There is a lesson to be learned for nonprofit PR professionals when it comes to the full life cycle of a strong story placement: Getting your client an interview doesn’t make it a win.

We spend hours developing story ideas, hunting down reporter contact information, crafting pitches and following up to secure interview opportunities for our clients. Getting a Good Morning America producer or Washington Post reporter interested is an accomplishment worth celebrating.

But getting the reporter to say yes is only the start of our job. What happens next determines whether that hard work pays off. Sending an unprepared spokesperson into a high-stakes interview can ruin an otherwise incredible opportunity. It’s like the White House plopping Katie Zacharia behind the podium. Not only can it fall short of success, it can be an incredible flop.

Preparing nonprofit leaders to communicate confidently, deliver compelling messages and navigate difficult questions is a critical step.

Here’s how we approach media training to make every opportunity count.

Know the Spokesperson

Before jumping into messaging, we get to know the person behind the interview. Have they spoken with reporters before? What went well? What made them uncomfortable? Are they worried about being misquoted, forgetting statistics or facing unexpected questions?

Understanding a spokesperson’s strengths, expectations and anxieties helps us tailor training and build genuine confidence.

We also explore their personal connection to the organization’s mission. Often, the most compelling part of an interview isn’t a program description but the spokesperson’s own experience and motivation. Take Kyle Clifford, the CEO of amfAR, as an example. Our media training focused heavily on his experience as an HIV-positive man leading the world’s leading HIV-research organization. That personal connection matters.

An Interview Isn’t Just a Conversation

One of the biggest mistakes nonprofit leaders make is treating an interview like a casual conversation. Reporters have a job to do, and they are not your friend. I once had a reporter from The Wall Street Journal tell me, “I am not your client’s PR arm.” And she was right. Reporters look for compelling stories, memorable quotes and information their audiences care about. They may be probing, they may even be combative. It is our job as PR pros to anticipate their style and prepare our client for whatever may come their way.

Spokespeople have a job, too. Answer questions honestly while ensuring their organization’s most important messages come through.

We encourage leaders to put themselves in the reporter’s shoes. Why is this story newsworthy right now? What does the audience need to understand? What facts, figures or examples will make the story stronger? What can you tell the reporter that they cannot get from any other source?

Know Your Audience and Messages

Every media training should hinge on two questions: Who are we trying to reach, and what do we want them to remember about their nonprofit?

For the latter, distinguishing between core messages and key messages is important.

Core messages are the foundational information about an organization’s mission, programs and how it helps people. Key messages are the specific points a spokesperson wants to communicate during a particular interview.

For example, our client Lauren’s Kids has a set of core messages focused on preventing child sexual abuse through education. During CEO Lauren Book’s interview about the growing threat of AI-generated child sexual abuse material and what it means for children, parents, tech companies and policymakers, the key messages focused on three concrete ways to protect children. 

We prepare spokespeople with concise talking points, statistics and real-world examples. We also remind them to assume audiences know nothing about their organization, avoid professional jargon and never speculate about something they don’t know.

Speak Like the Human You Are

Nonprofit leaders know their organizations inside and out. But expertise doesn’t automatically translate into great interviews.

Lengthy explanations, acronyms and technical language can bury the most important information you want to convey.

Reporters don’t want to feel like they are talking to a robot. Instead of reciting stale program descriptions, explain why the work matters and for whom. Instead of overwhelming audiences with too many statistics, choose one powerful number and bring it to life with a real world example. For our client the American Brain Foundation, the powerful number is that approximately 15% to 20% of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) are misdiagnosed. The real-world, human example is Christina Applegate. The connection to the work is that there is still so much to learn about brain diseases, and research is critical.

Reporters need clear, quotable language. Audiences need information they can understand and remember. The strongest spokespeople are concise, credible and most importantly, themselves.

Prepare for Questions You Pray Never Come

High-stakes interviews can involve uncomfortable subjects, from funding challenges to organizational crises to questions about the Trump administration.

We prepare spokespeople for difficult questions before a reporter asks them. That includes practicing blocking and bridging, techniques that help leaders address questions and transition naturally to relevant messages without appearing evasive.

We also discuss why saying “no comment” can suggest there’s something to hide, why speculation is dangerous and why spokespeople should never assume something is off the record. 

The goal isn’t to avoid tough questions. It’s to answer them accurately, maintain composure and stay focused on the organization’s mission.

Practice for the Real Deal

Reading talking points isn’t media training. Greg Silverman, CEO of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger (WSCAH), led advocacy and response efforts against federal cuts and strict work requirements affecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. He was interviewed across a swathe of outlets, and the training differed for each one. A trade publication interview requires different preparation than a national ABC News placement or segment on a local CBS affiliate.

Reporters also have different interviewing styles. We prepare spokespeople for the machinegunner who fires questions rapidly, the interrupter who cuts answers short, the paraphraser who restates answers inaccurately and the dart thrower who suddenly changes subjects.

That’s why all media training sessions culminate in mock interviews, complete with challenging questions, sample responses and immediate feedback.

We identify missed messaging opportunities, practice concise answers and help spokespeople become comfortable navigating unexpected turns.

Don’t Stop at the Opportunity

PR professionals can spend weeks, sometimes months, securing an opportunity that lasts only a few minutes. Those minutes can introduce an organization to new donors, influence public conversations and establish nonprofit leaders as trusted experts.

But none of that happens automatically when a reporter agrees to an interview.

Bringing it back to Katie Zacharia: Just attending law school doesn’t complete the journey to becoming a lawyer. There are more critical steps, like passing the bar, that complete that journey and lead to success. PR professionals shouldn’t stop working once an interview is secured.

Getting the interview is not the win. Getting your organization’s story told effectively is. That’s where media training comes in.