PR Tips

Do’s And Don’ts For The Interview Process

DO

• Determine 3 messages you want to convey during the course of the interview, and work them into your responses.
• Take your time to think about your answers before your respond. (Breathing always helps.)
• Try to sound natural and conversational, but keep in mind that this is work, not a chat. Your job is to get your messages across.
• Ask if you can make a few additional comments if the subject matter wasn’t touched upon during the interview, or if you feel some of your comments need further clarification.
  

DON’T

• Don’t drop your guard when talking to the media. Never assume anything is off the record.
• Avoid self-deprecating remarks or asides. They usually don’t come off the way you meant them to when you see them in print.
• Don’t fudge an answer. If you don’t know, you can get the information and get back to them with it later.
• Don’t ask to see an article before its publication. Sometimes a fact-checker will verify quotes, but the final outcome is at the discretion of the reporter and the editor.
  
  
  5 Essentials For Creating Effective Press Releases
  
  Press releases are an acknowledged method to not only reach the media, but to use in sales collateral and on your Web site. Before you issue a press release, be sure to:
  
  
1. Craft a descriptive, yet concise corporate description to use as a standard boilerplate that explains who you are, what you do, who your clients are, etc.
2. Think about the news you are releasing in the context of an ongoing news stream from your organization. Does the news support your overall communications strategy?
3. Determine your target audience so you can write and distribute the release with the proper slant.
4. Make it interesting! And keep it short—as close to one page as possible while still conveying the information.
   
5. Remember that the press release is only one component of a successful corporate communications program.