When you’re passionate and knowledgeable about a topic, you’ll probably have lots to say! But for media interviews, follow the rule of 3.
Why 3? Well there are 3 reasons, of course!
1️⃣ We tend to remember words, visuals and references in patterns of 3. Just think of these classic examples:
- Eat, Pray, Love
- Friends, Romans, Countrymen
- Ready, Set, Go!
- 3 Little Pigs
- 3 Blind Mice
- Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
- 3 Musketeers
- 3 Amigos
- 3 witches in Shakespeare’s MacBeth
- 3 strikes in baseball
- 3 hockey goals is called a hat-trick
- 3-pointer shot in a basketball game
You get the idea!
2️⃣ You stay in control of what YOU want the audience to hear. If you share more than 3 messages, you’re giving the reporter or editor a chance to decide what THEY think are the priority points. You risk having some of your key messages edited out. Depending on the interview length, you may also not have time to share more than 3 key messages.
3️⃣ You want to take the opportunity to repeat any or all of your key messages throughout the interview for greater impact. Repetition makes your messages more memorable and helps your audience retain your key points. If you try to share too much information, you risk losing your audience’s attention.
❓Do you have a question about media training or communications? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to work it into a future post.
For more tips, follow me on Instagram @SueMahRD
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