Six Golden Rules for Media Interviews

Media content is being consumed and produced in greater quantities than we’ve ever seen. That means your chances of being asked to step in front of the microphones and cameras are growing. This article provides six golden rules to assist those in Defence if they find themselves fronting the media.

25/05/2020

<15 min

Media content is being consumed and produced in greater quantities than we’ve ever seen. Expanded TV News services, growing networks with multiple channels, internet, and social media are all searching for and devouring content like never before.

That means your chances of being asked to step in front of the camera are growing. Some see it as a daunting experience to be avoided at all costs, but it shouldn’t be. A media interview should be like any other part of your job, not something you dread. It should be a positive experience - a chance to tell the story of you, your colleagues, or your Service.

Like most experiences, preparation is the key and knowing a few basic tips can make you look like a seasoned campaigner in front of the lens.

Any time you are in front of the camera, you are the storyteller. You are informing your audience, which could be your subordinates, peers, superiors, or the public. Preparation on the topics, rehearsal of the questions, and anticipation of any other issues will make sure you are comfortable and confident about your role and message.

Reporters, journalists and interviewers don’t use Jedi Mind Tricks or the Dark Arts to get you to say things you don’t want to say. But they will ask you questions to get honest answers. You know that old saying, “Never ask a question you don’t know the answer too”? Well, in most cases, journalists have a pretty good idea what your answers will be. But they need you to say it. You are the source, authority or expert. When you say it, your words have credibility. They tell the story.

Here’s a toolbox of six (6) golden rules to set you up for the best outcome from your interviews.

1. Be as prepared as you can be

Understand the issues. Have you gathered as much information as you can and armed yourself with all the facts. Keep asking “Why?”. Why are you being asked to do the interview? Why have they chosen you? Are you the most qualified person to speak about this topic or event? What are you expected to contribute?

Make sure you know the subject and your message.

No-one expects you to have all the answers – but if you don’t, make a plan to get them and follow it up. It’s ok to say, “I’m probably not the most qualified person to answer that, but let me chase it up for you and get that information.”

2. Have one clear message

The 10-second TV grab is used for a reason. Most of what needs to be said can be conveyed in one short sharp sentence. The better a person knows their subject, the simpler than can explain it. Your one powerful key massage should be able to be delivered in 10 seconds.

Rehearse your key line and keep refining it until it is crystal clear to you, and makes an impactful, simple statement.

In preparing your message, consider your audience. Who are you talking to?

Visualise your audience and how they might react and absorb your message. Keeping it simple is, in just about every case, is the most effective way to make an impact and have your message remembered.

The biggest trap people fall into is trying to deliver multiple messages from pages of briefing notes. It’s too much to process for you and the audience, and the most important message gets lost in the confusion.

Use your Public Affairs Officer to rehearse your questions and hone your responses. The more your train, the better the outcome.

3. Be Honest, Genuine, Believable, Authentic.

The camera is a giant magnifying glass. It focuses in closely on your face, so any sign of dishonesty, like shifting eye movement, immediately losses your connection with the audience.

For that reason, you must believe what you are saying with complete conviction. Your emotions are transparent to the lens, so what you say must be honest and come from the heart.

4. Control the situation

Take a few moments to get yourself comfortable before your interview. When you can, arrive early. A few minutes spent chatting to the interviewer can do a lot to build rapport, defuse any aggression, and make for a more comfortable and productive chat for everyone.

In the studio environment, we always have a quick chat to every guest before an interview to help establish a relationship that will lead to the most productive outcome. It works for both the interviewer and the interviewee.

Check if the interview is Live and going to air in real-time.

Above all, understand that YOU have control. This is your interview. No one can make you say what you don’t want to say.

Using breathing techniques, perhaps a few deep breathes, can help relax you, cut out distractions and help you focus on what needs to be done.

The Public Affairs Officer can assist with ensuring the environment is prepared for you.

5. Reinforce and recap

Weave your message back in, to make sure the audience gets it. The chance to recap towards the end is a good place to do this. Most reporters will end an interview by asking, “is there anything else you want to cover?” and that’s the chance to reinforce the key message.

6. Every microphone is on and every camera is recording

Be aware. Whenever you walk up to cameras and microphones, keep in mind they could inadvertently be switched on, either recording or going live to air. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t be comfortable with in the public domain.

Step up to the opportunity to speak to the media. If you remember to think about what you are doing, be clear on your key message, and prepare your content and yourself, you’ll have a positive experience and deliver your key message to an engaged audience.

Be a great spokesperson for yourself and the Australian Defence Force.

Capt Mark Beretta is an Army Reserve Public Affairs Officer at Forces Command in Sydney. He has spent 30 years in television and radio as a host, presenter and reporter. He currently works on Seven’s breakfast show ‘Sunrise’ as a co-host and sport presenter, as well as commentating live sport for Seven.

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Within this area, Defence’s newest members will be exposed to the conflict spectrum and theories associated with its employment. While additional emphasis will be afforded to one’s own Service, consideration will be given to joint operations and planning processes. The topic will also include an exploration of current ADF operations and emerging technological impacts on future preparedness.

The ADF’s contribution to Australian National Power through shape, deter and respond activities will be understood in general terms. Tied with this awareness will be ADO roles and responsibilities, including civil-military relations. The importance of Defence’s contribution in this regard will be linked to a general sense of Australia’s strategic environment. Resource management fundamentals will help underpin responsible expenditure of Commonwealth funds.

