What is your goal when doing an interview? Is it to please a reporter, or to see your face on television, or to read your name in print? Nope. Your goal, regardless of the media forum, is to take control of the interview by delivering key messages that benefit you or your organization. And you must do this regardless of the questions that are asked during the interview.
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton managed to accomplish this goal during a combative interview on CNN. The topic was the U.S. military’s capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
Anchor Dana Bash asked Cotton about the possibility of President Trump sending additional troops to Venezuela. It was a speculative question, which Cotton rightly didn’t want to answer. But he quickly acknowledged that he understood the question before bridging to a message he wanted to deliver about the previous successful use of military forces. And he did so while refusing to let Bash interrupt him. Check out the video below.
By answering Bash’s question by saying, “The U.S. military’s already been in as Nicolas Maduro learned the hard way,” Cotton was at least acknowledging the question. Many politicians don’t do this and it hurts their credibility.
Then Cotton maintained control of the interview by continuing to deliver his message about past military operations while Bash tried to interrupt him. He was polite but firm, which is the correct way to address interruptions.
There are three lessons here. Don’t answer a speculative question, acknowledge that you heard the question while bridging to a key message, and don’t allow an interviewer to interrupt you.
Follow these rules and you will likely be pleased with the outcome of any interview or other media encounter.