Journalist Tips on How to Communicate PR Surveys
On Monday I received media training from one of the research industry’s top professional organizations: The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). They hired Brenda Foster, a career journalist and now a communications and PR consultant, to teach research nerds about how to succeed with media interviews when talking about research findings.
First she outlined THE PITFALLS –the traps that researchers and their clients typically fall into when talking with a journalist:
- Not having a single, clear objective for the interview
- Not understanding how the interview will further the objective
- Taking too much time to answer a question
- Providing too much detail
- Using jargon and technical language
- Answering a question without shifting back to the objective
- Losing control of the interview
Then she focused on how to answer a question while shifting it back to the objective for the interview. The key is to use TRANSITION PHRASES that allow you to communicate the survey findings you want to highlight:
- Let me explain…
- We might be overlooking …
- For example …
- I’m also frequently asked …
- What consumers really need to know is …
- But just as important is …
- You should also know that …
The nice thing about these transition phrases is they do not evade the question. Instead, they elaborate, add to, and exemplify.
Other important tips included:
- Get to the key finding right away before anything else
- Know what your audience wants to hear from you, and pitch your story to that
- Talk about how the data was collected (but only after talking about the findings), but be super brief
- Be ready to discuss history and trends even if not a part of your survey
Versta Research is not in the business of pitching stories to media, but a lot of our clients are, and they rely on our honed expertise in Turning Data Into StoriesTM to help them succeed. Please reach out the next time you are considering a PR survey or other type of research for thought leadership to learn more about how we can help.
—Joe Hopper, Ph.D.
