Sometimes in a media interview it’s not so much what you say as how you say it.
A lack of eye contact in a television interview, for example, could be viewed as a sign of evasiveness and defensiveness.
Slouching can make spokespeople appear uninterested and lacking confidence.
And there are plenty of other subtle body language tips we cover on our media training courses, not just for TV interviews, but for radio and print as well.
But one thing we don’t generally feel the need to cover is responding to a journalist’s question with eye-rolls and exaggerated sighs.
That’s a really basic mistake, yet it didn’t stop a high profile spokesperson making it yesterday.
Now, this clearly isn’t the platform to discuss the on-going wreath row surrounding Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
But a media training blog should look at the way he dealt with the media as he tried to get his side of the story across.
And, it was pretty woeful.
In fact, it is hard to remember an interview where a spokesperson has treated the reporter’s questons with such apparent disdain.
Asked by Channel 4 News (around 5 mins in) whether he had laid a wreath at a ceremony at the Palestinian Martys Cemetery in Tunisia, Mr Corbyn responded with an exaggerated eye-roll and deep sigh.
And his annoyance also came through clearly in the language he used, telling the reporter ‘as I keep repeating and you seem not to understand’.
Aside from the sigh and the eye-roll, listen to the way Jeremy Corbyn speaks to this reporter and to her response about 30 seconds in. She is asking legitimate and important questions and his response is to patronise her. https://t.co/wskpVmkdwg
— Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) August 14, 2018
This is not about whether or not Jeremy Corbyn was laying a wreath or not. The way he handles these questions is appallingly passive aggressive. The eye-roll is just awful. He cannot deal with the media in a professional way: a PM-in-waiting needs to be better than this. 😞
— ChatsEnFrance 🇪🇺🇮🇪🇫🇷🇬🇧💔 (@CatsInFrance) August 14, 2018
Dear @jeremycorbyn - the eye-roll is not a good look for the nation's favourite grandpa. 🙄 https://t.co/1FZfRvSPiE
— Dave Madden #FBPE🇪🇺 (@redmadden) August 14, 2018
The way @jeremycorbyn tries to dismiss the questions put to him by @clarefallon is fascinating. It's worth watching this, just to see his body language. Viewers will divide along prearranged lines, I suspect. https://t.co/ctI8E5i9Vd
— Neil Morrow (@mrneilmorrow) August 14, 2018
Now, he may well have been frustrated with the line of questioning – it was by my calculations the fifth version of that question he had been asked – but why show that annoyance to the reporter and the wider audience?
All it does is ensure that that clip will be picked up by the rest of the media and by social media users. The Daily Mail and The Sun are not the Labour leaders greatest fans, but this interview performance gives them the ammunition to produce headlines like ‘shame you find it so tiresome, Jeremy’ (Mail) .
Even the Labour supporting Mirror ran with ‘Jeremy Corbyn rolls his eyes as he’s asked whether or not he laid a wreath in memory of terrorists’, while a Guardian article described Mr Corbyn’s interview as a ‘tetchy response to questioning about the issue’.
One of the key things we tell spokespeople on our media training courses is to avoid showing any frustration at the questions being asked.
When a spokesperson does become visibly frustrated, it is often interpreted as a sign of being uncomfortable with the line of questioning and that they may have something to hide.
Typically, this will only encourage the journalist to continue to pursue that approach.
Additionally, audiences are much more likely to remain sympathetic to a spokesperson who remains calm and composed – although given the entrenched views of both those who support and oppose the Labour leader, it is likely to make little difference in this case.
As well as the sighing and eye-rolls, phrases like ‘as I keep repeating’ or 'as I have already said’ should also be avoided. They are tell-tale signs of frustration. It also means that if the interview is pre-recorded and the broadcaster only had time for a short clip, they won’t be able to use this part of the interview even if it goes on to become the strongest response.
How do we prepare your media training course?
Here are a few other body language tips which you and your spokesperson (and Mr Corbyn) should consider before an interview:
Don’t demonstrate anything which suggests you don’t want to be doing the interview (reluctant people generally don’t make good spokespeople), that you are out of your comfort zone or don’t know what is going on.
Maintain good eye contact with the reporter to ensure you come across as credible and honest – looking up or down when answering a question may make you seem shifty and untrustworthy.
Fiddling with your glasses or fidgeting with your hands will tell the reporter, and the audience, you are feeling nervous and uncomfortable.
Crossed arms can make you appear defensive while tilting your head too much can make you appear puzzled and unsure.
Inject some passion and enthusiasm in to the message and emphasise key words and phrases to make them more impactful to the reporter and the audience.
You can find more tips on body language for media interviews in this short video with Siân Jones, one of our current working journalist tutors.
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 bespoke journalist-led media training courses. Or book a place on our next media training open course.
