How to Train Your Team for Media Interviews

Not everyone in your organization should speak to the media. Selecting the right spokespersons is the first and most consequential decision in your media training program. Organizations with a designated Public Information Officer gain a significant advantage in media readiness.

• Evaluate candidates based on four criteria: subject matter credibility, composure under pressure, communication clarity, and availability during critical moments.
• Select primary and backup spokespersons for each major topic area. Your CEO may be ideal for strategic announcements, while your operations director is better suited for incident-related interviews.
• Consider diversity of perspective and audience relatability. Different audiences respond to different messengers, and having multiple trained spokespersons gives you flexibility.
• Assess willingness and aptitude. A reluctant spokesperson will come across as evasive on camera. Look for individuals who are comfortable with public-facing roles.
• Document your spokesperson roster with contact information, areas of expertise, and media preferences (TV, radio, print, digital) for quick deployment when opportunities arise.

Core messages are the foundation of every media interaction. They are the three to five key points your organization wants to communicate regardless of what questions are asked.

• Limit core messages to three to five key points. More than five messages dilute focus, and spokespersons cannot remember them under pressure.
• Make each message concise and quotable, ideally under 27 words. Journalists need soundbites, and audiences remember short, punchy statements.
• Support each core message with three proof points: a statistic, an example, and an analogy or comparison that makes the message tangible.
• Test messages with people outside your organization. If someone unfamiliar with your work cannot understand and repeat the message, it needs simplification.
• Create message variations for different audiences: media, employees, customers, regulators, and community members may need the same information framed differently. A public relations strategy ensures each audience receives the right message through the right channel.

Bridge techniques are the tools spokespersons use to pivot from a journalist's question back to their core messages. Mastering bridges ensures your team stays on message without appearing evasive.

• Teach the acknowledge-bridge-communicate (ABC) framework: briefly acknowledge the question, bridge to your message using a transition phrase, then communicate your key point.
• Practice common bridge phrases: "What is most important to understand is...", "Let me put this in perspective...", "The key issue here is...", and "What I can tell you is..."
• Train spokespersons to answer the question briefly before bridging. Ignoring questions entirely makes spokespersons appear evasive and damages credibility.
• Role-play scenarios where the interviewer repeatedly pushes back to the original topic. Spokespersons need to bridge naturally under pressure without sounding robotic.
• Practice bridging away from hypothetical questions ("What if...") and speculative questions ("Do you think...") which can create headlines out of opinions rather than facts.

Difficult questions are not exceptions in media interviews; they are the norm. Preparing your team to handle tough questions with confidence and composure separates trained spokespersons from unprepared ones.

• Categorize difficult questions into types: hostile, speculative, hypothetical, loaded (containing false premises), either/or, and multi-part questions. Each type requires a different response strategy.
• Teach the principle of not repeating negative language. If a reporter says "So you failed to protect the public?", the spokesperson should not say "We did not fail." Instead, state what was done: "We activated our response plan within 15 minutes."
• Practice handling "no comment" situations. Rather than saying "no comment" (which implies guilt), train spokespersons to explain why they cannot answer: "That is part of an ongoing investigation, and I am not able to discuss specifics at this time."
• Prepare responses for the most uncomfortable questions. Brainstorm the 10 questions you hope no reporter ever asks, then develop honest, composed responses for each one.
• Train spokespersons to take a beat before answering. A brief pause projects thoughtfulness and prevents reactive, regrettable statements.

Research consistently shows that non-verbal cues account for over 50% of how a message is received. A spokesperson who says the right words with wrong body language will not be believed.

• Coach eye contact: look directly at the interviewer during in-person interviews and directly into the camera lens during remote appearances. Shifting eyes signal dishonesty to viewers.
• Train on posture and positioning: sit or stand upright, lean slightly forward to signal engagement, and keep shoulders relaxed. Crossed arms and leaning back signal defensiveness.
• Address facial expressions: coach spokespersons to maintain a composed, appropriately serious expression that matches the gravity of the topic. Inappropriate smiling during crisis interviews destroys credibility instantly.
• Practice hand gestures: open palms signal honesty, measured gestures emphasize key points, and keeping hands visible (not in pockets or behind the back) builds trust.
• Work on vocal delivery: vary pace and pitch to maintain audience engagement, speak at a measured rate (120-150 words per minute for TV), and eliminate filler words like "um," "uh," and "you know."

Mock interviews are the bridge between knowing what to do and being able to do it under pressure. Nothing replaces the experience of facing a camera and fielding tough questions in real time.

• Use a trained interviewer who understands journalist tactics: follow-up probes, silence as a pressure tool, interruptions, topic pivots, and end-of-interview surprise questions.
• Record every mock interview on video from multiple angles. Playback reveals habits, tics, and delivery issues that participants cannot perceive in the moment.
• Start with friendly interview scenarios to build confidence, then progressively increase difficulty with harder questions, time pressure, and adversarial interviewer styles.
• Provide specific, actionable feedback immediately after each session. Vague praise ("You did great") is less valuable than precise coaching ("Your bridge at 2:15 was excellent because...").
• Simulate different media formats: sit-down TV interviews, phone interviews with print reporters, live remote appearances, press conferences with multiple reporters, and walking-while-talking ambush scenarios.

Crisis media interactions are fundamentally different from routine interviews. The stakes are higher, the questions are harder, and the margin for error is razor-thin. Dedicated crisis training is essential.

• Simulate breaking news scenarios where information is incomplete, evolving, and contradictory. Having a crisis communication plan in place ensures spokespersons can communicate what they know, acknowledge what they do not, and commit to updates.
• Practice live interview scenarios with real-time information updates. An aide should pass notes during the mock interview, forcing the spokesperson to incorporate new information on the fly.
• Train for press conferences with multiple hostile reporters asking simultaneous questions, challenging statements, and requesting information you cannot share.
• Prepare for social media crises where the spokesperson must coordinate traditional media responses while the organization simultaneously manages viral social media activity.
• Conduct after-action debriefs that evaluate emotional management, message consistency, accuracy under pressure, and adherence to legal and organizational guidelines.