In less than four minutes, Arti Halai from Fleet Street Training (www.fleetstreettraining.com ) gives you five key golden rules that will help you if you are being interviewed by the media. Covering everything from preparation to engagement, questions, messages and appearance, this simple, effective and powerful approach is guaranteed to enhance and protect your reputation when dealing with journalists and the media, anywhere across the world. Hello. My name is Arti Halai and I spent more than fifteen years working in the media industry, reporting on stories, producing daily bulletins and presenting the news for a number of organisations including both the BBC and ITV1. When it comes to engaging with the media, master these five key golden rules and you'll do just fine! Golden rule number one, change your mindset. Don't be afraid of the media, embrace it. The media offers a huge opportunity to put your message out and raise awareness for your business or organisation. Engaging with the media gives you credibility through a third party, the journalist. It saves you money and time and can really make a difference to your bottom line! So many people think the media is out to trap you -- it isn't. Journalists just want to tell a story. Why shouldn't that story be yours? Ofcourse, like anything to achieve the right result - you have to make sure you are prepared. Golden rule number two - Prepare thoroughly. That means finding out about the programme, the angle of the story, whether anybody else is being interviewed. Being clear where the interview will take place, at what time and for how long and looking back at your performance afterwards...as well as staying in contact with the reporter Doing the preparation will give you the confidence and control you need to deal with the media. Interestingly, the biggest question most people we work with - ask is - "what will I be asked?" So -- here it is, the third key golden rule...Number three -- Questions Most people make the mistake of spending the bulk of their time focussing and worrying about the questions they think they are going to be asked. Remember, you will never predict every single question that could be asked. So think of a range of questions, including some basic, difficult and unexpected ones and practice your answers. A media trainer or an experienced reporter thinks like their counter-part, so they can add immense value here, by helping you think about the types of questions you could be asked...but what really matters -- is not the questions but the one thing you have total control over -- your messages Golden key number four -- is all about Messaging. The media loves...clear, simple and short messages, otherwise known as sound bites. They can stand on their own and slot into the context of the journalist's story. Last, but by no means least, is the importance of how we look and come across-- in a nutshell -- do you believe what I am saying! Golden rule number five is about Image and body language -- the media is all about how you come across. Personable, credible, authoritative, enthusiastic, strong -- these are all traits we recognise -- your message is only as good as your delivery. You have to be able to express your message in the right way. Does your look match your message? Avoid patterns, stripes, certain colours and wear something that makes you feel good. Keep your eye contact steady and smile, if appropriate as it helps relax your facial muscles. So little time and so much to share but I think you get the essence of what you need to do or how we can help you. If the media take an interest in your business or organisation, remember it is better to be looked over than over looked. What you need to do is use these five key golden rules to maximise the opportunity. Let me know how you get on and if you want more information then get in touch -- I'd love to hear from you. Fleet Street Training W: www.fleetstreettraining.com E: arti@fleetstreetgroup.com E: steve@fleetstreetgroup.com

• published: 02 Apr 2013
• views: 51729