It can be a public relations coup for a company to get the local media to come in with their TV cameras. When this wonderful event happens, though, you need to be prepared. Many businesses have no experience with looking good on TV. They usually need to botch things a couple of times before they learn what to do. If you do not want to look bad on TV and set your business plan back by a few years, watch out for these media mistakes.
Having nothing new to say
Businesses put a lot of effort into their press releases. It makes sense, then, that they would simply want to use that information when they get their big day in the spotlight. Unfortunately, for the viewing public it’s uninteresting stuff. A television spot is a chance to give a business a face and a heart – not one where one reads from a canned script. The idea of a television piece is to give people a chance to warm up to the company. They need to see the back story and see the reason why they should care for it over the competition. You could do far better for these goals if you simply spoke from your heart as compared to trotting out the press release.
Depending on the reporter to supply all the questions
Reporters usually don’t have much time to prepare for interviews. They come in hoping for a quick and free way to fill some airtime. Oddly enough, many businesses that do these interviews believe that the reporters will come in all prepared. The result is an interview filled with uninspiring questions and dull answers. It would be a far better idea to prepare interesting questions yourself and to share them with the reporter. If he isn’t interested in using your questions, you could find a way to get them in anyway.
Using marketing speak
Many people in business live and breathe their work. They cannot speak without phrases like moving forward, client-centric, leading provider, ROI, value proposition and mission-critical. Terms like these, though, can render an audience comatose – until they wake up for long enough to switch the channel. The very point of a television interview is to win the hearts of your audience. Marketing speak achieves the very opposite.
Dealing with questions intelligently
Reporters sometimes approach businesses with an interview opportunity for one precise hidden reason – they wish to ask an uncomfortable question that could liven the show up for them. If your business has any embarrassments to keep away from the public eye, it can be a very uncomfortable moment when such a question comes up out of the blue. It’s important, then, to think about any such questions that could come up and plan for them.
No matter what you say to the media, there’s always a chance that they will distort it into something you never intended. It’s always important to rehearse for your television time. The better prepared you are, the less the chances that you will say something that can be misquoted.
Robert Walsh and Michael Evans are the authors of the new book, ZONE 1 Leadership – Being a Fully Effective, Selfless, and Genuine Leader.
To access amazon.com click on the picture of Zone 1 Leadership!
