TCC 13: What if you have a bad media interview?
/My media training program is called The Art of the Great Media Interview. And that's obviously the goal: to make every interview opportunity -- whether it's on a positive development or a crisis scenario -- the best version of that interaction that it can be. But that's not always the case. Sometimes, for any number of reasons, the interaction and the resulting media coverage can fall short of our expectations. This can be a disappointing or even a devastating experience. Here are a few ideas about how to handle negative media interactions and/or disappointing media coverage.
Don't beat yourself up
On a long enough timeline, after doing enough media interviews, everyone has a sub-par performance or an interview that goes off the rails. It's happened to me. It's happened to virtually everyone who's done numerous media interviews. While there are varying degrees of what 'bad' looks like, I'd really encourage you to not beat yourself up about an interview or coverage that doesn't meet your expectations. A negative media interaction isn't the end of the world. It won't send your career or your company into a death spiral. Even the people I use as examples in my media training as having had awful media interviews dusted themselves off and carried on with their lives and their careers (well, most of them). So, aim for a great interview but if you fall short, don't dwell on it. Instead...
Use it as a learning opportunity
Every media interview provides you with an opportunity to assess, adapt and adjust for the future. Make a point of reviewing the interaction from start to finish and see if you can pinpoint the reason(s) why it didn't unfold the way you would have hoped.
Did you not have enough time to prepare?
Was there a communication gap between what you were saying and what the reporter was hearing?
Did you repeat negative language that got picked up in the story?
Did the interview delve into areas you weren't prepared to speak to?
There are dozens of other factors that can contribute to a sub-par media interaction. Try to be objective about it (it's tough when your name is attached but try) and assess the interaction. Try to understand what factors might have contributed to the sub-optimal outcome and develop a plan for how to deal with that in the future.
Judge yourself on the quotes, not the feeling
I've seen many instances in which the spokesperson thought they did a horrible job but the resulting story and quotes were actually great. This can be a result of people being too hard on themselves. But the other part of this is that they're judging the quality of the interview on how it made them feel rather than on the resulting story/quotes. If you had an interview where you were nervous or anxious but the right two or three quotes ended up in the story and the coverage was accurate, that is a win, not a loss. Try to separate the feelings of tension (which are natural and which the audience cannot see) from your quotes that ended up in the story.
Look on the bright side
Yes, your bad media coverage will be on the Internet forever for your great, great-grandchildren to see. That sounds awful. But the reality is that there is soooo much content uploaded to the Internet every day and our attention is being divided into so many different areas that fewer people will likely see that bad media coverage than ever before. Your sub-par story is disappointing, yes, but it is also likely to be lost in the firehose of digital information in the world. So that's a small silver lining. And look, if your interview didn't end up on SNL or the Daily Show, it couldn't have been that bad.
Dust yourself off and carry on
An Olympic athlete who trips and falls during an important race doesn't quit the sport. They get back up, they treat their wounds and they carry on, more determined than ever to do better next time. That's the spirit I'd encourage you to have. Revisit the strategies and tactics for great interviews. Work on your message writing and editing. Do practice interviews. Get feedback. Watch people doing great interviews and make notes. Dust yourself off, get back on that horse and resolve to use this as a learning opportunity.
If you're looking to level up your media interviewing skills, there are 3 ways I can help:
The Art of the Great Media Interview: A university-level course about how to prepare for and deliver excellent media interviews in any format. Content never expires.
Media Training Crash Course: A lunch & learn on steroids. Prep for your media interview in just 28-mins.
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