Hughes blog post: Three classic media stuff-ups

Today, we’re sharing some classic examples of where media interviews or press conferences have gone wrong.

If you’ve ever had media training you know that looking at “what not to do” can be as insightful and educational as learning and practising the good behaviours.

First up, you would know that not many professional sportspeople are known for their insightful, unique and intelligent media exchanges. Those that do well and stay away from clichés are few and far between. But this example is really extraordinary (click through to view). St George Illawarra Rugby League player Darius Boyd delivers monosyllabic responses at a press conference. The club apologised after this exchange, and I bet Darius Boyd was straight off to media training!

Next up, our interviewee has clearly been told that he has to mention his key message, and stay on message. And boy, does he take this advice seriously. Alvin Greene gets his key message out – and then stays right on message. There’s no wavering here!

Finally, those who are used to media interviews, in which case they might take them a little less seriously than they should. This example shows how you can’t afford to be distracted during a media interview – no matter how comfortable you are with the situation. A Canadian Mayor-Elect Rob Ford conducts this radio interview while doing two things at once – and fails to win over the interviewer, or the audience, in the process!

Later in the week, we’ll share some “what not to do” examples from social media. These days, interacting with the media isn’t just about being interviewed directly – anything you tweet or put up on Facebook is fair game for journalists to use too – even if you don’t think you’re in contact with the media they may nonetheless be following you and your content.

Until then, make sure you head over to the training course page on our website – time to prepare yourself or your company spokesperson for the next time you need to communicate with the public using either traditional or social media.

- Kate Potter