THE PRESS CONFERENCE - 4

On the Day

Well if you've done your preparation properly, it should all go like a dream. But it never does, of course. There will always be something that goes wrong. Don't worry. Well, worry a bit! But don't panic. If your homework is good, you'll cope. Even if there's a power cut and you can't run the videotape, the emergency lights will come on. Maybe the hotel staff will find you a few candles and you can enjoy the fine cognac in an even more intimate setting.

Don't Delay

One very important point; start on time. If you wait until everybody you expect has sat down you'll wait for ever. The ones that bothered to be there on time will resent the delay. Worse, they'll be late next time. And you'll (and your organisation) will be perceived as rather amateurish. Can they trust your handout if you can't even manage to start on time?


And after…

Well the event itself is now a possible news story. Prepare a handout (with photographs or other aids as relevant) and send it to any reporter or organisation that declined your invitation.

But that almost certainly won't be the end of the affair. You'll be checking all the stories that followed your press conference, of course - on radio, television and in the papers. Check them for accuracy. Don't worry about every little detail - how many news stories are one hundred per cent accurate? - but if there's a significant error you should correct it. In a nice way - journalists don't make deliberate errors.

Look back at your handout to see if that was partly to blame. Could you have written any point in a simpler, clearer way? Even if the reports were all factually accurate, could you change your layout, approach, writing style or whatever to engender more enthusiasm on the reporter's part?

You'll probably find that at least some of the reporters with later deadlines want follow-up stories. If you know them personally, feel free to ring and ask if there's anything more you can provide. But don't chase journalists you don't know well - they'll very likely resent your pushiness.

Were there any reporters who said they'd attend but didn't? Try contacting them to see if a press kit or personal meeting might be welcome. But always follow the narrow line between not getting enough coverage and appearing pushy.

Last, but not least, if a reporter has done a really nice piece of work, compliment him or her. It's a good investment for the future.

And it's the end of the section on interviews. Watch the next interviewee you see on a current affairs programme carefully. Can you spot his bridges? If he's very experienced, you almost certainly won't be able to. Practice makes perfect, they say. If you don't have a chance to practice just at the moment, you might want to have a look at the section for interviewERS. Nothing like the gamekeeper knowing what the poacher is likely to do...

Happy interviews.