How to handle a press conference: five quick tips

If you’re expecting a lot of media attention, it can make sense to organise a press conference.

This is particularly true if you’re in the midst of some kind of emergency or looming PR disaster.

The advantages are that: it gives the impression that you are open and transparent, it helps you take control of the media, and it enables you to deal with most of the questions you’re likely to face in one go, rather than giving dozens of one-to-one interviews.

Here are five tips on how to handle a press conference:

1. When on a press conference panel, remember your facial expression and body language all the time. Every twitch and fidget and raised eyebrow will be noted and can make you seem nervous, bored, angry or exasperated.
2. Before you start, decide who is chairman and who will answers questions on which topics. This will make you appear far more in control.
3. Unlike normal interviews, questions at a press conference will come at random with no logical order, so you need to be prepared for anything.
4. If one reporter is hogging the floor or pressing you repeatedly on an issue, the chairman can say that you need to move on and give everyone an opportunity to ask questions
5. When deciding a press conference venue, think about parking, space for cameras and need for an area to do one to one interviews

As part of our media training courses, we can help you rehearse for a press conference. Call us on 020 8332 6200, or email on info@roughhouse.co.uk to find out more.

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