‘What happens if a journalist asks me a question I don’t know how to answer?’
“Convenience-led coffee occasions”.
How about that for a piece of industry jargon that sounds wildly weird in the real world?
It came during a recent radio interview that grabbed our attention for the wrong reasons.
Nick Ridley, Costa’s director of property, appeared on Radio 4’s You and Yours programme ahead of opening the coffee giant’s 400th drive-thru store to discuss the company’s performance.
You can listen to it here for as long as the broadcaster makes it available.
Having stressed that the company offers places for people to connect, he was asked why drive-thrus are such a key part of its approach.
“Look, I think drive-thrus have become so important because customer habits are changing,” he said.
“Industry research from Allegra shows that 47 per cent of UK consumers used a coffee drive-thru in the past year, highlighting the shift towards convenience-led coffee occasions.”
And at that point, he was interrupted by the journalist who joked: “Oh, I just feel like a convenience-led coffee occasion.”
In the many years of writing the media training blog, this has to be one of my favourite examples of jargon.
Mr Ridley managed to take something that so many people do every day and find a way of describing it that no one outside a boardroom has ever used. It’s a remarkable achievement – just not a good one.
As the journalist gently highlighted, people – Costa’s customers – do not talk about “convenience-led coffee occasions”.
I’m pretty sure they don’t even talk about “coffee occasions”, regardless of whether they are convenient.
Nor do they talk about “accessing coffee” – another phrase he used later in the interview. People drink it.
It is corporate language – something we always advise our media training delegates they need to avoid in media interviews to appear credible and relatable.
And, although “convenience-led coffee occasions” was the standout example here, a lot of other corporate jargon – “blended estate”, “growth strategies” and “estate strategy” – was also served up during this exchange.
This interview had been preceded by a vox pop featuring people giving their opinions on Costa – a company that has lost more than £30 million in 2024.
It will hopefully come as little surprise to learn that none of them mentioned Costa’s strategies, estate or convenience-led coffee occasions.
And that is the key media training lesson here.
Spokespeople must stick to everyday, simple language. Use the same words and phrases you would if you were talking to a friend, family member or customer.
Back your message up with examples people can relate to – we all love stories - and you will deliver an interview that convinces, compels and persuades.
Sometimes, spokespeople can be reluctant to simplify language, fearing it will make them seem less professional. But that isn’t the case.
Not just jargon
Having grabbed my attention with his use of jargon, Mr Ridley’s performance also offered some other media training lessons it is worth exploring.
Let’s start with how he began.
Asked an opening question about what he was seeing in the market, he started his response by saying: “Thank you for inviting me on to your show today.”
It’s polite.
But it is also boring, particularly if every spokesperson starts their interview in a similar fashion.
You don’t want people to zone out before you get going.
It is also a waste of time. As we stress during our media skills training courses, if you or your spokesperson are appearing on the radio, you could have as little as two minutes to land your message.
'Look'
The Costa boss also had a habit of starting his responses with “look”.
He’s not alone in doing this. It is something we have noticed with increasing regularity.
For some, it is just a habit. Others use it as a verbal crutch to buy themselves a little thinking time as they consider how to respond.
It is similar to beginning each answer with “so”.
The problem is it annoys audiences. It is an irritant.
“Look”, in particular, can also feel condescending or dismissive, like the journalist is asking about something obvious. When used in response to challenging questions, it can also feel defensive.
Ignoring tricky questions
Talking of challenging questions, there is another media interview lesson from this interview.
Asked how quickly he thought Costa could begin to make a profit again, Mr Ridley said: “It is a very competitive market, and that reflects just how strong the demand is for convenient, high-quality coffee.
“For us, drive-thrus are a long-term investment in how customers want to access coffee. They are a key part of our overall estate strategy, and they play an important role in the performance of our business.
“We have been in this space since 2011...”
Overlooking the jargon, which we have already covered, there is little attempt here to answer the question – something which wasn’t lost on the journalist.
She said: “You’ve said that. I’m just asking, that there must be a plan to get back to profit. When do you think you will be back in profit? Can you not say yet?”
Mr Ridley replied: “Look, we remain very focused on our long-term growth and continued investment in our UK store estate. Our priority is absolutely about serving our customers and supporting our team.”
The journalist interrupted again, saying: “You clearly can’t tell me about when you will get back into profit.”
It’s a tricky question, calling for sensitive information. And Mr Ridley was right not to get drawn.
But you can’t just ignore the question.
As our media training course delegates know, you must at least acknowledge the question before trying to steer the conversation to safer ground.
This is known as the bridging technique, and when it is used well, it can be hard to detect. You can learn more about it in this recent blog.
I realise this all sounds critical. It’s not meant to be – it’s a media interview performance that just highlights media training tips and techniques others can learn.
And there were parts I quite liked. In his first answer about the current state of the coffee market, he said: “People have lots of choice. Different customers want different things at different moments. Sometimes that’s value, sometimes it’s quality, and sometimes it’s convenience.
“We recognise that customers are more mindful about what they are spending. For us, value is about the quality of the product, the experience and the role we play in communities. And that’s why we offer a range of options at different price points, including bundle deals.
“It’s important to remember that coffee shops like ours are about more than just coffee. They are places where people meet, spend time and connect.”
I think that’s an answer that many would be able to relate to. The language is relatively simple, and there’s a clear message about coffee shops being about more than coffee.
And I’m not just saying that to ensure I don’t have to avoid Costa next time I want to access a convenience-led tea occasion – I don’t drink coffee.
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