‘Lines to take’
News is often about negatives and negatives nearly always means that someone has to defend. The ‘line to take’ is the answer you prepare for an anticipated difficult or hostile question.
Unlike the discredited ‘spin’, a line to take does not seek to deceive or to avoid the question. It does seek to identify and promote the positive aspects of the situation.
Researching for an interview
You will never see a professional walk into a media interview unprepared.
- Know your facts. Never knowingly go into any media interview without knowing all the facts about your organisation.
In a crisis situation these should be as up to date as possible. Don’t write them down on a crib sheet, know them – there is nothing worse than a journalist seeing a so called expert having to consult notes
- Do a SWOT analysis of your organisation. Identify the weaknesses and the threats and be prepared to be questioned on them. If you can’t defend the obvious shortcomings in your organisation then you shouldn’t be in front of the media
- Be aware of recent statements put out by your organisation. Don’t allow yourself to be caught out by a journalist saying “in a statement issued recently by your organisation . . “ Make sure that you cover all statements including any marketing materials, guidance notes, newsletters and handbooks. Also check out all press releases, speeches and any other public statements issued by senior executives
- Be aware of recent news stories. Your corporate communications people should have a record of all media coverage about your organisation. Also make sure that you have reviewed all the newspapers for at least the last week before the interview. This should make you aware of any minor stories which might have a connection, however distant, to your organisation
- Ask the journalist or researcher for the media outlet the areas they wish to cover. They are unlikely to give you the precise questions, but they would normally tell you the areas to be covered in an interview. If it is for a press conference then assume all areas will be covered.
Preparing for an interview
Now that you have done your research, you should gather all that information together.
- Get your PR/Communications specialists along with any experts together into a brainstorming session
- Armed with all the research and any information you have gleaned from the media, work out all the potential questions that you might be asked
- Now prioritise those questions with the most likely at the top.
Building your ‘lines to take’
Now you are in a position to create your ‘lines to take’. For each of the questions identified:
- Determine the threat point in the question
- Outline the facts and the true situation as you know it
- Practice an answer out loud
- Review the answer and get your team to identify the potential dangers in your answer. Also identify what possible follow up questions could be asked and any dangers they might provide
- Based upon this brainstorming determine whether your answer is rigorous enough to stand the media scrutiny. If the answer is no then try presenting the answer in another way. Ask yourself if you have left out any key facts
- Once your answer is deemed rigorous enough to stand up to the media scrutiny continue to rehearse the answer until you feel comfortable with your delivery
- Be aware that you can never identify the exact question you will be asked only the nature of the question.
Now that you have developed your ‘lines to take’ these should be communicated to everyone in the organisation to ensure that the message is coherent at all levels.
There is a big difference between knowing the theory and making it happen. For help in implementing your communications practices email us now.
