You pick up the phone, and the local TV station wants to send over a crew for a quick interview. Adrenaline starts to flow, and your heart begins to race. Tiny beads of sweat suddenly appear across your forehead, and a general sense of panic spreads. How do you prepare?

The Power of Doing

Some things are learned through study or observation, whereas others are learned by doing. Today, we’re talking about doing. Assume that I’ve been beamed down from outer space and know nothing about life on earth. Explain to me in ten easy steps how a human walks. Or tell me how to tie a shoe or how to say something funny.

Even your best, most explicit, and detailed instructions to the alien would likely leave him totally inadequate to perform any of those tasks. Although most of us routinely do these things without much thought, it is exceedingly difficult to teach someone else how to do them using only words.

The results wouldn’t be much better if you tried to teach by example. While the inexperienced alien might get a better idea of what you’re talking about by watching you take a few strides or make bunny ears with your shoelaces, it would still be pretty ugly when it’s his turn.

Media training for lawyers is the same. You can read stacks of how-to books and megabytes of online articles on the topic and still be just as clueless when it’s your turn to talk to a reporter. You won’t get much better results if you spend hours watching expert media advisers conduct finely tuned seminars with examples of what to do and what to avoid.

The stumbling block is that you will spend so much time concentrating on the details of how to perform that you won’t be able to master the overall technique. You’d fall off the bike in the blink of an eye if you had to think about every muscle contraction and balance correction. But once you’ve ridden around the block a few times under watchful and encouraging supervision, you can pedal wherever you please without paying it much mind.

As with cycling, playing an instrument, or virtually any other activity, “practice, practice, practice” are the three best tips for developing an at-ease attitude that will allow you to handle the media effectively. Only by actually doing it—with experts there to coach and critique you—can you hone the skills necessary for getting your message across, to, and through the media while appearing as an on-screen (or in-print) pro.

No Such Thing As Bad Press?

Let’s forget about the hypothetical alien for a second and talk about a real, earthly issue for lawyers who are trying to build their practices and win new clients. Developing a solid understanding of how to handle the press is crucial if you want to gain exposure and enhance your credibility.

“Any publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right.” That familiar quotation, which is sometimes attributed to Humphrey Bogart, might have a kernel of truth to it. However, in many communities, any benefit gained from sheer name exposure can be offset by a negative public impression if you fail to present yourself—and your case—in the best way.

Of course, many lawyers make the mistake of not talking to reporters at all, which usually isn’t a good approach to the “any publicity” phenomenon. This silence could stem from several sources, including the fear of accidentally saying something that might harm a client’s interests, a lack of preparation, a perceived inability to articulate your thoughts, or prior incidents where you felt that you were burned by the press.

High quality, in-person media training can help you address concerns such as these. It can also help you avoid the mistakes that lead to “bad” press when you actually do go on the record. And those potential pitfalls are numerous.

For example, if you agree to an interview but give “no comment” responses, you will very likely get a negative reception because people will think you are either obstinate or trying to hide something. There are ways to respond to questions that you don’t want to answer without giving the impression that you are ducking them. Media training can help you perfect that skill in lifelike role-playing sessions.

Another crucial mistake involves your audience—specifically, failure to consider who they are. If the viewers, listeners, or readers of the media outlet are laypeople, you won’t be doing them or yourself any favors if you talk way over their heads. But you need to do more than just dumb it down if you want to connect successfully with the audience. Media trainers can help you develop the right vocabulary for talking to nonattorney audiences.

Related to the legalese issue is the question of tone. While lawyers certainly want to be taken seriously, we sometimes adopt a verbal posture that is more appropriate for a courtroom than a TV or radio studio. There are ways to tune your tone so you sound competent and authoritative without coming off as unapproachable and arrogant.

Being a Go-To Source Pays Off

The benefits can be significant if you learn how to master the media. Of course, the results are more difficult to define and measure than those associated with social media and a general online presence, which are subjects for another time. But working well with TV, print (including online news sources), and radio reporters enhances your reputation both within legal circles and in the community at large.

Being adept at interviewing tends to have a snowball effect: the more you do it, the more opportunities you get to do it again. Journalists like a source they can rely on to answer their calls and provide solid, quotable information about the subjects they are reporting on. If you secure a reputation as a “good source,” you will likely see your name in print or online—hopefully spelled correctly—with more and more frequency. The same is true for broadcast media. Over time, positive media exposure can translate into growth in your book of business.

But unless you are a natural-born media darling, you will need guidance and training to achieve media mastery. Neither this article nor anything else can tell you how to become successful at working with reporters; it can only tell you why you should seek professional help with your technique.

Where do you turn for help? Where do you find a coach? Do a Google search on “media training” and you’ll find a wealth of resources. Find someone local and spend some time learning this new skill set. It’s critical that you get the training before you face the hot lights. You need hands-on coaching to thrive in an interview setting.

Find someone who will interview you, record you, and work through the results with you. Doing, not watching, is the key to learning this skill. Watching successful lawyers finesse the media isn’t enough. Like the alien learning to walk, you’ve got to get experience doing it while under the guidance of an encouraging and constructively critical coach.