It’s understandable to be nervous about media interviews; you want to represent yourself and your brand well! Staying on-message is one of the most important things to keep in mind as you prepare for any interview – if you know the point you want to convey well, answering questions will be a breeze.

A practiced media interviewee will steer the conversation instead of allowing the reporter to stray the course. As an interviewee, you should be comfortable adapting your main talking points to any question the reporter may throw at you. This means being able to direct their questions back to your main points. To set yourself up for success you should be extremely familiar with your topic, and make sure the message you want to get across is clear.

While practice is important, you shouldn’t rehearse a pre-written speech over and over again. Instead, practice answering questions in a way that directs back to your key messaging. The last thing you want is for your interview to sound as though you’re reciting words off an invisible paper. Be familiar with short statements that encompass your message, but not an entire dialogue, so that you have room to be natural and casual.

The next time you prepare for a media interview, keep your brand’s key messaging in mind. Be familiar with the main points that you want the audience to take away at the end of the interview. If you’re well prepared with talking points and a clear message, there’s no need to be nervous.

If you need help preparing for your next media interview, contact Serendipit and let our PR purveyors help you ace your next interview.