How to be a good media spokesperson

By Jennigay Coetzer

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 media 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.

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.

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Tags: how to, Journalist, media spokesperson, spokesperson