Prepare a spokesperson for an interview

A spokesperson who knows three polished messages but cannot explain the underlying facts is poorly prepared. Start with the likely questions, including awkward ones, and establish what the person actually knows. The preparation session should expose gaps while there is still time to resolve them.

Reconstruct the interview situation

Confirm the subject, format, expected duration and whether the conversation is live or recorded. Ask about the intended audience and who else may contribute, without expecting control over the final piece. A short radio discussion calls for different preparation from a long background interview, but neither justifies guessing an answer.

Prepare a compact fact sheet containing names, dates, definitions and the few figures most likely to matter. Include the scope of each number. In a hypothetical service launch, available appointments, actual bookings and completed jobs tell different stories. A spokesperson should not use whichever sounds largest. Mark disputed or unconfirmed information clearly and identify how it will be checked.

Practise answers, not slogans

Ask the spokesperson to explain the development in ordinary language without looking at the release. Follow up when an answer is vague. ‘What does that change for a customer?’ or ‘What would happen if demand exceeds capacity?’ tests understanding more usefully than rehearsing the opening quotation repeatedly.

Let them finish a direct answer before adding context. A bridge to a preferred topic should not replace the answer the audience needs. Where a question contains an inaccurate premise, correct the premise calmly and explain the relevant facts. Where the answer is unknown, practise saying what is not yet confirmed and what can be supplied later.

Prepare for the moment after the interview

Make it easy to deliver a promised figure or document promptly. Agree who records follow-up requests and how factual mistakes noticed afterwards will be raised. Do not assume that the spokesperson can review or approve the finished story; ask about the journalist's process without making unsupported expectations.

Technical preparation matters too. Check the connection, sound, location and any visual demonstration. Remove private documents from view and avoid distracting notifications. Rehearse briefly in the actual setting if possible, especially when the speaker will handle an object or share a screen.

Rehearse a difficult exchange

For a hypothetical launch interview, ask: ‘You say the new booking system is simpler. What exactly has changed?’ A weak rehearsal answer repeats that the company puts customers first. A better answer describes the actual change, such as combining two previously separate forms, and explains any remaining steps. If the team has not measured completion time, the speaker should not invent a time saving.

Then ask a question that challenges the boundary: ‘Does that mean nobody will need to telephone you?’ The spokesperson can acknowledge that some cases still require a conversation and explain which ones. This is not a defeat of the main message. It gives the original claim a credible scope and prepares the audience for exceptions.

Practise interruption too. The speaker may not have time to deliver a long sequence of points. They should be able to answer the immediate question in a complete sentence before adding detail. That requires understanding the substance, not just learning a shorter script.

A useful preparation exercise is to ask the spokesperson to identify three things they must not guess: perhaps a number, a cause and a future date. Put the verified source or follow-up route beside each. The exercise turns uncertainty into a manageable boundary rather than leaving the speaker to discover it live.

End the briefing by reducing the notes, not adding another script. The spokesperson should leave with a clear understanding of the facts, their limits and the audience's questions. Confidence based on that understanding is more adaptable than a memorised paragraph when the interview takes an unexpected direction.