An interaction with the press can turn into a dreadful affair if not dealt with carefully. So, if you are a well-known person or a celebrity, you need to learn to deal with the press before the situation gets ugly.
Plan your interaction
Planning or rehearsing your interaction with the Press can really help boost your confidence. Plan what you are going to say beforehand. Practicing it before the actual event takes a lot of pressure off when you are hit by the spot light. Practice speaking in front of the mirror and make eye contact with yourself while doing so. Remember, you just get better every time you practice, so do it as many times as possible. Record your conversations, then listen to it and see where you falter. Most of the times things sound so much better in our head but not as much when we say it out aloud. Also plan a few witty things that you may want to quote, it keeps the press happy. Do remember, the press is always looking for headlines. If you falter they will show you no pity, they will not think twice before blowing an issue out of proportion. There is a very easy solution to this problem. Give the press something to print by yourself so that they donât drive you to the cliff and make you say something you may have not meant. Plan a hit line. If that clicks, you would have already given them their headline.
Ask a friend
You can also ask a friend who knows you well to do a mock interaction with you. Think of this like an emergency fire drill and you’ll be so much more ready in the actual interaction. Your friend obviously will know your eventful past and so will know what the most controversial things that may come up. If you do get stuck at some point during the discussion with your friend, you can take some time out and think about what you can say in such circumstances, because there is nothing more unfortunate than an awkward silence with the press. If you are stuck in a sticky situation where you are asked about things which are way too personal or unfortunate events which may have occurred in the past that you do not wish to talk about, do not get agitated. Be calm and smile. Handle it diplomatically. Try to avoid it by giving very secretly veiled basic information. Ask your friend to hit you with all sorts of questions, because the media loves to trigger off any sort of emotion, anger being their favorite. When you hear provoking statements for the first time directly from the press, your emotions are obviously going to pour out. But if you have already done the drill once with your friend, you will find it stale when you are actually provoked. You will be more calm and composed.
Be confident
Donât be nervous when dealing with the press. Look your best and be ready to take on the interaction. Always think of the positives. Think about how good it will be if the interview goes well. Never think of the negatives and what you would do if things don’t turn out right. Even if you do falter at some point, just think of it as a minor setback and move ahead. Never ever let the ‘down’ feeling get to you. If you do let the ‘down’ feeling creep in, you will ruin the entire opportunity. Make eye contact with the person who is speaking to you. It will help you get through the meeting very smoothly.
Never critisize another person
The press tries its best to get out all hidden feelings that you may have about another person you are closely associated with. The statement you say may mean something totally different than what it may be portrayed as. So be extremely careful when you talk about someone else. If you are asked about another person, tell them how tangential it is to the topic and try to drag them back to you. If that doesn’t work (and it wonât with some extremely adamant ones) distract them. Share a couple of interesting facts they didn’t know about. These a few things which must definitely help you during your interactions. Try to be esoteric.
Don’t Confide
The Press might try to act quite friendly with you. They would act pleasantly with you and ask you to share information stating that it would remain confidential. With time, they would try to act as your friends and tell you about their problems. In return, they would want to know some of your personal stories. Do remember though, that you should not confide anything controversial to them. This is because the information can be used wrongly at a later time.
