The problem most people have talking to journalists is not one of delivery, but of content. Unless you are crystal clear about what you want to say to reporters, never do an interview. Even when you’re sure what your main messages are, never do an interview without evidence to back up your key points.
If you want to know what happens when you talk to a journalist unprepared, listen to this car-crash interview with former Green Party leader Nathalie Bennett.
Isabelle Leonard is a passionate public relations practitioner whose career has spanned two continents. Specialising in crisis communication, the highlight of Isabelle’s career came in 2006 when she won the European Sabre award. Commonly known as the Oscars of Communication, Isabelle beat four other competitors for the honour. In the past, Isabelle has worked for organisations such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York where she worked on making films for temporary exhibits. One year later she moved back to Brussels and began working for Interel, where she was a senior consultant for international clients. Today, Isabelle owns her own communication firm, Art & Facts, combining her love for public relations with her love of art. Isabelle’s next project will be to move into documentary making – in between giving clients advice on how to construct PR plans of course.
Hailing from Flanders, Elizabeth Van Den Bergh is a freelance communication consultant and trainer. At the age of 29 Elizabeth was named a deputy director for BIP Huis van het Gewest and two years later went on to lead her own PR team at Mostra Communications. While team leader she worked on projects such as the European Year Against Poverty and the International Year of Biodiversity. Elizabeth is fluent in Dutch, English, French and Italian. Awarded Competent Communicator at Toastmasters, she is also a trained public speaker.
John Holland is a former journalist turned media advisor who loves telling stories, listening to stories and being in the middle of stories. A former United Press International bureau chief in Vienna, John was also senior correspondent and Frankfurt bureau chief for CNBC Europe as well as a radio correspondent for CBS News. He has interviewed dozens of prominent figures, including CEOs, prime ministers and the former President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević. John’s career has spanned many continents, with the highlights including reporting live from Baghdad during the first Gulf War, being in Prague when the communist government fell in 1989 and covering the Rwandan genocide. He now helps clients master media interviews, speak more confidently in public and tell better stories.