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Chapter 4 Be interesting—If you have a very limited time for your presentation, you will need to demonstrate your commitment and get people’s attention quickly. Clear delivery, well written material, and a high level of energy will make any presentation more interesting and persuasive. Your style can also make your presentation interesting. Be direct—use eye contact and a clear, crisp voice. Avoid long sentences and look up at the end of a sentence. Working with the Media Even if you have newsworthy stories, media groups do not always use the information you give them as you would like. Friction with the media, however, is usually not productive for UNHCR’s publicity purposes. You can work effectively with the media by learning their ground rules and ensuring that they know UNHCR’s ground rules as well. Especially in emergencies when time is your most precious commodity, you must set the rules/norms by which you give time to journalists or other media representatives. It is also important to know the preferences of the journalists you are working with, and to cultivate relationships with journalists and television interviewers that you trust. Media ground rules may include: ♦ The best way to contact media people—in person or by phone, fax, or email ♦ How much notice they need and their deadlines for publication ♦ Requirements for press releases or photographs ♦ The procedure for correcting or addressing mistakes ♦ What they look for in a story or what their audience wants ♦ How to behave while on the ‘set,’ such as not smoking, etc. UNHCR Ground Rules for the Media UNHCR staff need to know who at UNHCR is in charge of handling relations with the media. Having one person responsible for contacting the media makes it easier to develop working relationships and credibility with journalists. At times, however, it will be appropriate for different staff to respond to the media, so the responsibility for certain queries and interviews may fall into the hands of several people. For example, the media may go the refugee site unannounced and expect a briefing from field officers regarding the current unfolding emergency. The Public Information (PI) or media officer can help to ensure that both UNHCR and media ground rules are understood and followed by staff. Reporters and correspondents generally respect UNHCR’s ground rules for interviews. These ground rules should be clearly established in advance of an emergency. Some basic rules regarding attributing statements to UNHCR are: ♦ If the interview is intended for full attribution, the interviewee can be quoted by name verbatim or indirectly. ♦ If an interview is given to provide background information, what the interviewee says cannot be directly attributed to him/her. ♦ It is important to agree in advance with the media on the attribution, for example, ‘a UNHCR spokesperson,’ ‘UN sources,’ ‘a humanitarian worker,’ or ‘ sources in the international community,’ among others. ♦ It may be necessary to declare what parts of an interview are for attribution. For example, facts may be quoted but political considerations and constraints may not. ♦ Recorded or live radio and TV interviews are by definition fully attributable. EP 04 61
EP 04 62 Managing External Relations How to Handle an Interview The media usually has nothing to lose by interviewing you, but you or those you represent may lose if you do not handle the interview well. Some guidelines for avoiding problems and optimising results include: 1. Know the media you are working with, including their ground rules and their intentions or hidden agendas. 2. Never go to a media interview unprepared—even in emergencies. If possible, discuss the interview first with a Public Information or Press Officer. Practice with an associate. Utilise the appropriate facilitation and presentation tips mentioned above so that you will be in control during the interview. Try to prepare for all possible angles of the story. 3. Adapt your replies to the type of media. Newspaper interviews allow you time to explain, while radio and TV interviews require ‘headline’ or ‘quotable’ answers—short and to the point. (Remember, a ten-minute interview may end up being seconds on the air or a few lines in a newspaper.) 4. Be honest, clear and direct. Honesty is the best policy in regard to problems encountered in emergency operations. 5. When in doubt, err on the side of discretion, particularly if the questioner is not known to you. While most journalists understand the difficult conditions that UNHCR works in, some may pressure you for more information to get a story. Do not feel forced to say more than you want or are authorised to say. Say what you have to say and then stop. Generally, the tougher the question, the shorter your answer should be. 6. The safest way to deal with the press is not to make ‘off the record’ statements. Similarly, asking for a story to be suppressed is likely to backfire by creating more interest in it. If asked to reveal confidential information, rather than saying ‘no comment,’ a rational explanation of the nature of the information may be given. If facts are not known, offer to get back to the reporter with the information. Avoid answering speculative ‘what if’ questions by saying that you would rather not speculate. If a reporter uses negative, hypothetical or incorrect words in a question, do not validate them by repeating them in your answer. 7. Be composed at all times, relax and be friendly if possible. The more aggressive the interviewer or journalist, the more composed you should be. 8. Be positive and direct the interview into positive areas of the organisation’s operations. Do not criticise colleagues or other organisations or their performance in the emergency response. 9. Publicise UNHCR by wearing a UNHCR tee shirt or cap and/or placing a UNHCR logo in the background, either on a vehicle or a flag. 10. Avoid the use of jargon or phrases unfamiliar to the general public, wisecracks, jewellery or sunglasses, sitting in moveable chairs, smoking, and nervous gestures.
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