Before you convene journalists for a briefing on your earnings, a product launch or other important announcement, it pays to be prepared.
As Benjamin Franklin said, 鈥淏y failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.鈥
Use these eight tips to enhance your chances of success, before, during and after your press conference.
1. Know Your Audience
Make sure your target media list is relevant. A former client once discovered his PR team had invited journalists who no longer covered the sector. Worse still: some of those invited were no longer alive.
It鈥檚 normal for journalists to change 鈥渂eats鈥 and for newcomers to step in. You don鈥檛 have to reinvent the wheel. Professional database services can help your PR team keep their contact lists up to date. Your team should also be in touch regularly with the journalists who matter.
Once the RSVPs are in, your team should prepare a briefing note so you know who鈥檚 in your audience. The note should include the journalists鈥 coverage about competitors as well as your company. It should also highlight any developing stories they may be following: AI, tariffs and the economic outlook are current favorites.
Take time to absorb the note and prepare responses for potentially tricky questions. Keep an eye on breaking news in the run-up to your briefing since that can generate questions.
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2. Know Your Subject
Work with your PR team to define your key messages and talking points. Keep in mind that too many messages dilute your impact so focus on the most important ones.
Your credibility depends on your mastery of the subject and the quality of your responses. If you’re going to promote your achievements, collect data and examples to back you up, and make sure you can handle even the toughest questions about them.
3. But Don鈥檛 Be a 鈥楰now-It-All鈥
Even the most talented executives can suffer from Dunning-Kruger effect and believe that, because they are competent in one area, they master everything. Many overestimate their communications skills.
It’s important to listen to your PR advisors and be open to their suggestions. They understand the media landscape and how journalists work. They know which angles and arguments will resonate and which won鈥檛.
4. Use Props and Demos with Caution
If you plan to bring a prop to the briefing, be prepared to discuss it. Donald Trump鈥檚 use of the Declaration of Independence as an Oval Office prop backfired when he described it as 鈥渁 declaration of unity and love.鈥 That was great for late-show TV jokes but not for the President鈥檚 image.
The same is true for demos. Make sure you know how to use them 鈥 and double-check that they actually function 鈥 or the outcome can be counterproductive. Notably, the 鈥渁rmor glass鈥 windows on the Tesla Cybertruck shattered during demonstration.
5. Catch Mistakes in Rehearsal
If U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon referred to artificial intelligence as “A1” instead of “AI” last April, it’s a sign she didn’t rehearse her talking points in advance. Or if she did, no one dared tell her that A1 is a steak sauce and not strategic technology.
Rehearsing your remarks in advance will help you avoid embarrassing mistakes. At the rehearsal, have your PR partner and other experts on hand to flag any issues, and take their advice for correcting them.
6. Choose the Relevant Format
Whether you hold your briefing online or in-person depends on the announcement鈥檚 importance and your ability to mobilize the journalists you want to reach.
If your company is based in the middle of nowhere, online is ideal. At a trade show, a hybrid event combining in-person and online is likely best.
For both formats: triple-check the technical aspects, lighting and background staging before going live. If you waste time waiting for a video to load or a technician to bail you out, your audience will lose patience, and you will lose credibility.
7. Get Professional Help
Like most of us since the pandemic, you doubtless organize meetings regularly from your desktop.
The level of complexity in managing a live, hybrid media briefing is quite different, however. It involves specific camera and sound set-ups, and the technical expertise to pull it off smoothly often isn鈥檛 found in-house.
Whether online or in-person, events management is a profession in itself. Ask around for recommendations of reliable partners, and get budget estimates for on-site support, as well as advisory and technical services in the run-up to your event.
8. Small Details Matter
Even professional technicians sometimes forget to check that microphones have new batteries. I attended an event where that happened. This put the CEO in a bind that could have been easily avoided. Remember, a $1 fix can prevent a one million dollar problem.
Have your PR team and events partner prepare a checklist of even the most basic things to verify before going live:
Are the monitors and amps properly connected?
Do the expert speakers have seats and water at their disposal?
Are the speaking notes or teleprompters in place?
If there鈥檚 noisy construction nearby, has a request been made for the workers to pause during the event?
We often prepare for the big issues but forget about the little ones, which are just as important.
In Part 2 of this post, we鈥檒l look at tips for the briefing itself and for follow up.
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