Blog: Be prepared - and be credible

Do Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton know how much a loaf of bread costs these days, or a litre of petrol? And do they know the official interest rate, or current unemployment rate?

With a federal election on the cards, there’s every chance they will get asked these questions in an interview in the coming weeks, if they haven’t already.

Whether you’re the Prime Minister or the CEO of a small business fronting the media to unveil a new development, a school principal announcing year 12 results or you’re hosing down a crisis, you could be asked a “gotcha” question like the ones above.

Growing your credibility, or your organisation’s reputation, can take many years, but a poor performance in an interview where you’re stumped and can’t answer an obvious question can quickly undo your hard work.

It’s human nature to focus on mistakes, and viewers or listeners will mull over your mispronunciation, that incorrect figure, or your lack of knowledge rather than your years of hard work and achievements.

Knowing your own organisation and industry should be the easy part, particularly as you’re in that sector day in and day out. And you should know the obvious statistics.

That’s why preparation is essential. If you know your key points and the bread-and-butter basics of your business and operating environment, you’ll feel more confident when talking about what you do - particularly if you’re required to front the media.

There are some simple steps you can take. Make notes or create a list of talking points. Know what else is going on in your industry that could pop up. If you’re travelling interstate, make sure you correctly pronounce the suburb name you’re talking about. If you’re raising concerns about the cost of living, check the inflation rate. If you’re talking about housing, check the current interest rate, or even find out what an average monthly mortgage repayment might be.

And if I was the media adviser to anyone standing for Federal Parliament in the lead up to the election, I’d be making sure some of the typical election gotcha answers were at hand.

For the record, a loaf of white bread costs about $4 (or cheaper if you buy a supermarket-branded product), a litre of petrol can be anywhere from $1.65 to $2 at the moment, the Reserve Bank set the cash rate at 4.1 per cent on 19 February and the current unemployment rate is 4.0 per cent. Now, who can tell me how much a litre of milk costs?

Verity Edwards

Hughes | Consultant