This is the second workshop at the UN. The first was in April. There will be a final webinar in September.
Engaging with the media Part 2 - 22 June 2015 with David Thomas
2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
A reminder that you can download the Engaging with the Media PDF in four languages
www.SD2015.org
All the materials are found on the SD2015.org website. It’s a sub-section of the Advocacy Toolkit. Click on MEDIA GUIDE in the top menu.
The site contains audio podcasts with tips and advice from experts in media engagement at NGOs.
TODAY‌ Refresher - messages and audiences Preparing for interviews How interviews work Gauging success 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
These all interact. The medium affects the kind of message and different audiences like different media. Message
Language/Tone
Audience
Medium 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
A message is not a slogan. It’s what you want the audience to understand, remember or do as a result of hearing you.
Message What do you want the audience to‌
understand? remember? do? 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Here we see that journalists are an important first step in reaching our wider audience.
Primary and secondary targets
Social media is all about sharing. So messages and information have to be engaging enough for people to want to share them with their friends.
message journalists audience
audience
audience
their friends
their friends
their friends
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Key messages need to be easy for you to remember when you’re being interviewed.
Key messages Three per interview Keep them simple Take control
Do forg n’t et!
2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
A reminder that journalists are people too.
Journalists Busy Focussed Looking for news Human beings 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
This is how a leading financial journalist in the UK reacts to press releases. It’s not untypical.
What is news? new interesting relevant
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Notice how important human interest is. Make sure you talk about real people and how these issues affect their lives. Print
Radio
human interest facts & stats quotes pictures
human interest examples informality topicality sounds
TV
Social Media
human interest moving pictures open approach examples
human interest informality topicality links interactivity sharing
2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
PEOPLE! NOT PROCESS names‌faces‌.places 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Interview take many forms - TV, radio, print, in the street, in the studio, one to one, discussion, etc., etc.
Preparing for interviews
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
A typical basic radio recording.
A typical TV recording in a street.
Note that recording equipment is now very small, and even print journalists are likely to record audio and sometimes video. Every interview has become a potential broadcast interview!
What to ask a journalist ● ●
Full name & contact details (phone & email) Who they are working for? (Where the work will appear)
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What’s their deadline?
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Who is the audience?
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What are they after? (quote? spokesperson?...)
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Context, angle, hook, peg?
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Who else have they spoken to? 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
What to ask a journalist ●
Where will the interview take place?
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How long will it take?
●
●
How long will it be when published or broadcast? Is it for radio, tv, print, web?
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Preparing for an interview Practise with a colleague or friend Focus on the three key points you want to get across (the “key messages”) Prepare useful phrases Prepare examples Remember to be human 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Robin Hood had a quiver of arrows. You need a quiver of phrases and examples that explain succinctly what you’re trying to communicate.
Quiver of phrases and examples
You’ll have to think of your own useful phrases and examples, but here are some examples to get you started.
Useful phrases “Our organisation’s main aim is to…”
“I was talking to someone who is affected by this…” “We’ve helped more than two thousand people…”
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Note how a dry sentence becomes more human with a few changes and the addition of an example. “The main thrust of this work is to help hospitals work more efficiently by involving frontline staff.
“We know hospitals can work more efficiently. For example, in the north of the country, doctors and nurses at one hospital got together and analysed what happens when older patients arrive for treatment. They looked at every part of the process. As a result 30% more patients were sent home within just one day. The changes saved £3.2m across a year.” David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Interview dynamics A conversation (not a lecture) Intimate (not a performance) One on one You’re the expert Explain things calmly and in ordinary language Be succinct Keep a steady rhythm 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Interviews need to start and end with energy, as audiences pay more attention to these parts. The dynamic is rather different from a conversation in this respect.
Feel good zone! Conversation 70
52.5
Energy 35 levels
Interview
17.5
Start
Time
End
Being interviewed Don’t learn a script Mention the name of your organisation Avoid statistics in broadcast interviews Be human - talk about real people Engage the interviewer Be yourself 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Difficult questions are not necessarily there to catch you out. It might just be ignorance on the part of the questioner.
Difficult questions Unexpected questions Silly questions Irrelevant questions Awkward questions
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Bridging from tricky questions
A Acknowledge B Bridge Control C
2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Some example phrases for bridging. Bridging from tricky questions “That’s a great question, but what we’re really concerned about…” “That’s true but the really important issue today is…” “Let me emphasise a point once again…” “That may or may not be the case, but my expertise is…” “That’s important, and definitely a question for someone else.”
2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Stakeholder - describe their role; empowerment - the ability to do something; mitigate - reduce; nexus - connection/partnership; modalities - ways of doing something.
Jargon and specialist language stake-holder
Please avoid these wherever possible!
empowerment mitigate nexus modalities
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Spot the jargon in these two paragraphs. A multi-stakeholder partnership has released the first-ever comprehensive narrative on global health and country-level progress toward reducing malnutrition everywhere. It was compiled to create a one-stop composite of the often fragmented and disparate information available on global nutrition and to fill some of the critical gaps in knowledge and data collection.
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015
Gauging success Short term: Did you mention your three key messages? Did the journalist look happy? What did the audience think?
Medium term: Did the journalist come back to you? Have you built up a rapport with them?
Long term: Is your work getting wider recognition? 2015
David Thomas Media Ltd
Thank you! www.SD2015.org >>> Engagement Tools >>> Media Support
David Thomas Media Ltd
2015