A blog by Campbell Consulting Group, based in Bend, Oregon.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Delivering Short, Powerful Answers


One of the best parts of our job at Campbell Consulting is when we get the news that a reporter wants to tell our client’s story. But sometimes, landing that feature spread is just half of the work: what clients say and how they say it can really make or break an interview. Here are a couple of tips we tell our clients to follow when talking to the press:

Tip #1: What You Say (HINT: Keep it Short and Sweet)
One of the biggest problems I encountered back in my reporting days was interviewees that knew too much about what they were talking about…and wanted to share it ALL with me! As a general rule of thumb, at least in broadcasting, most sound-bites will only run between 5 and 15 seconds long. Reading a newspaper, you’ll rarely see quotes longer than a couple of sentences.
If you don’t keep it short, you may get cut off, or worse, not get your entire message across.
Here’s a link to an article written by former journalist and now PR Pro Brad Phillips, with a very useful exercise to help deliver short, yet powerful answers to any media question:


Tip #2: How You Say It
When being interviewed, you want yourself and the services or products you’re selling to be relatable to the reporter’s audience. This can be achieved with colorizing your statements.  Use specific, colorful details and examples to bring your story alive and make it relevant to each particular audience.  Don’t be too general or sound too “official."  One trick I learned back in my TV days was to write the story like you’re telling it to your mother.

For example, I interviewed countless cops as a TV reporter, but most of my interviews sounded the same: “The suspect fled on foot but was apprehended at 0-900 hours.” This would make a much better sound bite: “The suspect ran away but our officers caught up and arrested him at 9am.”

If you come across as enthusiastic during your interview, you’ll grab people’s attention, and they’ll listen.