Media training helps nonprofit CEOs make the most of high-stakes interviews. Most media interviews are high stakes. There’s always something important you want to achieve: motivate donors; change perceptions on a sensitive issue, or maybe you’re in the midst of an actual crisis.

And let’s face it, any live interview feels high stakes. I’ve done a few TV interviews myself and I know that feeling when your mouth goes dry and your stomach does a cartwheel.

Because media interviews are high stakes, media training is essential. Even experienced nonprofit spokespeople benefit from it. And if you haven’t done that many interviews, media training can be a life saver.

I learned how to media train early in my career at the global PR firm Burson-Marsteller, which had its own TV studio. We video recorded mock interviews with our clients, then played them back while we offered critique. I’ve since trained many nonprofit CEOs, and this is still the best way to conduct a media training session. When you see yourself on camera, it immediately becomes clear what you’re doing well, where you’re floundering, what your best sound bites are and where you stray into unwanted territory.

Seven Tips for Luck in Interviews

Here are seven media training tips I’ve found most valuable in training nonprofit CEOs:

  1. It’s not a conversation. Think of an interview as a message delivery opportunity, not an intellectual discussion. Know what you want to say and say it.
  2. Get to the point. It’s one of the hardest things I have to tell a CEO: You’re talking too much. But it has to be said. People tend to wind their way toward their point. Don’t. Start with your most important message, then fill in the background (if there’s time). When you overtalk, you give the reporter too much material to sift through. The tighter you are, the more likely you are to be quoted on what matters most to you.
  3. Know your messages. Have three. Write them down. Practice saying them in front of a mirror.
  4. Block and bridge. When you’re asked a question you don’t want to answer, block that line of inquiry and bridge to a key message. It’s not about railroading over the interviewer. Answer legitimate questions, but allow your passion for your topic to drive you to your key points.
  5. Use quotable language. Reporters listen for good sound bites. These can be the basis for a good one: Anecdotes. Examples. A data point. 
  6. Make it personal. People respond to human stories, not abstractions. Be ready to explain your personal connection to your work and why it matters to you. Tell stories of the people you serve while taking care to protect their dignity and privacy.
  7. Have a call to action. What do you want your audience to do? Visit your website? Donate or volunteer? Enroll in your program? Tell them.

The goal of media training isn’t to make you come across as an automaton. Being prepared with key messages should free you to be fully present in the interview and allow you to listen and respond to the reporter knowing you’re making the most of a high-stakes opportunity.