PR Week offers some great tips on how to prepare your CEO for TV interviews.
Most of these items are useful for print and radio, too. They’re courtesty of Jerry Doyle, EVP at CommCore Consulting Group.
1. How well does he know the subject matter for the interview?
It is perfectly reasonable to expect that the CEO has only top-line knowledge of the inner workings of the organization. You should gain a sense for how he would field a question that requires specificity. Avoidance or spin is not good advice. But, there are appropriate and credible ways to answer a “bull’s-eye” question with a “target” answer.
2. What does he think will be the first question?
The first question in an interview — and how it is handled — may very well set the tone and the “rules of engagement” for the entire Q/A. It can be disastrous if your CEO is expecting the first question to be a “softball” and it ends up hard and fast and trips him up.
3. What question does he think will never get asked?
CEOs frequently assume that issues resolved will not reappear. They will. Showcase this by having the media trainer bring it up in rehearsal. Better yet, do some quick, stealth soft-sounding of your friends in journalism and report back to your CEO.
If you’e willing to buy a subscription to the rest of the tips, you can read them at the PR News Online website. Click on “Article Archives” on the left, then search for “Top 10 Things” and then you can buy a subscription.