AFM Home | The Staff Report | July 2003

The best way not to be blindsided by sticky questions is to be prepared and have your agenda mapped out. Decide what your specific goals are and what message you want to communicate. Then, anticipate some of the more difficult questions that could be thrown at you.

The average audience walks away remembering one major point you’ve made. By deciding what you want that point to be and being able to convey it in a single concise sentence, you’ve positioned yourself to influence the direction of the interview.

When a reporter (or anyone, for that matter) asks a difficult question, the idea is to respect the question, yet steer the topic back toward your main point. What if the angle is negative? Avoid using and repeating negative words or phrases. It reinforces them. The primary key is to “bridge” to your primary message and give a concise response. You can easily remember the steps with our ABC Formula for handling difficult questions:

Acknowledge Emotions & Opinion: Recognize and acknowledge their emotional position before moving on. In other words, listen to them before going further. They have a right to their opinion, and you need to acknowledge that. You don’t have to agree with it. Just the acknowledgement diffuses much of the emotion.

Bridge to Your Point of View: Transition to your point of view with an easy phrase like, “The key issue here seems to be. . .” With this technique, you demonstrate respect for their perspective while putting emphasis on your own.

Concisely State Your Opinion: Clearly and concisely state your point of view. More words don’t necessarily mean more impact. Though it’s often difficult, find ways to succinctly make your point.

Kathleen Hessert is the President of Sports Media Challenge, a training and consulting firm specializing in crisis management, media relations and public speaking. She is also the CEO of NEWgame Communications, a dynamic new company that packages and delivers sports & entertainment content through the Internet in a Vmag (video magazine). For more information visit www.sportsmediachallenge.com or www.newgamevmag.com.