Our team recently led one-day, immersive media trainings for a couple of our client teams. These workshops were incredibly productive and practical, covering everything from crisis to consumer interview scenarios.

The purpose was to prepare our brand voice representatives to be impactful media spokespersons and to create transferable skills that go beyond media relations. Today, we’re sharing some of these best practices with you.

There are four phases of an interview cycle. First, preparation by establishing the objectives of the interview and defining your top three key messages with supporting points. Be an expert instead of a salesperson with strong and concise information to share.

Phase two is execution. Constantly drive your answers back to your objective to shape and steer the interview. Remember than an interview is a series of one-off questions, not a conversation. Everything is on the record. Other critical tips to be cognizant of: ask the reporter to rephrase loaded or confusing questions and absolutely take the offer to provide anything they missed. Flag vital points with phrases such as “what your readers need to know is…” or “the important thing to remember is…”

The third step is to debrief with your team to review how the interview went and to determine next steps. Interviews are an incredible opportunity to share your brand’s news and reach consumers through a credible third party. Recapping the interview’s successful will help inform what’s next.

Finally, once the interview publishes, repurpose the content from the article, blog post or TV segment by sharing it. Post to your social media channels and tag the news outlet, reporter and/or influencer and include the link on the news page of your website.