The media has contacted you, and they want to interview you for a story related to your industry. Earned media, it’s what every business owner hopes for. But now your mind starts racing, what if the reporter asks me a question I don’t know? How would I answer a question about my competitor? What if my mind goes blank due to nerves?

These are all very common questions and thoughts prior to a media interview. Fortunately, communication coach and former television news reporter and anchor, Nicole Harris, has helped many leaders prepare for media appearances.

Knowing what to expect and how to prepare effectively makes all the difference. In this video blog, Nicole shares her media interview tips to ensure you’ll be able to conduct your next media interview with confidence and grace.

Transcript

Congratulations! You’ve landed an interview with a top news outlet, but how prepared are you to maximize that interview? A successful interview requires more than just your subject matter expertise.

Hi, I’m Nicole Harris, founder and CEO of Solve Communications, and here’s three Solve pro tips to help you go from an expert in your field to a media darling.

Number one, it all starts before the interview with solid research. Know who the reporter is who will be interviewing you and what media outlet they’re from. This gives you an inside look into who their audience is and how you can tailor your message directly to their audience.

Number two, polish your message. To communicate your message effectively, ask yourself, what is the one thing I want the audience to remember from what I said?

Next, jot down three key points that support that message, and remember to sprinkle that message throughout your interview so you reinforce it. And one of my favorites, use example stories. I love these because they bring your message to life and make your sound bites memorable. Here’s a great example from the CEO of a college board responding to a negative question about why they’re adding an adversity score to their entrance exam.

One critic in the New York Times said, if the SAT needed a sophisticated, conventional or contextual framework to make it valid, then that’s a sign that it’s not a good test. So why did the college board decide to create the adversity test? What the SAT is, is a valid measure of your achievement. What have you learned in reading and math? How ready are you for college?

But what it doesn’t measure alone is it doesn’t measure what you’ve overcome, the situation that you achieved that in. What we can do with this context data is see how resourceful you are. Have you done more with less?

See how powerful that example was? It really drives home his message and makes it memorable. If you’d like to learn more Solv Pro tips like these, reach out. We’re here to help unlock the master communicator in you. Thanks for watching.