Media expert reveals: 7 best tips to better communicate with journalists

Photo by Leuchtturm Entertainment on Unsplash

Giving a great journalist interview isn’t straightforward, especially if it’s new to you. To help, we invited Karen Kay, founder and director of Shoot the Messenger* to our ‘Conversations with PR in HR’ webinar series. Feel free to watch it for some great tips and very helpful anecdotes, or have a read of this - we’ve condensed some of Karen’s advice for a quick scan.

Karen has long worked in journalism and broadcasting - and that led her to her current role as a media and communications trainer. In our webinar, she explained why media and communications training is so important when looking to build and maintain a trusted reputation in your sector - utilising the media as a cost-effective way to leverage your team as experts and thought leaders is a powerful way to give your business a competitive edge.

And we agree - media training helps spokespeople when they represent a company in media interviews, empowering them to speak confidently and clearly - we’ve also seen clients learn valuable tips for public speaking engagements, internal comms, pitches and sales scenarios. Importantly, too, it’s about getting the messaging spot on so important points don’t get lost in a conversation.

So here’s Karen’s advice on how to help HR brand spokespeople become more confident interviewees and gain better coverage in the HR media.

1. Prepare and prepare some more

As with anything, preparation is vital and giving a good interview is like muscle memory - ‘once you start doing it, you become better’. Karen believes that being well-prepared with the right information to address questions, whether internally within an organisation, in the trade press, or in the public sphere, is essential. Rather than being ‘scripted’, preparation gives you the ability to effectively convey ideas and speak with conviction. 

2. Adapt with the times

Media training is not a “do it and tick it off the list” experience. Karen points out that careers evolve, your market sector changes, the media landscape changes and the current public sphere changes immensely.  It’s important to focus on how to make your communications resonate in the current landscape with topical data, examples and messaging, considering everything that is going on around you. A regular review of how you talk to different audiences to ensure you optimise engagement will ensure you are relevant and interesting.

3. Use plain English

It’s important not to over-rehearse or create scripted messages for interviews as they can come off as robotic. Karen says journalists prefer conversational language, so avoid using overly formal words, except when dealing with legal matters. She also stresses the importance of using plain English that even a 14-year-old can understand. On top of this, it’s important to be authentic and relatable. 

4. Think about the objectives beforehand

Why are you doing the interview? What do you want to achieve as a result of it? When preparing for an interview with journalists, think carefully about the interests, values and existing knowledge of the end reader, listener or viewer. What questions they will likely want answers to and what value you can provide. 

A journalist's role is to be a conduit for their audience's questions, so they feel informed as a result of digesting an interview. Consider what information will make them think positively about your business and what action or feeling you want to evoke - address the journalist's questions through advice, guidance, and education. Inspire them to be curious and learn more.

5. Read the publications and listen to the programmes that matter to your target audience 

Have a good read of the publications - trade, business and consumer - you want to be featured in and familiarise yourself with the different elements of the content. Most have regular formats and regular contributors. Listen to the radio programmes and podcasts that are relevant to your clients. Watch TV and think about where you could amplify your brand voice. Understand their style, structure, and how expert quotes are typically used to ensure your interview fits with the content they create. Suggest ideas to your PR - whether they are in-house or an agency such as PR in HR.

6. Build trust

Building trust through positive relationships with journalists, the wider media and the public is essential - consistently being a strong spokesperson can lead to more prominent coverage and recommendations within the HR industry. Building strong relationships in your professional life plays a critical role in the HR world - where human interaction is essential.

7. Support your brand in a crisis

In fact, positive relationships with the media can lead to greater forgiveness and a willingness to re-engage with your brand, if things go wrong. Even well-run organisations can face issues that can be damaging: if you have built a reputation as someone who leads with integrity and transparency -  in the media, within your business sector, with clients and with the public - when things don’t go to plan, you are better placed to maintain or rebuild your reputation. 

Having trust established within the workforce, with customers and with the media positions a company to navigate challenges better and maintain a positive image. Therefore, media training shouldn’t be an afterthought when a crisis happens, it should be part of your long-term business strategy. Karen recommends proactively building a solid reputation and public profile, leveraging trust and relationships with journalists and the public. 

Karen's view is that it’s important for a CEO - and other key spokespeople - to show their public face. Effective communication is a critical part of modern business operations, especially in this era of transparency and engagement with audiences on so many platforms and levels. She highlights that being a public-facing leader is ‘such a powerful way to leverage and build a profile, creating thought leadership’ and achieving many strategic goals. It is also a great way to attract and keep talent in a competitive hiring environment.

Media training gives people tools to help prepare for interviews and manage them effectively - and external guidance from a trainer such as Karen (who has insider knowledge and broader experience working in journalism) can be key to taking your communication skills to the next level.

To learn far more about what Karen has to say, watch our ‘Conversations with PR in HR’  webinar here.

About Shoot the Messenger:

*Shoot the Messenger provides bespoke media training and communications coaching. Since 2009, it has worked with a number of global brands, smaller businesses and experts, supporting founders, leaders, experts and other spokespeople to help position their brands, grow revenue and build personal profiles as well as navigate more challenging business issues and crises.