Don't Say Too Much

As a reporter, I've often gone to interviews where I arrived with one story and left with a completely different one.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Usually, this is how it happened: after digging around a little in an interview, I found some tidbit or aspect that was a little more interesting than what I was originally asking about. This made for a better story -- and more attention to that person or organization's cause.

However, if you don't stay on track during your interview, you could end up with a piece you didn't envision. The best ways to make sure that you deliver the message you intended -- and, no, telling the reporters what questions to ask will not help you; it mostly only annoys the reporter --  include:

• Create three bullet points about what you want the reporter to know.
• Expand on those points with anecdotes, facts, figures and statistics.
• Don't be afraid to elaborate, but don't stray too far from the topic at hand, especially into controversial territory or subjects that you don't know much about.

The moral of the story? Reporters are there to dig out what's interesting, fresh and exciting about your story. Make sure you deliver your story in a package that satisfies those elements -- but don't say anything that causes your story to become unrecognizable.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.