Welcome to the TWU Local 577 Media Training 101

Objective: To offer basic guidelines and techniques for a successful interview when doing media interviews.

Top 10 Fears Fear of Flying Fear of Public Speaking Fear of Heights Fear of the Dark Fear of Intimacy Fear of Death, Dying Fear of Failure Fear of Rejection Fear of Spiders Fear of Commitment

Goals of the Interview To be likable – it never hurts To be credible To be quotable 2. To be knowledgeable 1. TO TELL YOUR STORY!

Before the Interview Be your best you – well-groomed, well-rested, approachable, and relatable. Put on your Flight Attendant face. Be prepared – Know your message and stick with it. Be confident. Know your subject matter and stick with your theme.

10 Tips for a Great Interview Have a plan. Know your theme and talking points Answer the question you want to answer. Don’t use technical jargon. Give your answer and stop talking. If you don’t know the answer, just say so. Avoid “gotcha” questions. Don’t repeat a negative comment. Remember, you are the expert on the issue. Be concise, but quotable.

1. Have a Plan When opening an interview, reporters are often not prepared and don’t have a lot of information about your issue. They may begin with – “Why are you out here today?” Be sure that you have a short statement or “elevator speech” as a foundation. “Our Flight Attendants have been trying to negotiate a fair contact with Allegiant for over six years, and we want our customers to know that our negotiations are “heating up.” It doesn’t have to be scripted or sound canned, but make sure it gets your message across and serves as a platform to start the interview, so the reporter ask follow-up questions.

2. Know your theme and talking points As our number one goal, we don’t want to tell “A” story, we want to tell “OUR” story. Reporters are interested in getting in getting a “scoop” or salacious headline that may not be accurate or support our efforts. Our job is to help them to tell our story in ways that our customers can understand and support. This theme is that, like the excessive heat on the aircraft, our negotiations are heating up. A reporter might go completely the other direction and say, “Well Allegiant said they are working on fixing the hot planes” (completely ignoring our point). You could say, “Well we will be happy to see them take care of our customers – they also need to take care of our flight attendants.”

3. Answer the question you want to answer Once again, you are the expert and it is your job to keep the reporter on message. There are many useful phrases that will help you redirect the message. Here are a few that you can use: “What really matters is __________...” “The most important issue is _______...” “The more interesting question is _____...” “I think what you are asking is ______...”

For Example: Whenever we have demonstrations that involve any kind of picketing or leafletting, the first question a reporter will ask is: “Are you going on strike?” While we know that a strike is possible, that is not the message of this picket and we don’t want our headline to be : “UNION SAYS THEY WILL GO ON STRIKE!” A better way to answer the question would be: “Well, I think what you asking is, “Are our Members united, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to get a fair contract.”

4. Don’t use technical jargon As Flight Attendants, there are certain terms that we use when we talk to each other that the general public doesn’t use or understand – the same standard should be used in media interviews. Use everyday language that people can relate to: For example: Don’t say “bargaining” – Do say “negotiating” Don’t say “parity” – Do say “equality” Don’t say “aircraft” – Do say “airplane” Don’t say “release” – Do say “ the next step”

5. Give your answer and stop talking Many times a reporter will pause after you make a statement. They may be thinking of another question or waiting for you to add something. Once you have finished your point, don’t feel obligated to continue talking. Dead air is the reporters problems and they will do the proper editing to keep the story on track and keep the viewers interested. As we tell our Members in a fact-finding meeting, silence is okay. You don’t need to say anything beyond the answer you want to give. Most of the time the interviews are edited into sound bites and the question is not ever heard, so stay on message.

6. If you don’t know the answer, just say so Sometimes reporters will ask you questions that are beyond you knowledge base. If you don’t know the answer to a question, just say, “I don’t have the answer to that question.” These may come in the form of asking you to speculate like asking you what the Company may think about something. The proper answer for that is, “I’m not going to speak for the company, our concern is reaching a fair agreement.” The reporter may ask you to predict the future or what you will do next. You can always keep them hanging, by saying, “Stay tuned, we are ready to do what it takes to get a fair contract.”

7. Avoid “gotcha” questions Reporters may ask “no win” questions to elicit a certain response to make a more controversial headline or quote. For example: “Do you still beat your wife?” If you say “yes”, obviously that is a very bad thing. If you say “no”, he could follow up with “Oh, I’m glad you’ve stopped.” While this is an extreme example, you can avoid this trap by answering following techniques discussed in number 3 and answer the question you want to answer: “I think the important question is, how is my wife? She is great and I’ll tell her you asked about her.” 

8. Don’t repeat a negative comment There is no need to focus on a negative comment. If you get a question question like “Well if you Members are supporting your union, why did they try to decertify?” Don’t avoid a negative question, just answer it and move on. “After 6 years of fighting, anyone can get frustrated. We won that election, because our Members realized that our Union was them. We are united now and that is what is important.” Remember to get back on your theme.

9. Remember, you are the expert on the issue One of the biggest fears that you will face when speaking with the media is that they will ask you a question that you don’t know the answer to. Remember, just like on the plane, you are the expert. You will have talking points to address the questions. The reporter may ask a question for background that they don’t know the answer to and you can provide that information: Example: Q: “You guys are highlighting heat on the planes, how does that happen?” A: “Well the plane sit with the doors open in the hot sun. There aren’t enough air carts on the ground to cool them off, so when the passengers board, the heat is excessive.”

10. Be concise, but quotable Reporters, especially in broadcast news are looking for quotes or “sound bites” that they can pull out of an interview and highlight their story. Work hard to speak in a way that you get your point across efficiently, yet would stand on it’s own without a question in front of it: Example: Q: How long have you been in negotiations? A: Over 6 years (it’s answers the question, but doesn’t stand on it’s own. Better A: “We’ve been trying to negotiate with Allegiantfor over 6 years. That’s too long for our Flight Attendants to wait for a fair contract.”

Media Relations is a learned communication skill and you will get better with practice. Try using these techniques in your everyday life and you will be surprised how easily naturally you develop them for your Union work.

Q & A