Delivering Your Message
| Communicating with Staff | | | Communicating with News Media | | | Communicating using Social Media |
| | Templates and Tools |
One of the keys to having your messages heard and retained by the reporter and your target audience is repetition. During an interview, it is to your advantage to get in your messages several times, using different kinds of support to give your message variety.
The questions you are asked will not always lead you directly to your prepared messages. However, using some simple control techniques, you will be able to deal with a question and direct the focus of the answer to successfully communicate your messages. You will also be able to influence what types of follow-up questions used during the interview.
Keep it Tight
Talk in headlines and don’t feel the need to give every nuanced detail and subtle shadings when answering a question.
Example:
Question: With the enormous budget cuts, do you anticipate laying off teachers?
Answer: Championing student achievement and excellent instruction! This school district will creatively reallocate resources as effectively as possible to move us forward toward higher achievement for each and every student.
Bridging
What if the reporter doesn’t ask the right questions or the interview is going in a direction you don’t want it to? Bridging is the technique used to move from one aspect of an issue to another. It involves dealing with a question briefly and honestly, and then promptly following that response with your message.
Example:
- “Yes…(the answer) and in addition to that…(the bridge)”
- “No…(the answer), let me explain…(the bridge)”
- “I don’t know (the answer), but what I do know is that…(the bridge)”
- “That’s the way it used to be…here’s the way it works now…”
- Ask the question yourself: “One of the most interesting questions we are most frequently asked is…”
Flagging
Flagging is simply a way of helping your audience remember your message by emphasizing or prioritizing what you consider to be the most important aspect.
Example:
- “The most important thing to remember is…”
- “I’ve talked about many things today. I think it boils down to these three things…”
Deflecting
This is a less effective technique that is used primarily by politicians, but some circumstances may lead you to use this technique. Deflecting is nothing more than giving an answer that does not relate to the question. A common way to deflect the question if to restate it in the form of the question you would like to answer. Deflecting is dangerous in that it can breed distrust around all answers and good reporters will keep digging.
Example:
Question: Are you concerned about the fallout of across-the-board cuts?
Answer: Worried is an interesting way to ask the question. The fact is, we are continuing the highest level of education possible right now and not letting cuts affect how we teach our students. We are focusing on classroom instruction now and what it can become in the future to prepare students for 21st Century careers.
Handling Hostility
It can and will happen that you end up with a hostile interviewer and here are some important things to remember:
- Remain detached and unemotional—pause and breathe in slowly and then deliver an unemotional answer. Do not lose your cool.
- Avoid head-on confrontation—Instead of saying, “You have got it all wrong,” say something to the effect of, “You pose the problem well, but I’d like to tell you how it’s being solved.” Or try “You’ve identified an issue that’s being discussed…so let’s look at the issue…” Now you have take control and can phrase the issue on your terms.
- Restate the case—“There seems to be some misunderstanding here…”
- Don’t repeat a negative question or comment—don’t even nod your head
- Change the subject when it has gone too far—“Since we’ve covered that, maybe we should move on to talk about the next step…”
- Be aware of trick questions—Savvy reporters or reporters with an agenda will often use trick questions to create controversy or get you to tacitly agree to a false premise. “Your budget is not meeting needs. Is it because of poor management or exorbitant negotiations?” The answer would be, “Neither, we continue to execute extremely well…”
- Be aware of the pregnant pause—You don’t need to fill the silence. Simply look at the reporter with a calm and expectant smile. Their hope is that you might unleash additional details or explanations that would potentially complicate the message.
- Be aware of the multi-questioner—If a reporter asks, “How much will your district lose to budget cuts? How will this affect teachers? Will schools have to merge?” Answer each one very simply and go on to the next answer. Avoid tossing out a very broad response.
