I’ve conducted hundreds of media training classes over the past 15 years, so few questions surprise me anymore. Several years ago, however, a trainee asked a question that I had never heard: “What’s their motivation?” I had heard actors express a similar question...
Imagine you’re a reporter. You need a quote from an expert related to the news story you’re putting together about, say, minimizing your risk of becoming a crime victim. You’re fortunate enough to get a really smart crime expert on the phone, and lucky for you, he’s...
After a crisis or negative incident, many reporters ask a variation of this question: “Can you guarantee this will never happen again?” The problem with that question is that life offers no guarantees—and no matter what procedures and protocols you put into place,...
One of our clients introduced a new product to the marketplace 10 years ago. The product was wildly successful—and for most of the decade, they had the marketplace to themselves. Then, suddenly, a couple of competitors released their own versions of the product....
A client of ours came to us a while back with an unusual idea for his upcoming keynote speech, which he was set to deliver to several thousand people. In the middle of his talk, he wanted to show the audience a four-minute music video that he loved. The video was on...
A client of ours came to us a while back with an unusual idea for his upcoming keynote speech, which he was set to deliver to several thousand people. In the middle of his talk, he wanted to show the audience a four-minute music video that he loved. The video was on...
I recently worked with an organization that has a vocal, effective, and often sympathetic opponent. The opponent is a “David”—a small group perceived to be fighting for a fair cause—while the organization is perceived, fairly or not, to be the unfeeling “Goliath.”...
At the end of most print interviews and many edited radio and television interviews, reporters ask a question along the lines of: “Is there anything you’d like to add?” “Did I miss anything?” “Is there a question I should have asked?” They ask those questions not only...
Composer Truman Fisher once observed that, “The pause is as important as the note.” His wisdom applies not just to music, but to media interviews, too. Pauses offer tremendous benefits for speaker and audience alike—but only a handful of the thousands of speakers...
Editor’s Note: Six years ago, I wrote a post called “8 Ground Rules for Working with Reporters.” Since then, media norms have continued to evolve, as has my own thinking on these topics. This post updates and adds to the original. One recent media training client...