Answering a Reporter’s “Tricky” Questions (Part 1)

During interviews, reporters often ask “tricky” questions—questions that seem easy to answer yet hold potential traps, or that appear to present the interviewee with no choice but to give a reply she doesn’t want to give. By anticipating and preparing for these questions in advance, you can maintain the focus of the media interview where you want it: on the key messages about your work.

Here are two tricky questions you can expect from reporters, and strategies for responding to them.

The Open-Ended Question

This question might be phrased as, “Tell me about your work,” or “What is your overall objective?” You may be tempted to give an extensive and detailed overview. But that approach often backfires: the more information you provide, the more opportunities you give reporters to determine and publicize what they think matters most about your work, and it may not be at all the idea you want to convey.

Instead, briefly acknowledge the question before transitioning to one of the supporting key messages you’ve prepared in advance, such as why your work is important, what a major finding is, or how you reached your conclusions (your method). For instance, you might say, “We had a number of objectives. I think one that people will find especially interesting is….”

The Speculative Question

This type of question asks you to predict the future or to envision an outcome: “What if the H1N1 virus wipes out a large portion of the population?” Once you’ve entertained one speculative question, you open the door for others. It will then be difficult to justify not answering a subsequent question that makes you uncomfortable.

When asked a “what if” question, politely decline to answer it literally and then transition to a key message: “I don’t want to speculate on that, but what I can tell you is….” Reporters won’t be offended. They know that a speculative question goes outside the interview’s proper boundaries; but in their pursuit of a “juicy” quote they’re hoping that you’ll answer it anyway.

We’ll look at how to handle other tricky questions in the next issue of Leaders’ Link.