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Things to avoid:
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Avoid jargon
Technical terms and abbreviations that are everyday to you will often be meaningless to outsiders. Pitch your language for the level of expertise of the lowest common denominator, the reader or viewer of the media in question with the least specialist knowledge.
Don’t digress. Stick to your topic.
Don’t let the journalist push youonto an agenda that is beyond the scope of the story that the journalist is working on. Unless you think they will be genuinely interested, you can be confident that changing the subject drastically will annoy the journalist and will probably be edited out. If it’s a live broadcast, it will annoy the listeners or viewers too, because they are in the middle of being told a story about something else.
Don’t respond with emotion or anger
Journalists can be aggressive in their questioning, and you may not be used to being spoken to in this way. Don’t take it personally; don’t get angry or defensive or emotional. They may be trying to make the story appear more dramatic, or trying to make themselves appear more probing, or trying to intimidate or unsettle you, or perhaps they really are just ignorant.
Don’t be intimidated by repetitive questioning
The reporter may be trying to trick you into discrepancies, but equally may be giving you a chance to say the same thing in a better quote or sound-bite. In any case, stay cool and respond with using messages as normal, trying different examples and tactics each time.
Avoid saying “no comment”
It makes you sound defensive, evasive, and as if you have something to hide. There is always a better way to say nothing, such as “I can’t confirm or deny that for the moment. What I can say is…” If you can’t comment on an issue for reasons such as the law, confidentiality or commercial sensitivity – or if you just don’t have the information – then explain why you can’t comment.