Pivots and Bridges to Improve Media Interviews
Media outlets must generate ratings. To capture audience share, reporters are adept at asking questions designed to generate controversy and conflict – and, in some cases, outrage and protest. But media interviews are about more than just answering questions. You can learn how to deflect specific questions, improve media interviews, and direct the conversation to statements and answers that shine as positive a light as possible on you and your organization.
One of the most effective ways to improve media interviews is by using pivots and bridges: phrases and responses that “pivot” the direction of the dialogue and “bridge” to your desired messaging. Pivots and bridges range from the subtle to the somewhat complex. And they are often more effective if they are direct and simple; direct and simple expressions flow more naturally in a spoken conversation and don’t inspire suspicion. The more natural and unscripted the pivots and bridges sound, the less likely they are to be challenged – and even combative interviewers generally will relent eventually.
How to Acquire Natural-Sounding Pivots and Bridges
Develop responses that fit comfortably within your own speaking style and vocabulary. One of the worst things you can do is speak in one manner when answering questions directly and in another manner when pivoting and bridging.
Practice pivots and bridges until they become natural and fluent. Awkward pauses highlight when you are thinking of how to pivot and bridge.
Use intentional pauses, introduced by phrases such as, “Nobody has asked me that particular question. Let me consider that for a moment,” or “Let me think about how to respond to that question without getting too technical.” With those types of introductions, pauses lend credibility to your response, even if you then pivot and bridge with your answer. If you use this technique with one or two such statements, the interviewer will begin to expect small pauses prior to subsequent answers.
Know the purpose of your interview and focus on accomplishing that purpose with as many of your responses as possible. Pivots and bridges are meant to improve media interviews and lead the next question to your desired destination, not that of the interviewer.
A word of caution:If pivots and bridges are over-used or employed in a clumsy manner, they harm your message. An example of this difficulty can be seen in politics. In interviews, town halls, and debates, some politicians regularly pivot immediately away from the questions and bridge to topics completely unrelated to those questions. Such obvious deflection can cause a whiplash effect among audience members, increasing negative reactions to the candidates’ responses.
Ultimately, the final keys to successful pivoting and bridging are in clearly knowing who you are trying to reach with this interview and speaking directly to them throughout the interview.