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How to Improve Your Media Interview Skills. Meeting the press is always a challenge. Here
are some ideas to help you master the art of promoting your company through a media
interview. You will need Appropriate attire Agenda Summary and statistics (optional).
Step 1. Dress appropriately. A shirt or cap with your company's logo may be suitable for
less formal press interviews, but others may require business attire. If you're in doubt,
err on the side of dressing professionally. Step 2. Do not assume any of your remarks
will be taken "off the record." Assume everything you say is subject to being quoted. Step 3.
Prepare. Try to distill your message into no more than 3 main points, and have those
points clearly in mind when speaking to reporters. Have statistics available to back up your
points. Be familiar enough with relevant facts and figures to discuss them. Step 4. Remain
calm during the interview. If someone asks you a question that upsets you or that you
didn't see coming, take a deep breath and pause before answering. Step 5. Don't allow
yourself to get frustrated by a barrage of rapid-fire questions. Stay calm, finish your
answer to the question you are addressing, and then select one of the other questions
to answer. Step 6. Provide reporters at the interview with a one-page summary of the points
you want to make. This will prevent your being misquoted. Now go home and wait for the interview
to appear on the 6 o'clock news. Did you know In 1977, Sir David Frost interviewed former
president Richard Nixon after he was impeached. More than 45 million Americans watched the
interview.