Communicating With The Press
and Public
Terri L. Lomax, Ph.D.
Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies
Five Keys to Winning the Media Game
• Understand the media
• Have an agenda
• Deliver compelling messages
• Prepare
• Practice, Practice, Practice
Differences in how Scientists and the Media
Communicate
Scientists
Support 1st, then conclusion
In depth
Uncertainty
Specific
Credentials matter
Rational
Want more data
Peer-reviewed
Media
Conclusion 1st, then support
Quick overview
Certainty
Generalize
Perspectives matter
Emotional
Want it now
Not!!
Understand the Media
What Makes News…..
• Winners and losers
• Heroes and villains
• Criticism, controversy, conflict
• Trend or change
• New, unusual, different
Understand the Media
About Reporters…..
• Not your friends
• Always a reporter
• Need you
• Just as you need them
Have an Agenda
Your Agenda…..
• Determine whom you want to hit (your audience)
• What you want to hit them with (your messages)
• Develop messages ‐ 2 or 3 things you intend to say whatever the questions
Have an Agenda
Your Agenda…..
• Keep it narrow, specific
• Have something important to communicate
• Define your communications goal
• Determine the one point you want to get across
“I am now ready to give the answers I have
prepared for your questions”
-- Charles DeGaulle
“Do you have any questions for my answers?”
-- Henry Kissinger
“Always remember: They get to ask the
questions, but you get to give the answers”
-- Colin Powell
Deliver Compelling Messages
Effective Messages…..
• Two or three
• Brief
• Accurate
• Simple
• Vivid, colorful language
Deliver Compelling Messages
Support Your Messages…..
• Facts
• Statistics (sparingly)
• Examples
• Experts
Message Box
What is the Problem?
Issue
So What?
Benefits?
Obstacles?
Solutions?
Deliver Compelling Messages
Headlining…..
• Make most important point first
• Think like a journalist
• Use deductive reasoning
• Back it up with facts or ‘proof points’
Deliver Compelling Messages
Headlining: Some Examples…..
• “The most important thing to remember is….”
• “The real issue is….”
• “I’ve talked about a lot of things. It boils down to these three things….”
• “Let me make one thing perfectly clear…..”
Prepare
Preparing for an interview…..
• List key messages
• Anticipate questions
• Prepare responses
• Know reporter, publication, or program interview format
• Background reporter or producer
Prepare
Anticipate the Worst…..
• The toughest question will be asked
Rule of Silence
Never say anything you don’t want to read in
the newspaper, see on television or
YouTube, or hear on the radio.
You are never “off the record”
Practice
Practicing for an interview…..
• Prepare list of questions
• Prepare best answers
• Rehearse
• Review
• Revise your answers
Ten Tips
• Use simple, direct answers
• Repeat yourself
• Pause
• Shut up
• Avoid jargon
• Don’t say “no comment”
• Don’t repeat negatives
• Tell the truth
• Keep your cool
• Be yourself
“Always tell the truth, then you don’t have to
remember anything”
-- Mark Twain
When a Reporter Calls
• Get his/her name, affiliation
• Ask “What story are you working on?”
• Ask “What is your deadline?”
• Promise to get back before (not on) deadline
• If TV, determine location, format, live or taped
Telephone Interview Tips
• Buy preparation time if possible
• Establish an “interview setting”
– Clear your desk
– Close the door
• Use notes
• Keep message points in front of you
• Speak distinctly
• Use short declarative sentences
• Avoid ambiguity and subtlety
Blocking and Bridging
• Don’t ignore or evade the questions
• Address the topic of the question
• Asked about a problem, talk about a solution
• Never say “no comment”
• If can’t comment, explain why
“We don’t as a rule, comment on litigation,
no matter how baseless or pathetic it is”
-- Gov. Christie Todd Whitman
Blocking and Bridging
Some Examples…..
• “It’s our policy not to discuss ______ specifically, but I can tell you…..”
• “I think what you are really asking is…..”
• “That speaks to a bigger point…..”
• “Let me put that in perspective…..”
• “What’s important to remember is….”
• “What I really want to talk to you about is…..”
• “I don’t know about that….But what I do know is….”