I don’t particularly like the term ‘car crash interview’.
But, take one look at social media and it is clear that it has become the vogue way to describe media interviews that have not gone well.
Even newspapers use the term now:
‘It was the interview that should never have happened’: Nick Ferrari on that Diane Abbott ‘car crash’ The Telegraph
So while I may not like the expression, it seems to be here for the foreseeable future.
The key question, however, is how can spokespeople avoid having their media interviews described as being a car crash?
Here are our tips:
Preparation
If you’ve read this media training blog before you'll know we often talk about the importance of preparation.
And we are going to do so again because preparation really is everything when it comes to media interviews.
While it is important for a spokesperson to be clear on the message they want to get across and how they can support it, preparation cannot solely focus on messaging.
It also needs to consider the wider issues and ‘unexpected’ questions that could realistically come into the interview.
The good thing is that these things are generally easy to predict with a bit of time and effort.
Start by thinking what the worst question would be that your spokesperson could face and then consider the best way to respond to that without appearing defensive and evasive.
Have something to say
Journalists will not go out of their way to stitch spokespeople up, but they do need to come up with an interesting story to tell their viewers, listeners and readers.
If they feel they are struggling to get a newsworthy story from an interviewee, or that their questions are being shut down with boring statements and sound bites, they will begin to look for a different angle and try to move the conversation on to different topics.
This signals danger for spokespeople and means they have lost control of the interview.
The key way to avoid this is to ensure they have something to say in the interview which meets what we call on our media training courses the TRUTH test.
The acronym stands for Timely, Relevant, Unusual, Trouble and Human and if a spokesperson has something to say which covers at least four of those elements, they will pass the newsworthy test and have more control of the journalist.
Know who is asking the questions
Some of the really poor interviews I have seen often suggest that the spokesperson has not done their homework on the journalist carrying out the interview.
While some hard-hitting journalists like Jeremy Paxman have retired, there are still plenty out there with ferocious reputations. Nick Ferrari on LBC, for example has tripped up many an experienced spokesperson and is a real stickler for figures.
An example that really sticks in my mind of an interviewee clearly not knowing anything about the journalist she was talking to was when Talk Radio journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer interviewed Sarah Olney after she had just been elected Richmond Park MP. The pro-Brexit journalist’s first question to the politician in favour of a second EU referendum was ‘when is the second election going to be held?’
New Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney dragged off air by PR after grilling by Julia | talkRADIO https://t.co/lonQfbQU2E via @talkRADIO
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) 2 December 2016
Yes, that was a clever set-piece question, but the smallest amount of research on the journalist would have revealed she has strong Brexit views and has a reputation for asking tough questions.
It is important spokespeople understand the reporter they will be talking to. Visit their social media profiles and find out what they are talking about. Look back at their previous articles.
Acknowledge the question
Some of the most infamous interview disasters have been those where the journalist repeatedly puts the same question to a spokesperson because they feel it is being ignored.
One of the most famous interview interrogations saw the then Conservative Party leader face the same question from Jeremy Paxman more than a dozen times.
More recently, John O’Keeffe from the Garda Representative Association in Ireland faced the same question 13 times during a calamitous interview on RTE.
The full version: GRA spokesperson John O'Keeffe's interview with RTÉ Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds over breathalyser data controversy pic.twitter.com/74XKy5157C
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) September 14, 2017
Whenever this happens it creates compulsive viewing and listening for the audience.
Of course, spokespeople will at some stage face nightmare questions that they just don’t want to answer.
But there is a far better approach to managing them than simply ignoring it and hoping that it goes away.
The bridging technique enables a spokesperson to briefly answer, or at least acknowledge, tough questions before taking control and steering the interview to something they are more comfortable talking about.
Know your triggers
Often interviews fall down because a spokesperson is unable to hide their frustration and anger at a particular line of questioning.
You may recall last year that Jeff Fairburn, the then CEO of housing firm Persimmon, walked away from an interview when he was asked about his bonus.
Asked Jeff Fairburn, CEO of Persimmon Homes about his £75m bonus today. This was his response.... @BBCLookNorth pic.twitter.com/eJraBv1e8i
— Spencer Stokes (@spencerstokestv) October 18, 2018
Similarly, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak walked out of an interview with Al Jazeera because he felt the questions were’ unfair’.
These examples received extensive coverage because conflict, controversy and anger in media interviews makes for compelling viewing. The interview with Mr Najib was even named as 2018’s interview of the year for its ‘sheer unadulterated watchability'.
Of course, it can be hard to bite your tongue, but spokespeople who lose their composure find it is a costly mistake which takes the focus away from the message they had hope to get across and makes the interview memorable for all the wrong reasons
So, spokespeople need to think about their triggers. Do they struggle under pressure? Do they dislike personal questions, such as pay? Can they cope with regular interruptions?
Once they have identified what can cause them to struggle to maintain their self-control, they can start to find strategies to better deal with those situations.
It’s worth remembering as well that when a journalist puts an opposing view across, it doesn’t mean that they believe it. They are simply trying to ‘balance’ the story by putting a different side across.
Don’t intervene
A golden rule for PR professionals is to avoid intervening in a media interview even if their spokesperson is struggling.
These interventions are seen in a similar light to a spokesperson showing frustration and annoyance – they are unusual and therefore make a good news story (for the journalist at least).
They also suggest the organisation has something to hide and doesn’t fully trust its spokesperson.
I mentioned the infamous Persimmon Homes example earlier and one of the contributing factors to that being such a disaster was that a PR adviser could be heard off-screen trying to intervene and give advice.
Another example from the US saw a PR adviser stop an interview and offer her spokesperson some last-ditch media training, which didn’t look good when the news channel decided to broadcast it.
Don’t over prepare
Having already stressed the importance of preparation, it might seem a little contradictory to then write of the dangers of over preparing.
But it is a risk. Sometimes spokespeople prepare for interviews by swatting over huge documents outlining how they should respond to every conceivable question and while this will undoubtedly contain important information, it is going to be hard for anyone to really absorb when the pressure is on.
There is also a risk that if they do manage to retain some of these responses to specific questions they will sound like a talking robot parroting a pre-prepared message.
The best way to prepare a spokesperson is to spend 20 minutes talking through the objective of the interviews. Think about why you think they should do the interview; how you want the audience to feel when they see and hear the interview; what action you would like them to take; what you would want them to remember; what case studies and examples should be used to support key points; and, what negative questions are likely to come up.
Social media
You could be forgiven for thinking that the rise of social media means it is increasingly difficult for spokespeople to get away with interview mistakes.
But if you take a proper look at the interviews labelled ‘car crashes’ on these channels, the vast majority are those which involve politicians.
And most of the time it is because the user doesn’t agree with that politician’s politics rather than a result of anything they have done wrong in the interview.
Audiences are generally far more forgiving to spokespeople who are not involved in politics.
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