First Principals Communication

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PR professionals need to interview their corporate spokespeople and customers for articles and newsletters, or for news releases, speeches, briefing papers, and so on. In our view, there is no reason why corporate writing cannot be as good as that of top-notch journalists. Effective interviewing is about asking the right questions, and that means doing your homework, then gently leading your interviewee on a journey to tell a good story. Brilliant interviewing is about getting your interview subject to part with private musings and personal or industry "gold nuggets," and asking pertinent but overlooked questions. This is what all great interviewers strive for. Remember the mantra of all media training for executives in the 1980s? "Just get your three Key Messages out. You ’ve got a live microphone, a TV camera and an audience. Never mind what the reporter ’s question is!" Some PR agencies still stick to this out-dated mantra. The result of these "conversations" on-air is predictable: disjointed and confusing! And offensive to viewers. Frustrated anchors and reporters at all the major Canadian and U.S. networks are pushing back on over media-trained corporate executives. Increasingly, I ’m hearing: "That ’s fine Mr. X or Ms. Y, but you didn ’t answer my question. My question once again is …."

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