The doorstep interview is the one every spokesperson wants to avoid.
After all, who would want hordes of journalists and cameramen gathered outside their home or place of work? Rarely are they there to report good news. Normally it is the start of a crisis media management situation.
But as daunting as this scenario seems, the one thing you must avoid is completely ignoring the media.
However, not everyone appears to have taken this golden rule on board.
The latest person to make a complete hash of this challenging interview type is Jeremy Hunt.
The Health Secretary found himself being accused of ‘running away’ from the latest NHS controversy after refusing to answer questions from a TV reporter about hospital waiting times.
Mr Hunt found himself in the firing line after making a speech to The King’s Fund in London earlier this week.
Rather than briefly stopping to talk, he chose to walk past reporters causing them to pursue him along the road while continuing to ask questions.
His only comment, which sounded very defensive, was to say ‘Sorry Beth I’ve answered questions about this already’ in response to Sky News reporter Beth Rigby’s question on whether four-hour waiting times were being scrapped.
The somewhat farcical scene was compounded by Mr Hunt’s inability to locate his chauffer driven car, which caused him to double back on himself. Even by politician standards it was an embarrassing U-turn.
As well as the awkward footage being broadcast on Sky News, Mr Hunt’s actions were not favourably reported in the printed and online media. Here are a few headlines:
Chicken Jeremy Hunt runs away from questions after true scale of NHS Crisis exposed Daily Mirror
Hunted! Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt flees TV reporter’s questions after causing confusion over future of four hour A&E waiting target Daily Mail
Jeremy Hunt runs away from reporters as he desperately tries to dodge NHS questions Daily Express
Jeremy Hunt flees TV reporter as she demands answers on NHS waiting times pledge Huffington Post
All pretty ugly and yet the ‘runs away’ and ‘flees’ part were so easily avoidable.
So what exactly could Mr Hunt have done differently?
The key to emerging from doorstep interviews successfully is to stop and give the reporters a brief sound-bite so they can move the story forward. Then promise to comeback with something fuller later. The truth is no-one is really looking for a full interview in this scenario.
Saying ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon’ not only ensures you sound polite but also gives you a little time to compose your thoughts.
It’s also important that what you say does not sound overly defensive or irritable. This will simply create an impression of having something to hide and lead to more questions.
Additionally, as with press conferences, it is important to have an exit strategy so you know where you are going after you have made your comments and can make a quick getaway. Walking around trying to find your car or struggling to get back into your office, for example, does not create an impression of competence.
One of the biggest issues with this type of interview is it catches people off guard and they feel ill prepared to face the media. Of course you don’t know when you will face this level of scrutiny – although Mr Hunt must have had some idea - but good crisis communication training, using current working journalists, can expose you to this environment and help you feel more prepared.
You can find more tips for surviving a door step interviews from one of our expert tutors in this short video.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Click here to find out more about our highly practical crisis communication training.
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