All members of Defence will also need to be competent in military administration, ADF roles and structures, and undertake all initial mandatory training. This foundation will continue to develop in subsequent JPME levels and increasingly expand opportunites for Joint Stream (out-of-category) postings and roles. APS does not require core military skills.

Following on from their respective recruit or commissioning course, ADF personnel will commence their Initial Employment Training (IET). This period can include workplace experience and periods of on-the-job training.

Graduation from IET marks the formal transition from Level 1 to Level 2. It is at this point when they are considered effective in the workplace.

Defence members at this level will have a sound understanding of their own Service or domain warfare systems and capability. As they progress through Level 2, they will display a stronger understanding about the ADF’s holistic contribution to Joint Force warfighting domains. This will extend to the nature and theory of war, which has developed through an academic study of historical case studies and contemporary military issues. Importantly, such awareness will help inform their understanding of the impact of technology on current and future warfare. Awareness of gender perspectives on operations will contribute to their well-rounded application of the Profession of Arms.

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Australia’s approach to the formulation of military strategy and its strategic environment (including international and geopolitical) will strengthen as members advance in this Level. Through both courses and experience, they will also acquire a stronger understanding of interagency strategies, policies and decision making processes.

As they progress through Level 2, Defence personnel will progressively develop awareness and then expertise beyond their initial employment category.

These broader systems and processes will expand to include one or more of the five key Joint Streams: Military Support, Operations, Capability Development and Delivery, Strategy Policy and Engagement, and Intelligence.

Within JPME Level 2, Defence personnel will become increasingly proficient in their initial employment category. Through both their formal courses (initial employment training and subsequent intermediate courses) and workplace experience, they will display competency in their contribution to military power. As they develop greater technical expertise, senior personnel at this level will become suitable for growing the next generation, by seeking instructional roles.

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Cognitive performance will be enhanced through active seeking of diversity and a tolerance for ambiguity. Dealing with Defence-related wicked systems will be normal.

Problem-solving will increasingly accept increased risk to reflect the greater depth of wisdom and confidence in one’s judgments. This level is also noted for strategic thinking, visioning and championing a learning culture.

Level 4 leaders will be strong advocates of divergent thinking in their subordinates (when appropriate), to ensure Defence continues to improve systems and processes.

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At the enlisted level, Tier B and C warrant officers provide a vital link across the ADF, not only championing 75% of the ADF at the strategic table but also helping translate the top-down messaging. To do this, they must excel in understanding both worlds. Strategic level warrant officers also play a pivotal role in the command team relationship not only as advisors to decision-makers, but also in the strategic leadership of organisational culture, ongoing professional development, and the ideological underpinnings of the Profession of Arms throughout the ADF’s workforce

For those still in key roles within their primary category, there will be strong leadership expectations to ensure the delivery of capability, strategic advice on capabilities, limitations and future needs, as well as shaping the professional development system to grow future generations within the field.

Senior officers and their equivalents will be comfortable in crisis leadership situations across all aspects of Defence. They will be highly effective when commanding Joint Task Forces or conducting influence operations. This performance will come from a deep understanding of Joint Force attributes, structures, capability requirements, emerging concepts and risks affecting military strategies and campaign development. Their strategic leadership abilities will extend to synthesising operational lessons learned across all Force elements including deployment, employment and sustainment. All of these areas will be enhanced by their astute awareness of political and resource implications in joint warfare strategy and planning.

Multi-agency, political and global wicked systems are an expected reality of Level 5 roles. Those operating at this level will have the cognitive agility to respond comfortably with these challenges by exploiting paradigm shifting approaches (such as nudge theory) to improve systems to a more advantageous state.

Senior leaders at this level will be expert in strategic communication and information impacts. They will comfortably implement grand strategy through future-focused policy formulation and employment of armed forces. Their expertise in national intelligence community and architecture will help them influence national security and foreign policy. The implications of contemporary challenges on national security strategies will be understood. This depth of understanding will be drawn from a strong awareness of national powers’ characteristics, capabilities and limitations combined with the civil-military relations necessary to deliver national power instruments.

Senior officers and SES band public servants at the highest echelons will be skilled in decision cycles and information/knowledge management systems. They will understand Government processes for capability acquisition and how to exploit technology enablers within enterprise systems.

As leaders of Force Element Groups (FEGs) or Joint Task Forces (JTFs), senior military officers will integrate emerging capabilities and technology to both maintain force-in-being deterrence and deliver operations to meet Government response options. In policy and advisory roles, they will exploit emerging capabilities and technologies when shaping military strategy, policy development and implementation. Industry engagement will enhance support of sovereign capability and Australia’s economic prosperity

A Service Warrant Officer is a unique appointment within each Service, one of influence and advice rather than Command. E10 Warrant Officers have strategic leadership responsibilities as Command advisors to Senior Leadership of their Service to provide critical insight to key decisions through an alternative lived experience and with support from Senior Enlisted Personnel to give a balanced, informed and analysed perspective from the workforce.

They also play a pivotal role in the organisation’s leadership, able to utilise their professional knowledge and experience to provide context and make the complex simple and the simple compelling. The unique appointment ensures the Service WO stays connected to contemporise issues for the workforce and represent those gaps and opportunities at the appropriate delegated level.

Service Warrant Officers deliberately steward, communicate and are genuinely dedicated to their Service; while always supporting strategic organisation culture and setting the conditions for long-term success.

Service Warrant Officers have a concurrent liability to foster relationships supporting Australia’s national power through networking and encouraging active engagement with counterparts to promote a commonality of purpose: – Friendship, Partnership and Leadership.