Effective communications and media relations
How to communicate the work of your charity or community group effectively
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Tips for sharing your story with the media
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Get practical tips for media interviews, from explaining your work and preparing your set-up to keeping your answers clear, concise and relevant.
Cover photo: Alex Brenner
How do you prepare for a media interview?
Give yourself plenty of time to set up and relax. For an online interview, have headphones ready, check your internet and charge your device, and put your phone on silent. Choose a tidy background and don’t sit in front of a window. On camera, wear neutral, solid colours and look into the camera, not down at your notes.
How do you answer difficult questions in an interview?
Always try to answer the question first. If it goes beyond what you know, say so and speak from your own experience. You can also use the ABC technique: acknowledge the question, bridge to what you can talk about, then communicate your key message. Keep answers short so they aren’t cut in a way that changes their meaning.
What is this guide and who is it for?
This short guide from Local Trust helps you talk about your community work with confidence when you speak to journalists, broadcasters or podcast hosts. It covers how to explain your project and why it matters now, using lived experience to show what has changed. It then helps you prepare for online, radio and TV interviews, and gives tips on keeping your answers clear and concise and handling difficult questions.
This guide will be useful to residents, volunteers and staff of community groups and community organisations who have been asked to speak to the media, or hope to be.
What will I learn?
- Explaining your project and why it matters now
- Using lived experience to show what has changed
- Talking about the future impact of your work
- Preparing for online, radio, podcast and TV interviews
- Setting up your background, sound and equipment
- What to wear on camera
- Answering the question first, then bringing in your project
- Keeping answers short and preparing a soundbite
- Using clear language and real-world examples
- Handling difficult questions with the ABC technique
Attribution
Produced by Local Trust as Tips and tricks for sharing your story with the media for Big Local areas. Adapted by Locality for MyCommunity.
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