Media Training for Researchers: How to Survive an Interview with a Journalist

Cluster

Communication Skills

Competences as defined in ResearchComp

ResearchComp is a European competency framework developed by the European Commission. It provides a common reference framework that makes researchers’ competencies more visible and comparable—not only for researchers themselves, but also for universities, employers, and policymakers across Europe.

To get started with ResearchComp, you can consult this guide.

Target group

Members of the Doctoral School

Content

A journalist calls you unexpectedly… what now? How do you avoid freezing? How to make sure your nuanced message comes through clearly?

In this workshop you’ll get practical strategies to handle media interviews with confidence. Learn what to say and what not to say. Get tips on how to stay on message. And improve your chances of being quoted accurately.

The do’s and don’ts apply to interviews for written press, radio, tv, socials and podcasts all the same.

• We look at how you can prepare yourself for an interview: by reflecting beforehand on an attractive key message, with and without use of genAI.
• We listen to a few exemplary interviews with scientists and discuss how you can use and react to different types of questions.
• This workshop is hands-on and consists of 2 sessions: 1 real life group session and 1 online individual session when you practice being interviewed by the trainer and/or interview a fellow participant. During the online session you also get individual feedback by the trainer.

After the workshop, you will ...

• learn how to prepare for an interview
• understand how a good interviewer thinks
• learn how to keep the best possible grip on key message and quotes
• learn how to use the different types of questions and as an interviewee how to deal with 'difficult' questions

Time schedule and Venue