Article from The Business Times, 11 December 2012

WHY do SME owners and leaders have to work with the media? We have enough on our plate in terms of business decisions, while struggling to make time for other priorities like family and health.

Surely, we do not need to have another "distraction". Well, the reality is that we sometimes do not have an option - especially if ours is a listed entity.

We sometimes read of successful, and by most measures, prominent leaders and business-personnel who keep their distance from the media, choosing not to be interviewed or quoted. Well, my take is that many of these people are in a different strata in society, and hence have earned the "right" to exercise their option not to speak to the media. Most of us are not quite there yet.

Working closely with the media is something that many business owners may wish to work towards as part of their corporate public relations strategy, and this can have its benefits.

Whether you are just starting out or are managing an established and successful business, it is actually quite advantageous to seek out opportunities to work with the media. Be receptive when the opportunity comes knocking.

If you are approached by a reporter who is seeking your views or comments on a specific business topic or issue that you are more familiar with compared to the average person-on-the-street, learn to appreciate the opportunity. You could also see it as a privilege.

The last thing you want to do is turn the reporter down as if he were a pest. Sure, reporters are probably going to take up your valuable time, but if you can actually spare those few minutes, do be helpful and share your experience as much as you can.

There will, of course, be occasions when you are working on something more important and cannot spare the time. In this case, explain the situation to the reporter and suggest that he contact you again if he wishes to.

Here are eight useful tips from a business owner who is not an expert in dealing with the media, but who has had some experience in this area.

Be prepared

You cannot be prepared all the time, but do be prepared most or some of the time, should the call come. Due to the nature of the media industry, reporters are always in a hurry. They need your views here and now as they tend to have tight editorial deadlines to meet - be it for the next day's papers, or the evening news broadcast.

If your input is required for a feature story, you may have more time to prepare your responses. However, more often than not, it has to be off-the-cuff. If you are in a meeting and you can step aside for a while, do so. I have on countless occasions, consented to speak to a reporter who called when I am overseas. More often than not, they are appreciative and grateful.

Be smart enough to point this out to the reporter - he will appreciate this and you can count on his help the next time you need something from him.

Be honest

Don't be afraid to be honest if you prefer not to share something or be quoted on a topic. Remember, what is quoted in print or on air cannot be "unquoted".

Or if you do not know the answer, say so - the last thing you want to do is to be found out for saying something that is factually not accurate.

Always remember to take care of your own interests as well - you would not want a lawsuit in exchange for being helpful!

Take your time

Don't be rushed into a response, either verbally or in writing. You may not have this luxury every time, but on the occasion that you do, take advantage of it. There is no need to strive for perfection. Just offer what you know that is factually right.

You may have seen TV interviews, especially programmes from the West, where the host is clearly aggressive and peppers the interviewee with non-stop questions. On occasion, you even witness them being personal and putting words in the interviewees' mouth. The average, un-trained interviewee would not be able to handle such tactics, and will potentially panic and say things he will regret, or worse still, react in an emotional manner. Fortunately for us, our local media people are mostly quite professional and nice.

Listen attentively

By far, this is the biggest problem for most people. You tend to mentally compose your response even before the question is completed, and the reality is that most of us hear what we want to hear, and this may sometimes not be what the interviewer is asking.

When you do this, the brain gets distracted automatically and you may miss out on some of the subtleties.

This applies equally to business and life in general. Consciously tell yourself to listen first, then respond.

If you're unclear about what the reporter is asking you, ask him to repeat the question. If you're still unclear, do not be afraid to ask one more time.

In any interview, it is acceptable to have a brief moment of silence in conversations. Use the pause to further compose your thoughts before responding.

On the odd occasion, you may encounter a rookie reporter who is still a little wet behind the ears and who is unable to ask you a "good" question.

Never humiliate the person. Point this out to him subtly, or after the interview. You may even offer suggestions and help with clarifications. Be considerate, polite, and be a nice person.

Let the interview flow naturally

Let the reporter lead. This is not only polite, but also the right thing to do. The reporter has been briefed about the angle of the story by his editor and he has to stick to it. So, let him do his job.

Be professional

As you would like your time to be respected, you should also respect the reporter's time. So stick to the topic at hand and be totally professional about the engagement. Do not waste time on irrelevant topics.

Keep it simple

If something can be explained in 20 words, why use 40? Editorial space is always in short supply. There is the odd chance that the gist and context of your message can be misconstrued by a sub-editor who is rushing to finish the editing work.

Rather than risk this, keep your responses short so that editing will be minimal, reducing the risk of a misquote.

Keep hype to a minimum

Never use the occasion to market your company's products or services, or in any way suggest it is the best or among the best. Refrain from being overzealous about hyping your comments.

Working with the media is mostly about win-win situations, and it should be a fun experience. Reporters have a job to do, and you are essentially a "tool" that they can use.

However, you can also win by having your expert views quoted in the public domain. Whether you are a business owner or a corporate executive, it can do more good than harm to be known in the industry.

In the current "Me, Inc" scenario where you have to take charge of your own career and be accountable for maintaining your employability or the success of your company, learning to work more effectively with the media is in your best interest too.

The best thing of all is that the publicity is absolutely free!

The writer is founder/executive coach of NeXT Corporate Coaching Services