What happens when your media interview veers away from the subject you want to discuss?
Can you steer it back? How do you do that?
These are questions delegates often ask during our media training.
And we thought we should answer them in our blog after watching how one high-profile spokesperson tried to handle an interview that moved on to other topics.
It came when Nadine Dorries appeared on Good Morning Britain at the start of the Commonwealth Games and was interviewed by Ranvir Singh and Ben Shephard.
The Culture Secretary began with some pretty straightforward responses to routine questions about the tournament.
But the conversation quickly shifted to the Conservative leadership race and her criticism of Rishi Sunak.
And it didn’t take her long to show her frustration and to push back against the line of questioning.
Here is the key exchange:
Singh: “Let’s talk about the leadership contest, shall we and the battle between the two. You seem…”
Dorries (interrupting): “Shall we talk about the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which is why I am here, and the amazing buzz in the city? And shall we focus on the Lionesses and the positives about what is happening over the next five days in the UK?”
Shephard: “We’ve been on air since six o’clock this morning, and we’ve been talking about Birmingham every hour. We are celebrating it, and we are celebrating the Lionesses as well. But we only get you for about 15 minutes. I hope you appreciate that we want to talk about the Commonwealth Games and are thrilled they are going to be in Birmingham. They are going to be a great success. But we also need to ask you about some of the other pressing issues that the political landscape is facing.”
When things get heated in media interviews, it tends to grab the attention of other journalists.
Here are a few headlines generated by the interview.
'Shall we focus on positives!' Dorries loses it at GMB's Ranvir Singh over Rishi revenge Express
Nadine Dorries snaps at Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh and Ben Shephard after being grilled about leadership contest: ‘Shall we focus on the positives?’ Metro
GMB’s Ben Shephard forced to cut into awkward Nadine Dorries spat over price of earrings Mirror
Probably not the coverage Ms Dorries was hoping for from the interview.
But criticising or pushing back on questions is a high-risk strategy offering little reward. And it is not something we would recommend to our media training delegates.
Why?
Focus
Well, it means the subject you don’t want to discuss is likely to become the main focus of the interview. You’re effectively saying to the journalist, ‘I’m not comfortable discussing this’.
It suggests you may have something to hide, and reporters will want to explore that subject further.
Annoy
The approach is also likely to irritate the journalist. Who likes being told how to do their job? How about being told how to do it in front of millions of people? When you annoy a journalist, you are likely to face more difficult questions.
Look again at those headlines we highlighted earlier. None of them focus on what Ms Dorries said about the Commonwealth Games. They all focus on the argument or the politician ‘snapping’.
Memorable
And that’s the big danger. Criticising journalists or their questions makes interviews memorable for the wrong reasons. No matter how strong your message is, people won’t remember what you said – they will focus on your criticism of the reporter.
Sometimes clips of the exchange are shared on social media, creating another distraction.
Arrogant
It is also worth considering that this approach can make spokespeople seem arrogant. And the audience is not likely to be sympathetic to a spokesperson who appears overbearing or keen to avoid scrutiny. Don’t underestimate the importance of the likeability factor in media interviews.
So, what should spokespeople do?
The next intake of our year-long learning and development programme does not start until October. But if you sign-up now, we’ll activate your membership immediately, giving you two months extra membership completely free.
Well, the first thing to remember is that Ms Dorries is a member of the government. And when politicians like her do the media rounds, journalists will have questions about many different topics, particularly when the country is looking for a new prime minister.
It’s also worth pointing out that 15 minutes is massive in media interview terms.
Your spokesperson is unlikely to experience an interview that long where so many different topics are brought into the conversation.
But there are likely to be some questions that go beyond the subject you want to discuss.
Preparation
As we always stress during our media training, interview success begins with good preparation. Spend time anticipating the wider issues the journalist may want to explore and how you would respond to questions on those topics.
Has your business recently been in the news? Is there something happening in your sector or your industry? These are likely areas for questions. Then think about what else is in the news you could get asked about – supply chain issues, rising prices, Brexit complications, pay, carbon emissions, to give you a few examples.
Right now, a journalist might ask what you would want the new Prime Minister to do to make things better for your industry.
The key is to answer these questions in a way that does not distract from your message. That means remaining composed and collected and not criticising a question you believe is irrelevant.
Bridging media training technique
And it means using the bridging technique. Briefly answer or, at least, acknowledge the question asked, and then use the technique to get back to what you want to focus on.
Another uncomfortable question?
This is not the first time Ms Dorries has taken a combative approach to questions she does not like.
Think back to February, and you may remember an excruciating interview she gave to BBC Breakfast.
Asked by Charlie Stayt if she has spoken to Boris Johnson recently, she replied: “Why? Why are you asking me that question?”
When pressed again, she said: “We’ve communicated.”
Asked to elaborate on that response, she replied: “I'm not going to tell you the extent of my communications with the prime minister, I've answered your question we have communicated. What is your next question?"
A little later, she criticised another question for being “very open-ended and non-specific”.
That interview was described as a car crash.
So, why would you stick with an approach to media interviews that clearly does not work?
I’m pretty sure that’s another question Ms Dorries would not be keen to answer.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Subscribe here to be among the first to receive our blog.
