"When a reporter asks questions," as David Brinkley once said, "he is not working for the person being questioned, whether businessman, politician or bureaucrat. He is working for the readers and for the listeners."

When professionals have to meet the press, whether to answer questions in some crisis situation or to explain a new development or public works project, it is too easy for them to lose sight of this elementary fact of life. Newswriters and editors take their role very seriously as the "eyes and ears of the public." They are skilled at digging and probing, and are geared to ask brash, and sometimes embarrassing, questions.

Today, many businesses and professionals face a skeptical public, an increasingly real and intrusive global economy and persistent environmental and infrastructure crisis -- not to mention the ever-present threat of structural failures, toxic spills and other technology-related disasters. An executive or professional can suddenly be thrust before batteries of cameras and microphones, with his or her career and a company's future on the firing line.

On the other hand, a press or broadcast interview can be an ideal opportunity to explain your company's strengths and contributions. For all these reasons, knowing how to work with the press is more important than ever.

Therefore, be prepared! Your interviewer may be a good listener who is thoughtful and well-briefed on your industry and profession. Or he or she may be waiting to pounce on any sensational tidbit. Either way, thorough preparation is essential: unless you have done it many times before, it is almost always a mistake to attempt to "play it by ear."

Prepare by anticipating the questions that probably will be asked and gathering the facts and details to deliver effective answers. Set up a simulated interview. Brainstorm with your colleagues or your PR counsel to develop questions and answers. Make the simulation tough and thorough, with rude and follow-up questions if appropriate. The more strenuous the preparation, the more you will be at ease during the real interview.

During the interview itself, take your time answering questions; if you need additional facts to support your position, send someone to get them, or promise to provide them within a reasonable period, and follow through on the promise. Have a tape machine going to record the conversation (or at least your half of it, in the case of a telephone interview); this can be a big help later if accuracy is an issue.

Here are 10 more guidelines our associates and clients have found helpful over the years:

1. Keep it simple. Be ready to communicate your entire study, statement or corporate position in one clear, preferably vivid, "distortion-proof" utterance. If necessary, repeat it, with variations, throughout the interview. Broadcast interviews, especially, allow little time to make your point, especially during a crisis. In the age of the "sound bite," you may get only a few seconds to explain a complex situation and how your company plans to respond to it.

2. Lead off with your most important fact. This is the way news stories are constructed. Begin with your basic statement or conclusion, then provide the amplification and background. This reverses the usual professional/scholarly procedure of building up to your findings. But the first things you say are likely to be the ones the reporter will remember and get down on paper.

3. Go beyond "yes" or "no." When asked a direct question, give a direct answer, but don't stop there; use the yes-or-no question as a bridge to get to the point you wish to make.

One of our clients, having completed a multimillion-dollar waste treatment system upgrade for a large (and controversial) chemical facility, was asked, "Is XYZ Company still dumping poisonous sludge into the river?" The answer, which had been considered long before the question was asked, was, "XYZ's management is committed to protecting the environment and has spent more than $120 million for new and improved equipment. The water that leaves the plant is healthy even for extremely fragile aquatic species, and XYZ has eliminated potential odor problems as well, thus meeting and going beyond 100-percent compliance with federal and state standards."

4. Put it in writing. Provide a brief printed synopsis of the points you wish to make, and is necessary a longer "backgrounder" with additional detail. Members of the press are busy; most will appreciate having a written summary than can serve as a starting point. Needless to say, the summary should not be obviously self-serving, but clear, factual and geared toward answering the public's questions.

5. Speak (or write) from the public's viewpoint as well as your own. Avoid technical jargon, but use the language you would use with an intelligent friend who does not share your technical training. This may be harder than you think. A professional who has spent years managing and operating projects must make a deliberate effort to step back and see his firm or project as it appears to the layman. A good way to achieve the necessary objectivity is to consider the issue or project in terms of its ultimate use and benefits rather than in terms of construction costs, technical procedures or the requirements for meeting regulatory criteria.

6. Don't say anything you wouldn't want repeated. Once you feel at ease in the interview situation you may be invited to offer speculative comment or generalized insights or observations about your profession and industry. Usually, this is no problem; the vast majority of writers, in our experience, will respect your confidence. Some, however, believe that there is no such thing as "off the record." Until you know the person well, it is wiser to stick to your main theme.

7. Maintain a positive attitude. In the interview situation you may face interrogation by individuals skilled at asking leading or provocative questions. The best way to handle this is to be aware of your own attitude and how it comes across to others. Be positive and confident -- neither "superior" nor falsely modest. The image that should come across is that of a competent professional, who knows the facts and respects the public's right to honest, meaningful information.

8. Don't let anyone put words in your mouth. If a question contains offensive or injudicious words or phrases, do not repeat them even in order to deny them. It isn't uncommon for a reporter to deliberately phrase a question provocatively: "Wasn't your emergency training program really slipshod?" If you answer, "No, our program was not at all slipshod," other reporters are likely to pick up what has now become "your" phrase. This increases the chances of your being quoted in tomorrow's papers under the headline OFFICIAL DENIES "SLIPSHOD" CHARGE.

Rather than a denial, use the question to give a factual, positive statement of the dollars and man-hours the company has put into emergency preparedness. At the same time, you avoid associating yourself with the unflattering phrase.

9. Don't argue with the interviewer. Especially in a high-pressure or crisis situation, a writer or reporter may seek to enhance the news value of the story by provoking you to indignation or anger. Stay cool. In an argument with a writer, you can't win, because he or she is the one who shapes the story. A power struggle or hostility during the interview is not likely to improve the story from your point of view, and may turn it into a disaster.

10. Finally, tell the truth. Even if it hurts. There is hardly any problem so awkward or damaging that you can't make it worse with an attempted cover-up. Many an interviewee has avoided momentary embarrassment by telling a half-truth, which is, of course, a half-lie. The media today are waiting to jump on anyone caught concealing an unpleasant fact. If the subject is one that has caught their readers' or viewers' attention, the evasion will not be forgotten or forgiven.

On the other hand, an honest admission of error or misjudgment, an explanation of the circumstances and an expression of the company's concern -- and its intention to do right by those affected -- will encourage most publications to take a fair and balanced viewpoint, and give your side a chance.

Just as important, by being open and candid, you keep the door open for future, follow-up work with that publication or broadcaster. That, in the long run, is how you will get your fair hearing in the court of public opinion.

One of our most-requested publications, this "Public Relations" column, in slightly different form, was originally published in Consulting Engineer magazine. Reprints of this and related articles are available upon request.

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