The Most Important Media Interviews This Year

Anyone who thinks learning to manage a media interview is a rather self-indulgent and unnecessary skill should pause and consider the pressure on Jeremy Hunt in the last couple of days.

On Friday, he was apparently resigned to a quiet life on the back benches: on Saturday he was doing live TV interviews, knowing that the entire UK economy was finely balanced on every word he said.

I have studied two of his interviews: the live one on Sky News on Saturday and the sit-down with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, which was pre-recorded.

On Saturday, all his key messages were already in place and he did well but looked nervous. By Sunday he had hit his stride and, in my opinion, gave an almost textbook ‘good’ interview with only one ‘slip’ that I spotted.

I need to be honest with people – tough decisions ahead
We are compassionate Conservatives, we will remember the needs of the vulnerable
No specifics today, we need to look at everything
Remember we are a strong country, 4^th largest economy in the world

These message come across and are repeated in both interviews.

Of course, we all understand that the tone is as important as the words. Hunt’s tone has everything I ask for in training: he spoke with ‘warmth, authority and animation’. He is a politician so good performance does not mean people ‘believe, like and trust’ him: but he is certainly more credible than his new boss.

For those of you who speak fast in interviews, please note Hunt’s very measured speed. He needed to stay in control and weigh every word, whilst sounding in control and confident. You can’t do this if you gabble. Also, by speaking slowly we get no filler words or sounds: no ‘you knows’ and ‘ums’ or ‘ers’. It gives the impression of confidence.
Read Eric Dixon’s blog: Getting Rid of Ums and Ers here.

Hunt had also clearly planned answers to tough questions. The one that brought a smile was when asked if he wanted to be leader he said: “Having fought two leadership campaigns and lost two, the desire to lead has been ‘surgically removed’.”

Humble, funny but also, we might note, not an absolute commitment not to run for leader again.

The one slip?

I think Kuenssberg was the first to say ‘off the table’. She asked directly is anything ‘off the table?’ when considering cuts in public spending. Hunt did not pick it up immediately, but by the end of the answer he said ‘nothing is off the table’. This is something we specifically teach people not to do.

How many times have we heard that one phrase referred to in the last 48 hours? My observation is – he said it by accident. He picked up Kuenssberg’s language and in fact, despite his preparation and control, it is her words (her sizzle to the initiated) that have led the bulletins, not his. That doesn’t mean he did not mean it but she wrote the quote, not him.

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Lindsay Williams

Lindsay Williams is the founder and MD of The Media Coach. She has been an expert media trainer, communication coach and consultant since 1998. Lindsay hosts a range of bespoke communication skills courses which include Media Training, Presentation Training, Crisis Media Training and Message Building. Her particular forte is CEO Communication Coaching. Lindsay is the person to hire when you want C-Suite Communication Training.

Lindsay Williams is based in London but runs training sessions in multiple time zones, including the US, Europe, Africa and Asia, working online or travelling to host small and large scale training events. With 20 years of experience as a communications consultant with corporations and international organisations, Lindsay also runs Personal Impact Training and Pitching Via Zoom courses.

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