One of the best things about doing what I do is the awesomely talented people I get to collaborate with. Jim Cameron, the best media trainer in the business, is president of Cameron Communications Inc., and one of the folks that I feel fortunate to know and work with.

As a brand storyteller, I work closely with my clients to help get them focused on what their story is and how to tell it to their stakeholders to ultimately help them achieve their business objectives. Jim is my go-to guy for getting my clients fully prepared for the media. It’s such a treat to watch him work, but it’s even more gratifying to see our clients transform into great spokespeople who can easily handle an interview with Diane Sawyer as they can with The New York Times. For a few examples of top interview segments we’ve lined up for clients check here.

Since Jim’s input is always invaluable to the process and spot on for me, I asked him to share some of the key fundamentals with Buzzcloud:

Jim, why do people generally fear the media?

It’s the fear of not being in control. But not all media interviews need be frightening. In fact, knowing how to get your message across to the media can do a lot to actually promote your business. The trick is to be prepared. Questions aren’t ‘obligations’, they’re ‘opportunities’.

You must go into every media encounter with your own messages… two or three points that you want to get across regardless of the questions you’re asked. What that message is depends a lot on who is reading / viewing / hearing the interview and when. You should tailor your messages for that audience in terminology they can easily understand.

So, you are saying what works for a print interview won’t work for a TV interview?

Not all media were created equal. Print interviews, for example, are much harder to control than broadcast despite their lack of intimidating cameras and recorders. Print reporters take advantage of this seemingly conversational approach and can keep you chatting for hours… if you let them. You must set the guidelines for interviews: who will speak for your company, on what issues, where and when.

Radio interviews offer an opportunity to narrowly focus your message to a particular demographic or psychographic niche audience reached by the station you’re on. On call-in shows you’ll have plenty of time to deliver your messages… even from the comfort of your own home, as stations now can have guests by phone as well as callers.

Television is perhaps the most challenging of the media because of its brevity, complexity and reach. Even a lengthy interview may be distilled down to a “sound bite” of but a few seconds. But, with training, you’d be surprised at how much information can be conveyed in that limited time… and how well you can control what gets electronically quoted from your interview. Being a visual medium you’ll want to keep viewers focused on your message rather than your flashy attire, ineffective body language or shifty-eyed glances off-camera.

Remember this mega DON’T?

Here are a few media DO’s and DON’Ts from Jim’s Media Training Workshops:

• Know the points you want to get across in the interview. Build a bridge of words from the reporter’s question to your messages… and deliver them several times during the interview.
• Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know the answer to a question but instead offer to find the answer and get back to the reporter before their deadline. Never respond to questions based on unfamiliar facts.
• Don’t be rushed into answering. Don’t feel obliged to fill “dead air” after a tricky question. Just pause, think… and then answer.
• Avoid professional jargon. Keep your message simple, but not condescending.
• Find out as much as you can about the reporter and his/her story before you agree to be interviewed. Have they covered your business and its issues before? Who else are they talking to for this story? Do you really want to be in that mix? You can always politely decline an interview. Nobody can force you to talk if you don’t wish to.
• On TV, always dress your part, projecting a cool, clean-cut professional image.
• Don’t look into the camera. Instead, look at whomever is talking. Avoid the temptation to look at the monitor or acknowledge other distractions out of camera range. And remember: you are always potentially on camera, even if someone else is talking. TV Director’s love “reaction shots” of your expression or body language when someone else is verbally skewering you.
• Project your messages with enthusiasm. That attitude is contagious. And if you’re not excited about your message, the reporter and audience never will be.

With a little practice, these interviewing skills will become second nature.

Jim’s bottom line: having a proactive media strategy and the proper training to handle any media situation can help promote your business, and take it to the next level.

JIM CAMERON is President of Cameron Communications Inc. in Darien CT. He has trained hundreds of CEO’s, authors and celebrities for everything from “Sixty Minutes” to The Wall Street Journal. An award winning journalist and former News Director at NBC, he was also the founder of JFORUM, CompuServe’s online service for journalists. He can be reached at (203) 655-0138, on the web at www.mediatrainer.tv or by e-mail at [email protected]