Executive interviews: Do you or don't you?

Increasing public interest in the electronic media for news and information coupled with declining public trust in business leaders is creating opportunities for executives to be interviewed to tell “the corporate story.” To ensure that interview time is not wasteful or destructive, interviewees should prepare seriously. For example: Have a communications objective; consider the reporter's style, interests, and audience; anticipate, and develop answers to, the worst-case questions; keep language simple, informal, and friendly; practice turning negative points into positive statements; present a neat, natural, alert, and controlled appearance.