Giving feedback to senior leaders about their latest media interview can be a tough conversation.
It can be particularly daunting and challenging if that feedback is negative.
But, as many organisations rely on their bosses for interviews, it is a crucial conversation to have.
As we discuss on our media training courses, it is an integral part of spokespeople developing and getting better at media interviews.
So, how can we make this process easier?
Well, this was an area I struggled with in previous roles as a comms manager, so I asked an expert.
I spoke to Tienie Loubser who devises and delivers business coaching, management skills and interpersonal skills training for one of our sister companies, The BCF Group, to get his advice on giving ‘feedback up’.
“When it comes to giving feedback to someone senior, there are three main concerns people tend to have,” he told me.
“Often, it is down to your insecurity around wanting to give that feedback. People also tend to worry about how the feedback will be received. And thirdly, they may be concerned about whether it will be held against them in the future.
“All of these things might be going on in your head. But the important thing to consider is that a normal adult will seek feedback because they want to get better.”
So, with this in mind, what is the best way to give a senior leader feedback about their media interview performance?
Timely
The first crucial factor is that the feedback needs to be timely.
This doesn’t necessarily mean talking to them about their media interview at the first opportunity. It is about choosing the right moment.
Tienie said: “Feedback needs to be given at the right time.
“You need to consider whether they are in the right frame of mind to talk about the feedback or whether they are consumed with other things.
“But you don’t want to wait too long. There is little value in giving them feedback three months after the interview.”
However, if your spokesperson is taking part in a series of interviews on one day, and you spot something that needs to be phrased differently or a question that needs to be managed differently, you need to act quickly to prevent the same mistake being made in all the interviews.
Start
Another vital part of giving feedback to someone senior is allowing them to choose where to start.
Tienie says the feedback should be presented as containing both strengths and areas of improvement and then allowing them to choose where to begin the conversation.
Tienie said: “You should begin by saying ‘I’ve got some feedback I need to give you – there is some stuff you did brilliantly and some areas we need to look at again – where do you want me to start?’”
“This helps to give them some control of the conversation, but most people tend to start with the areas that need improving.”
Examples
Just like media interviews feedback to a senior leader should be specific and based on examples.
Generalities and broad observations are unlikely to lead to an improvement in future interviews.
Even when the commentary is positive, ambiguity needs to be avoided.
Tienie said: “When you said this, it came across this way, and the impact was this’… - that’s how the feedback should be presented.
“How you could do this better is…” is also another key phrase to help you introduce examples.
Get their thoughts
A good way into any feedback conversation can be to ask for their feedback first.
Did they feel they had everything they needed to prepare for the interview?
Was there anything they would have wanted to be added to the interview briefing document? Or maybe it contained too much detail and would be better if it was shorter in future?
Asking these sorts of question may help you improve the service you are providing, and lead more naturally into a conversation about their interview performance.
It also shows that you are looking to work together with them as a team.
And most of the feedback can then be phrased through questions. How do you think you handled that awkward question? How would you answer it differently next time? Do you think your example worked?
What you must avoid, however, is questions that are too general.
Tienie said: “Feedback is a blank canvas, and an artist hates a blank canvas. If you ask something like ‘how did that go’, you will get an answer along the lines of ‘yea, it went alright’, which gives you nowhere to go.
“The questions need to be targeted and based on what they wanted to achieve.” So, try questions like:
- Do you think you got your key message across?
- How well do you think you handled that negative question?
- Did you feel confident and relaxed or nervous during that?
Own words
Another crucial consideration when giving feedback to someone senior is to ensure you are the source.
Don’t get yourself into a position where you are providing another person’s thoughts on the interview.
This will only confuse the person you are speaking to and could make them concerned people are talking about them behind their back.
Stick to what you know and your thoughts.
The only time to deviate from this is if you have some feedback from the journalist.
Comments from the reporter can add weight to your response and provide additional expert analysis.
Many journalists are happy to do this, particularly if they work with you regularly because it is in their interests to speak to confident and coherent spokespeople.
The only note of caution with this from Tienie is that this journalist feedback should not come as a surprise. So, when you are preparing spokespeople for interviews, let them know that you sometimes get feedback on how people perform to aid development and improvement.
Feedback or feedforwarded?
Despite its name, feedback should look forward.
Anything you say after the interview is not going to change what happened.
But it can lead to a more positive impact on future media appearances.
Even if they made a glaring error, don’t dwell on that mistake. The focus should be on what to do differently in future interviews and what worked well that could be used again.
Over confident
But what about if your spokesperson believes they have done a great job and are confident about their interview performance?
Tienie says the first consideration is whether they are right to feel pleased with themselves. If you also feel they have done well, but have spotted some small areas for improvement, acknowledge the positives first and then go on to highlight what could be improved. Tienie says: “You could say something like ‘to improve the outcome even further next time, you could…’”.
If their confidence is misplaced, it becomes trickier. Tienie says: “Begin by asking them what feedback they would give themselves. Hopefully, they will give you at least one area for improvement which you can then build on with your own feedback.
“Agree with them that you thought they did well, and start to bring in what you think can be improved by more questions. So, you could say something like ‘I thought it was a really good interview. There were a couple of things I spotted – can I ask you a couple of questions?’
“You can then go on to say ‘I saw you did this -I was wondering about delivering it this way as an alternative to give more impact’.
“This questioning feedback has three stages – what you say; what your alternative is; what the impact of that could be.
“If you think about great sportspeople, they always seek out feedback to help them get better. The same should be true for those at the top of businesses and other organisations. If not, they will stagnate and others will overtake them.”
We provide media training to lots of different senior leaders, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses.
Feedback is a crucial way of helping them address areas for improvement and understanding how they can hone their performance.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 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 blogs.
The BCF group has been helping organisations develop their talent, inspire their people and overcome obstacles and challenges, for the past 25 years. You can find out more about their training here.
