« Apple pushes Podcasting into the mainstream | Main | Blog Bits - Week of June 27th »

He said, She said: The Seven Habits of an Effective Spokesperson

I recently wrote an article for PRTactics (subscription or membership to PRSA required) on what I believe to be the seven habits of an effective company spokesperson.   I've received some positive feedback and have been asked by PRWeek to contribute to the PR Toolbox section of the magazine on the same topic.  I believe that a good spokesperson can help to improve a corporate identity, while a poor spokesperson can damage one. A spokesperson needs to have good speaking skills and be able to communicate with different parties including journalists, shareholders, analysts, partners, consumers and employees. At the end of the day, a spokesperson represents an organization in both her public and private life. The spokesperson's effectiveness in communicating the company message can be critical to an organization.

For all companies, whatever their size, looking to build or enhance their brand, it is important to have an effective spokesperson who can communicate the company message, values and goals. It is also critical to accurately measure your spokespersons effectiveness in delivering the company's messages. Tracking how well your messages are being communicated will help you determine how well your messages are resonating in editorial coverage and in the minds of consumers and corporate decision-makers.

The most effective companies are investing time and energy in hiring experienced spokespeople or preparing spokespeople by training them. Status, respect and effectiveness of the spokesperson are often tied to exposure to the media. To measure effectiveness, track the number of quotes attributed to key executives or spokespeople at a company. Are they consistently on message with the company's objectives? Do they have something to say that's been picked up by many publications?

The following are some guidelines spokespeople should follow in order to encourage a positive relationship with the media:

1.) Availability - If spokespeople are not readily available or accessible to the media, they may decide to be unavailable the next time you need them. . Next time your spokesperson needs to deliver important news or information you may have lost trust and only get deleted phone messages or emails in return.

2.) Consistent, memorable messages - Sound bites are an important and effective tool in building a domino effect. To achieve this, spokespeople need to be consistently on message and think about how their comments will fit in the context of media coverage. Inconsistent and long-winded responses will work against spokespeople. Being concise and staying on message is a skill spokespeople need to learn. As a measurement of this, track the number of quotes and messages and determine if the coverage was positive or negative if possible. That way spokespeople can benchmark their effectiveness in communicating the company message through direct quotes.

3.) Preparation - Spokespeople can never be too prepared. Your spokesperson must prepare for each media interview booked by reading background on the interviewer, previous examples of the reporter's work, and potential questions and answers that should be provided.

4.) Knowledgeable - Spokespeople need to know their company's products and services inside and out. In addition, spokespeople should know the corporate positioning and advantages in their target markets - and be able to communicate this without slamming the competition. Spokespeople should be up-to-date on trends and issues and be able to put them in context for a reporter.

5.) Always tell the truth - Three simple words: Tell the truth. If stumped or uncomfortable, saying "I don't know" is not the end of the worst thing provided the spokesperson follows up immediately to provide answers. Spokespeople don't have to be afraid to say "I don't have that information but I will get back to you as soon as possible" - and then follow through. Reporters might be frustrated, but they will understand if the spokesperson cannot answer a specific question.


6.) Offer specifics - Spokespeople need to give concrete examples, references (clients, partners or analysts and experts who follow you're the company's industry) whenever possible. Even if spokespeople are not providing direct information about your company, providing a journalist with the information that they need helps to establish a stronger relationship and could lead to a call in the future.

7.) An interest in the topic at hand - Spokespeople who are engaging, truthful and able to address issues with solid information that is to the point and easy for the target audience to understand can be the difference between getting your critical messages covered or ignored. A company's identity can be improved or damaged based on the approach and attitude of your spokespeople

Spokespeople representing the company help to establish not only general awareness for the company, but also the reputation, credibility and brand equity. However, as many people already know, some of the biggest obstacles to overcome are the lack of confidence, awareness and knowledge about the specific skills required to be an effective company spokesperson.

Posted by Cymfony on June 30, 2005 at 09:24 AM | Email this post Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341cdcdc53ef00d83551422a69e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference He said, She said: The Seven Habits of an Effective Spokesperson:

Comments

The comments to this entry are closed.