It’s not a media Interview. Why most witnesses get parliamentary hearings wrong
Most senior leaders and communications professionals who’ve done plenty of media training walk into a parliamentary hearing feeling quietly confident. They know how to handle a tough question. They’ve practised their bridging technique. They understand the value of a tight key message.
Then the committee starts asking questions, and the rules they’ve relied on don’t apply anymore.
Parliamentary hearings, whether before a parliamentary committee or in Senate Estimates, share a surface resemblance to a media interview. There’s a microphone. There’s scrutiny. Your words matter. But the similarities end there, and the differences can catch even experienced communicators badly off guard.
10 mistakes witnesses make under parliamentary scrutiny
Senate Estimates and parliamentary inquiries are not media interviews. They are formal accountability processes with procedural rules, political dynamics, and public records that last. The executives who perform badly in hearing rooms almost never lack intelligence or experience. They lack preparation. Here are the ten mistakes we see most often and what to do instead.
A Tale of Two CEOs
The ABC Four Corners investigation Super Power about Australian supermarket practices was a classic case of how the story hinged on a personal moment.
It was a textbook example of the importance of corporate media preparation, or lack of it. Let’s break it down.
The Crucial Art of Media Preparedness
Prepare your spokespeople for media interactions. Gain confidence, credibility, and crisis resilience with tailored training. Be media-ready, be successful.
10 things journalists love when dealing with PR or spokespeople
You’re lined up for a media interview and you’ve done plenty of preparation. But if you really want to impress the journalist, there are a few simple tricks that will put you in the good books.
Top ten things that annoy journalists when dealing with PR or spokespeople
The last thing you want to do when being interviewed is to annoy the journalist. To avoid this there are things you should definitely not do in a media interview and things you need to prepare in advance. Here you’ll find the top tips to avoid getting off to a bad start in any media interview.
Who Owns A Media Interview
So you’ve just been interviewed by a journalist. You’re not happy. Things didn’t go well. What should you do, and what are your rights?
Media Training When A Crisis Hits
Too often companies seek media training when a crisis hits. Sure media training helps, but it should not be relied upon as the magic bullet to save your bacon.
The Subtle Art of Repetition
There are some things in life that annoy the hell out of us: a dripping tap; SBS TV adds incessantly flogging insurance for “motoring enthusiasts; and politician’s repeating things three times within 20 seconds when interviewed.