with a credit card and kept getting requests to pay by electronic transfer, which could not be handled by the payment gateway, and others wanted to collect the book and pay cash.

Getting the book into the shops was the only answer, although easier said than done.

With Exclusive Books, each store makes its own decisions about which books to order and the managers don’t like talking directly to authors, as I soon found out. So I spoke to someone in the distribution department at Exclusive head office, who told me I needed a distributor and sent me a list of names.

I approached the one that had the best website, PSD Promotions, which turned out to be a good choice because A Perfect Press Release – or Not? is now available in about 40 bookstores around the country. PSD carries stock, takes 60% of the selling price of the book, which includes the bookstores’ mark up and delivery to the stores.

The distributor also put me onto a good book publicist, Helen Holyoake of Helco Promotions, who sent out a press release offering review copies of the book to selected publications, radio stations and TV programmes and arranged several interviews for me. This cost me about R8,000.

I also recently discovered that Exclusive Books is willing to do an e-mailing to a target sample of its Fanatics club members to promote book titles, at a cost of R2,600 and am now pursuing this.

Useful contacts mentioned above:

Helen Holyoake-Helco Promotions: +27-11-4622302
Gordon Amos: gordonamos@mweb.co.za
Mike Eiserman – Taringa Press: 083-602-0987

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Press Release Writing Tips

Excerpts from A Perfect Press Release – or Not? by Jennigay Coetzer

Press releases have long been seen as an effective, inexpensive way of letting the media, customers, potential customers and the market at large know that a company exists, and promote its products and services. But in 95% of cases the information in press releases is incomplete, confusing or buried in marketing hype and jargon and the press release ends up in the editors bin.

Sending out press releases that trumpet a company’s achievements instead of focusing on what will interest the target audience could ruin its reputation with the media. Similarly, companies could expose themselves to ridicule by posting jargon-filled press releases directly on their websites.

With no impartial editor to trim out all the guff, this might seem like an opportunity for companies to say what they like to a broad audience. But it will irritate and frustrate those who are trying to find meaningful information on the website, including existing and potential customers, if they have to wade through a load of waffle to get to it. In addition, an increasing number of journalists and editors are using the internet to source information.

Have a strategy for every press release you send to the media or publish on the internet.

Instead of writing the story around the marketing jargon, write the story and then add the jargon afterwards – or as a marketing strategist friend of mine says: “Put the lipstick on the pig.”

Before producing a press release ask yourself:

  • Is this a good story - or is it just puff?
  • Is the content relevant?
  • Will it grab and keep the attention of the reader?
  • Is the article properly constructed?
  • Does the story flow?
  • Does it make sense?
  • Are all the facts there?

Reasons press releases fail:

  • Company puffery and posturing
  • Self-gratification.
  • Lack of useful information.
  • Not enough value for the reader.
  • Lack of focus.
  • Too many ideas or views in the story.
  • Disjointed or fragmented information.
  • Waffle.

Writing tips and tricks

  • Don’t get hung up on the intro.
  • Find a hook to hang the story on.
  • You can always go back and change it later.
  • Write as if you were having a conversation with the readers.
  • Don’t leave questions in the readers’ mind.
  • Don’t assume any prior knowledge.
  • Finish each point before moving on
  • Keep each sentence short – 35 words max.
  • Make direct quotes in quotation marks short and snappy.
  • Write and rewrite the article to achieve perfection.
  • When reading it through, say “So What?” after every sentence.