Interview craft
Media interview preparation: a practical checklist
How to prepare for a media interview — reporter research, message development, predicting hostile questions, bridging, and rehearsal.
Crisis communications media training
How to prepare a spokesperson for a crisis interview: holding statements, what you can and can't say, empathy first, and handling the accusatory question.
How to research a reporter before an interview
A step-by-step guide to researching a reporter's beat, past coverage, and likely angle before you sit down for an interview.
How to answer "no comment" without saying no comment
Why "no comment" reads as guilt, and what to say instead: the four situations behind the question, and specific language for each that protects you without printing badly.
Bridging techniques for media interviews (with scripts)
How to move from a question you were asked to the message you came to deliver without sounding like you are dodging: acknowledge-and-add, correcting a premise, and when not to bridge at all.
On the record, off the record, on background, and deep background
What each term actually means, why reporters and sources define them differently, how to set the ground rules so both sides agree, and why the default is always on the record.
Media interview questions to expect (and how to prepare each)
The question types that show up in almost every interview regardless of topic: the opener, the number, the worst case, the comparison, the personal one, and the closer. What each is really testing.
How to correct a reporter's mistake, during and after the interview
What to do when a reporter states something wrong in a question, when you catch your own error mid-answer, and when a published story gets a fact wrong: who to contact, what to ask for, and what not to do.
What to do when a reporter asks a question you don't know the answer to
The instinct is to fill the silence with a guess. That is how a routine story becomes a correction. How to say you don't know without sounding unprepared, and how to follow up so it doesn't cost you.
How to handle a hostile or gotcha interview
Preparing for an interview where the reporter is building a case: recognizing the setup, staying calm on camera, correcting loaded premises, and deciding in advance where your limits are.
Message development: how to build three messages that survive an interview
How to write the three things you want remembered so they hold up under pressure: making them specific, backing each with a proof point, pressure-testing them against the hard questions, and knowing when to change them.
How to give a good soundbite on purpose
A soundbite is the sentence a reporter pulls out because it is short, clear, and self-contained. How to build a few on purpose so the quote that runs is one you chose, not one you stumbled into.
How to stay on message without sounding evasive
The line between message discipline and stonewalling: answering the question first, repeating a point without repeating a sentence, and knowing when holding the line is costing you more than it protects.
The interview mistakes that end up in a published correction
Corrections almost always trace to one of a few specific errors: a misremembered number, a fact that was true last quarter, an overstated claim, a misattributed quote. What causes each and how to catch it before the interview.
How to do a no-surprises pre-interview call with a reporter
A short call before the interview to confirm the topic, format, and scope is standard practice and protects both sides. What to ask, what you can and cannot request, and how not to sound like you are managing the reporter.
How to handle a doorstep or ambush interview
A reporter and camera catch you outside your office or after an event. What to do in the first five seconds, what to say, what your body is telling the camera, and how to end it without a clip of you fleeing.
Interview formats
How to prepare for a TV interview
Preparing for broadcast: how live and taped differ, soundbite discipline, on-camera presence, and what to do in the last five minutes.
How to prepare a CEO for a podcast interview
Podcasts are long, unedited, and conversational, which makes them easier to relax into and easier to ramble through. How to prep an executive for the format without stripping out what makes it work.
What to wear for a TV interview (and why it matters on camera)
How clothing reads on camera versus in person: which colors and patterns cause problems, what to do about glasses and jewelry, and how to dress so the audience listens to you instead of your outfit.
How to prepare for a live radio or podcast phone interview
Radio and audio-only interviews reward a different set of skills: no visual cues, a premium on how you sound, and a live format with no edit. How to prep for the medium.
How to be a good podcast guest
The habits that make a guest worth inviting back: doing the homework on the show, telling stories instead of reciting points, letting the host lead, and knowing the difference between candor and carelessness.
How to prepare for a panel discussion
A panel is not an interview: you share the stage, the moderator sets the agenda, and the risk is being forgettable rather than being attacked. How to prepare to be the panelist people quote afterward.
How to prepare for a conference keynote Q&A
The talk is scripted; the Q&A is where you can get caught. How to prepare for audience questions after a keynote: anticipating the hard ones, handling the rambler, and staying on message in front of a live room.
How to prepare for a webinar where you are the expert
A webinar is a hybrid: part presentation, part interview, part sales call, with a chat window full of questions. How to prepare to be genuinely useful without turning it into a pitch.
How to prepare for a documentary or long-form interview
A two-hour sit-down for a documentary or a magazine profile is a different discipline: the interviewer builds rapport, the silences are longer, and a single candid line from hour two can define the piece.
Roles and industries
Investor relations media training: preparing for earnings calls and analyst interviews
How IR teams prepare spokespeople for earnings calls and financial media interviews — forward guidance discipline, analyst Q&A, and staying consistent under pressure.
Government and public affairs media training
Preparing spokespeople for policy and government media interviews — approved language, red lines, and staying on message on politically sensitive topics.
Media training for startup founders
Founders get interviewed before they have a comms team, on topics like fundraising and layoffs where a loose answer has real consequences. A practical media prep routine for people doing it themselves.
How to prepare a subject-matter expert (not a comms person) for an interview
Your best explainer is often an engineer, scientist, or analyst who has never done an interview. How to get them ready without turning them into a scripted spokesperson or leaving them exposed.
Media training for board members and independent directors
Directors are quoted rarely and consequentially, usually in a governance crisis. What a board member should and should not say to a reporter, how it differs from management's role, and when to say nothing.
Media training for healthcare and life sciences spokespeople
Regulated claims, patient privacy, trial data, and the gap between scientific caution and a patient's hope. How to prepare a spokesperson for a health story without overstating what the science supports or crossing a compliance line.
Media training for nonprofit leaders
Nonprofit interviews carry pressures a company does not have: donor optics, the dignity of the people you serve, and questions about overhead and impact. How to prepare when your credibility is the organization's main asset.
Media training for financial services and fintech spokespeople
Material information, forward guidance, regulator scrutiny, and rebuilding trust after an outage or a breach. How to prepare a spokesperson for a financial press interview where the compliance stakes are as high as the reputational ones.
Media training for technology and AI companies
The hype gap, the 'how does it actually work' question, safety and bias, and founder overconfidence. How to prepare a spokesperson for a tech or AI story that is skeptical by default.
Programs and practice
How PR agencies prepare clients for media interviews
A repeatable media training workflow for agencies juggling multiple clients — briefing books, client sign-off, and keeping every account interview-ready without reinventing the process each time.
How to build a media training program that scales
Moving from ad hoc prep before each interview to a repeatable program: a spokesperson roster and tiers, a standing message architecture, briefing templates, a rehearsal cadence, and a debrief loop that compounds.
Media training exercises you can run yourself
Practical drills for practicing interview skills alone or with one partner: the 20-second answer, the hostile-question gauntlet, the bridge drill, the record-and-review, and the cold-open. No trainer required.
Want this done for a specific interview instead of in the abstract? Press Prep researches the reporter, predicts the questions you’ll actually face, and lets you practice out loud before the real thing.