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The hugely talented Mr Weatherley


Brian's B2B blog...

Welcome to my B2BMediaTraining blog – some small thoughts on life, the universe and dealing with the press from someone who crossed over from practitioner to teacher.  The following selection of short articles provides an off-beat (and unashamedly tongue-in-cheek) insight into the many different aspects of the media, along with hints and tips for better communication and an understanding into what gets journalists reaching for their pens, tablets or smartphones to cover your story...


Posts in the topic of 'Awkward questions'...


05 Oct 2022

Something worth waiting for

I’m frequently reminded by advertisements for faster broadband of the importance of speed. Without digressing too much, is it really so important to be able to download a document or jpeg in 15, rather than 45-seconds? Frankly I doubt it. Unfortunately, most journalists are in a tearing hurry. That’s perfectly understandable given the amount of material the average reporter has to generate in their working day, be it for a hard copy publication, social media, podcast, webcast, or video. With all that stuff to deliver it’s no wonder they have a need for speed.

As I have said many times before, when it comes to a media encounter, it’s vital to know how long you’ve got to get your message or argument over. So, long before a journalist opens his or her notebook, or turns on their recorder, you should be asking: ‘How much time have we got?’ From their answer you’ll know whether you’re able to develop a comprehensive explanatory narrative, or simply deliver the bottom-line news.




If something is worth saying it’s probably worth saying it in full, so the journalist gets the complete picture. That means having the confidence (and nerve) to say: ‘You’re not going to fully understand what this is all about in such a short period of time.’ They may well baulk at this suggestion, but if you’re an acknowledged expert in a particular subject or happen to have some specific knowledge they need, you’ll be in a strong position to negotiate for more time. Either way, be prepared to plant the seed of doubt in their mind that their timescale is too short and that they risk missing something that’s important to their story. If you don’t ask for more time, it’s unlikely you’ll get it.

Of course, if they do grant you an extension don’t waste it. It’s a good idea, especially for those chance media encounters to always have two stories to tell. First, the classic short version which cuts straight to the chase for the journalist who really hasn’t got time to spare. And the second, where your bottom-line news is backed-up by a detailed narrative that fully confirms your case.

But what if you can’t persuade the reporter to stick around for the second version? If you know you’re going to meet with a journalist but only have limited time you should put together the key elements of your extended story – e.g. the timeline, supporting facts, external reference information, research material and so on―into a separate briefing document, either in hard copy or on a memory stick that the journalist can read and absorb when they’ve got the time. As a former journalist I’d say hard copy is best as it’s instantly accessible; you don’t need a screen to read it.

With all media encounters, whether it’s the planned formal interview, or the accidental ‘Glad I’ve bumped into you because I just want to ask…’ it’s important to make the journalist understand that the best messages and stories are worth making the time to hear. Are yours?

28 Aug 2022

Are you listening carefully?

It’s been said before but it’s worth saying again, good communicators are invariably good listeners too. It certainly pays to be a good listener if you’re meeting with a journalist. It’s all-too easy to misunderstand a question if you’re not listening carefully. Misunderstand and you could end up answering a question that wasn’t asked. If you listen to the news often enough it won’t be long before you hear someone doing just that. However, it could be a deliberate tactic.

By that I mean the interviewee wants to make a specific point, or get over a particular message, but the interviewer hasn’t offered them an appropriate ‘cue’. That’s about managing the conversation, and in previous blogs I’ve talked about the ways you can direct your interlocutor towards the ground in which you want to plant your own flag. I’m sure you’ve heard them used before. For example, there’s the classic ‘I’m surprised you’ve not asked me about…’ or the other ‘The question you should be asking me is…’




They’re legitimate tools for an interviewee, particularly if the journalist has misunderstood or not fully grasped the issue being discussed. But it’s a tactic that should be used sparingly. Keep trying to direct a journalist away from their line of questioning and they’ll only persist in sticking to it. If you think a journalist is barking up the wrong tree, you’d better be able to prove it. Otherwise, you’ll simply reinforce their perception of where the story really sits.

But back to hearing. Listen carefully to what a journalist asks you and from their delivery, intonation, and emphasis, there’s a good chance you can detect what’s behind their question. You can also determine whether they’re sympathetic, neutral, or antagonistic to your answers, and whether they have a particular agenda beneath their interrogation.

Some journalists ask long convoluted questions that take significantly longer to deliver than the answer! Equally, it’s not unusual for them to bundle-up two or even three questions into one big one. If you’re not listening carefully you can end up missing the most important one. If the question is hard to understand, tell them ask journalist to either repeat it, or better still put it in simple terms. It’s vital you know exactly what’s being asked rather than take a wild stab at it and completely miss the point.

Listening carefully can also pay unexpected dividends. For example, in preparing for your interview a journalist may have picked up a significant piece of information that’s of interest or benefit to you, but which you’re unaware of…and it comes out in their questioning. You’d do well to reply along the lines of ‘I’ve not heard that before. Tell me more about it.’ Their reply could expand your own understanding of an issue and thus put you in a stronger position to respond. It’s far better to admit ‘That’s news to me’, than try to bluff your way through an answer, especially if you don’t know what the journalist knows. That’s never a good position to be in.

03 Mar 2022

Mind the gap...

So, there you are, in a classic face-to-face media interview. The journalist asks you a question. You answer. They ask you another question. You answer again. Then…nothing. You look at them, they look at you. They make a small gesture as if to suggest ‘Is that it? Surely there’s more to come?’ Prompted thus, you start talking again. But have you really any more to say? Haven’t you already answered their question sufficiently? It’s one of the oldest journalistic gambits in the book―create an awkward silence and hope you’ll fill it.

Naturally, you want to give a journalist enough material to take away with them. Hopefully, that will include all those messages you wanted to get over. But filling in the gaps left by a journalist is a perfect elephant trap. Stick to what you want to say and stop. Let the journalist fill any vacuum with their next question, rather than continue talking simply because you were embarrassed by the silence.




Here’s another good tip. When you’re being interviewed face-to-face by a journalist watch what they’re doing while you’re talking. For example, if they ask you a question, do they then write down your answers in their notebook? They may not…for all sorts of reasons. It could be because they could have a fantastic memory and don’t need to write anything down. Possible, but unlikely.

They may be recording the interview and want to concentrate on what’s being said, rather than trying to make a note of everything that comes out of your mouth at the same time. Again, possible―but most journalists recording an interview usually write down the most salient points as you make them, then refer-back to them when replaying the tape. Maybe it’s because they already know what you were going to say (because you’ve said it many times before) and don’t need to record the answer. It can happen.

Now here’s a thing. Say you’ve been speaking for a while and the journalist has only been making occasional notes, then suddenly they start writing down everything you say―then you need to ask yourself: ‘What have I just said that’s so interesting?’ Was it one of the key messages you planned to deliver? If so great. Or was it an off-the-cuff remark you probably needn’t (or shouldn’t) have mentioned, but nevertheless did, simply because you kept on talking?

Just remember, if you’re planning to talk to the media the interview doesn’t end when the journalist puts away their notebook or turns off their recorder. Indeed, it’s all-too easy to think ‘That’s that done.’ It isn’t. A good journalist will still be listening to anything you might have to say informally afterwards, when the conversation can really get ‘interesting’. At that point it’s very easy to drop your guard and say something you’ll regret. Don’t. And later claiming ‘I didn’t think that wasn’t part of the interview’ won’t cut any ice with the journalist. Whether it’s face-to-face, over the phone, or via on a video link, the interview is only over when the journalist says goodbye. And means it.