Five risky questions journalists often ask spokespeople in the climate change sector – and how to manage them
We provide media training courses for climate change organisations, be they scientific institutions, campaigners, investors or academic institutions.
Media Training for CEO’s
As the leading provider of Media Training for CEOs, we particularly wanted to analyse this interview to see what lessons senior spokespeople and Comms teams can take away from it.
Our media coaching helps spokespeople and others doing interviews to get their messages across more effectively. But part of our courses involves enabling them to prepare for difficult questions. You might have given a great answer and helped the journalist with some relevant, useful information about, say, Nature Based Solutions, the voluntary carbon markets or the development of renewables. But then you answer the next question that you’re asked and end up saying something that gives the journalist a better story – for them, that is. But not, unfortunately, for you.
Suddenly, instead of creating positive media coverage for your organisation, your PR consultancy or Communications team finds themselves trying to limit the damage caused by the interview you’ve just done.
So, if you’re talking about climate change and CO2 reduction initiatives to a journalist, how can you handle difficult questions and maintain control of the interview? The most effective way is to identify these questions beforehand and have answers planned for them. This means that you’re not just thinking on the spot.
Here are five risky questions from journalists that every climate change expert needs to be prepared for.
1. They’ll ask what you think about the government or a regulator.
Whether you’re a scientist, a campaigner or someone working in climate finance, you probably have thoughts on the performance of the government or a regulator. They might be positive but, more likely, they will be critical.
Why journalists ask this question.
This is mainly because the media want some controversy but also want to hear insights and thoughts from you, an expert who’s working in this area, day in day out. They’ll want to know the practical implications of a decision by a regulator or a new piece of legislation. They might also want to know how you think regulators and government could make things better for the sector.
What the journalist will really want to hear from you, though, is what’s going wrong. Journalists ask this because bad news and criticism is punchier than positivity. It can also give a stronger story – “The industry is calling on the government or regulator to…”
How to manage this question:
All of our media trainers are working journalists (operating under strict NDAs) and so they know that journalists will ask anyone anything. Bust most of them will understand if you politely but firmly explain that you’d rather not get drawn into this discussion. Don’t forget, though, to then move the conversation back onto the issue that you’ve agreed to discuss.
2. They’ll ask about clients
If you’re a consultant, as asset manager or an investor, it’s very possible that a journalist will want to know who you work for.
Why are they asking this?
It adds authority to your comments, and it grabs the attention of the audience. They might not have heard of you but if they see a reference to a large organisation alongside your name and your quote, they’ll be more likely to read the article or watch the interview.
How to manage this question:
As we explain in our media training workshops for climate change experts, you’re quite within your rights to point out politely but firmly that you can’t mention clients. The journalist will understand this. You can then move on to talk about something else that is relevant to the subject of the interview and is positive for you.
Ideally, you would have one or two clients that you can mention. Having a case study written up with the client’s approval that you can share with the media helps. When you’re looking to ask a company that you work with to act as a case study don’t forget to include the benefit to them. Showing how they anticipated a problem around climate change, asked you, the experts, to help them and they’re now ahead of the game can help persuade them to be featured.
3. They’ll ask who does something badly
As we explain in our media interview skills training for climate change scientists, investors and consultants, this is one of those questions that journalists love to ask. Why? Because we know that it will appeal to our audiences – even if those audiences won’t admit to liking this kind of negative reporting.
Why the media asks this question.
Whatever the issue the journalist is covering, be it building a portfolio based on sustainable investments or reducing a factory’s CO2 emissions, they’ll be aiming to give their audience some advice. This means that they will want to include examples of how to do something well. But, given that we learn from our mistakes, they’ll also want to include some examples of organisations that have managed sustainability badly. Things going wrong and people making errors is always newsworthy.
How to manage this question:
You can always say something along the lines of: “I can’t think of any particular examples but what I would say to anyone wanting to avoid the pitfalls here is that…” You’re then back on the positive and away from this risky territory.
4. They’ll ask your personal opinion.
You’ve given your organisation’s line on an issue such as greenwashing or carbon offsetting and told the journalist what you and your PR company have agreed that you should say. But then the journalist casually asks, “What’s your feeling on this?” or “What do you think? It’s so easy to answer it – but don’t.
Why do they ask this?
As part of our media training courses for climate change experts, we look at what makes a good media story. One of these key ingredients is the “human” element. Even business journalists are always looking for a human story. Your personal opinion about an issue is more human than your organisation’s official line on it.
How to manage this question:
One of the tricks of doing a good media interview is to sound as if you’re talking personally and spontaneously. However, everything you’re saying to the journalist is in keeping with the organisation’s line on the issue. If you sound natural and human, the journalist will be more likely to accept this and less likely to ask: “But what do you really think?”
5. They’ll ask you to speak off the record
We have discussions with climate change consultants and advisors as well as scientists and finance people plus their media relations teams and PR consultants about what off the record means. We’ve discussed this in an earlier blog.
The problem is that although it can sometimes sound flattering to be asked to speak off the record, it can land you in serious trouble.
Why do they ask this?
Information given off the record tends to be more likely to be controversial and to tick the “trouble” box of our newsworthiness acronym. Look at any newspaper article and a quote attributed to an anonymous government minister, or a senior executive will probably sound more honest as well as being punchier than an official comment.
How to manage this question:
We explain to the participants in our climate change media training courses that this question is actually easy to handle. You can simply say to the journalist, “I’d rather keep this on the record if you don’t mind.” They’ll almost always understand this – and they’ll probably respect you for your knowledge of the media business. Again, you can then go on to deliver your key messages – and back them up with some great examples.
Five risky questions journalists often ask spokespeople in the climate change sector – and how to manage them
We hope that this little list of boobytraps has been useful. Journalists don’t deliberately set out to catch you out, as we explain in our media interview training for those working in climate change.
They just want a story – and thanks to our training you can give them that story in a way that also works for you.
Media Training courses for spokespeople in the climate change sector
Our media training courses teach techniques to control interviews and steer away from difficult topics. We create all of our media training for the climate change sector from scratch to meet the client’s needs exactly. Come and talk to us. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.
