We are often asked on our media training courses for advice on what spokespeople should wear for television interviews.
And it is an important question because if you get it wrong, people will be talking about what you wore rather than what you said.
Take the case of American Football star Cam Newton who opted to combine a silk blue jacket with a colourful printed headscarf, tied under the chin, and gold shoes, for his recent media duties.
That move sparked a series of jokes on social media where his fashion choice was compared to Susan Sarandon in the Thelma and Louise film, the Queen and ET.
Why is Cam Newton going full Thelma and Louise? pic.twitter.com/dSufeoGSRE
— Kingswitz (@Kingswitz88) September 13, 2019
Who wore it better?
— Chad Schloemann🏈📷 (@Atown_Chad) September 13, 2019
Queen Elizabeth or Cam Newton?#WhoWoreItBetter pic.twitter.com/sxU5Z8NAgo
Cam Newton said, “It’s time for me to look myself in the mirror” wearing this 😂😂 #CamNewton pic.twitter.com/3cUDWSUwCL
— Sports Dad (@SportsDad19) September 13, 2019
The quarterback’s outfit was also the focus several headlines.
Panther’s Cam Newton mocked for eccentric ‘Thelma and Louise-style’ headscarf at Tampa Bay game Daily Mail
Even by Cam Newton’s standards, his most recent post-game outfit was a head turner CNN
This is all amusing, but it also shows that people were totally distracted by what he was wearing and were consequently unable to absorb what he was saying.
Now I know what you are thinking – there is no way your spokesperson would have the confidence to attempt a look even remotely similar to this one.
But your dress sense does not need to have the sartorial creativity of this sporting star for it to become a distraction.
Even small errors can become a huge distraction. Narrow stripes, checks and small patterns, for example, can all cause a strobe effect and look to the viewer as if they are moving.
Here are some other key clothing tips for spokespeople:
- Choose solid blocks of colour for the best impact on screen.
- Ties are optional and depend on the organisation you are representing. But if you wear one, make sure it is done up properly.
- Avoid bright white – the camera will pick it up and make everything else seem darker.
- Be wary of bright colours when delivering bad news – opt for something more sombre.
- The jacket and T-shirt combination is often used by female newsreaders and is a good choice for spokespeople – the jacket is also useful for clipping on the microphone.
- Avoid novelty socks and those that are brightly coloured, just in case your feet are in a shot (for example, during a sofa interview).
- Avoid shiny or long dangly earrings and any other jewellery that moves around a lot.
- Men with little hair should use powder on their heads. Those men lucky enough to have hair and women should ensure their hair is off their face – regularly flicking it from your eyes will prove an irritation for audiences.
- Bring spares - you probably won't need them, but it would be typical that your morning coffee is spilt over you on the day you are due to appear on TV.
What to wear for a TV interview
What you wear, however, is not the only easy-to-avoid distraction that can ruin your media interviews.
Here are a few other examples:
Poor eye contact
Not only is poor eye contact distracting for viewers, but it can also make spokespeople appear evasive, uncomfortable and ill-prepared.
We tell delegates on our media training courses that if you don’t maintain eye contact with the journalist, the audience will spend their time thinking about what you are looking at rather than what you are saying.
Filler words
The most common filler words are ‘erm’ and ‘um’ and there is nothing wrong with those when they are used occasionally – they can help to make spokespeople sound natural.
However, increasingly spokespeople use other filler words to buy themselves a little thinking time, including ‘like’, ‘so’, ‘you know’ and ‘basically’.
Not only do these words and phrases contribute nothing meaningful to answers, but the real problem is that they irritate audiences and cause them to stop listening to your message.
Jargon
All too often we hear spokespeople fall back on pointlessly complex language, jargon and acronyms which may well mean something to people in their office, organisation and sector but alienate everybody else.
We tell our media training delegates that if the audience is struggling to understand the points you are trying to make, they will become distracted and lose interest, meaning the opportunity an interview presents has been lost.
Your tone
However strong your message may be, delivering it in a dull, flat, monotone way will ensure the audience will become distracted and unlikely to hear what you have to say.
You need to inject passion, enthusiasm and energy into your voice to engage viewers and listeners and maintain their interest.
Different interview scenarios require different tones. An interview during a crisis requires a warm, authoritative tone, while a message designed to excite requires a lighter tone.
Emphasise the key words in your message by taking a slight pause.
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.
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