25 Aug 5 Press Conference Etiquettes to Abide By
For any business, a successful press conference can be one of the top PR techniques to get good press. So, understanding the correct PR etiquette and including certain protocol in your PR strategy can really do great things for your company. Here are some tips on what is appropriate for your PR meet so you better your press conference management.
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Identify one key message and stick with it
You will need to define an overall message that sets the tone for your press conference presentation and go with it. A press conference is about talking about one subject and showing how the different pieces – the people, departments or agencies – came together to make it happen. Press conference topics that are too diverse tend to dilute the overall effect.
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Every speaker should be an expert
Map the speaker to his/her competency. Every speaker that represents your company at your press conference must be an expert in their domain and be able to speak authoritatively. Ideally, they should be the heads of departments so journalists know they are key people.
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Never crosstalk
Ask every speaker to answer questions that pertain to their domain only. This will minimize the incident of people talking over each other. Have a moderator orchestrate the whole question-answer session to avoid confusion.
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Show some love to the backbenchers
It is often the case that smaller publications are seated at the back of the room as only the top billers get the front row seats. It will be a show of good faith to sweep across the room and address the reporters in the back.
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Be detailed but honor deadlines
While you may want to answer all the questions and you’re trying to fulfill things on a strict deadline, you have to set a time limit for the conference. You may want to quickly get a message out to the public, especially during a crisis. Inform people about the situation and assign a specific time to the event.
