Executives who have a good rapport with the press are an asset to their companies. They attract coverage simply by being the kind of person reporters want to talk to. That’s the key word – person. A good rapport with journalists means more than answering questions about the latest product launch or customer win. It means ingraining your executive in journalists’ memories so when they need perspective or background for an article, your memorable executive gets the call.
 
Many executives build personal connections with journalists instinctively during media interviews by crafting the proper mix of personal background and professional acumen. Even if your company’s executives don’t do it naturally, however, there are a few easy-to-learn tactics to help them, and two common traps to avoid. The traps are easy: don’t be a blowhard or a bore. That said, here are some tips to help executives find the middle ground of opening up without coming off like an egomaniac:
 
Be yourself. You heard it from Mom and Dad and it’s still true. Journalists can spot phonies 100 yards away. Don’t effect a “meet the press” personality that you roll out for interviews. If you’re chatty and extroverted, don’t try to be solemn and academic so they’ll take you seriously. If you’re modest and low-key, don’t act like a swashbuckler because you’re afraid to be boring. Chances are excellent that you’re interesting in your own right, and can show it if you…
 
… open up. Journalists are naturally inquisitive – or nosey, if you prefer. They always want to know more about the person they’re talking to, even if they can’t put it in print. (If they can, all the better.) Offering journalists glimpses of your non-work persona makes your executive more human and approachable. Those glimpses don’t have to include blow-by-blow descriptions of the bickering around the family Thanksgiving table. But consider the two answers to this question to an imaginary CFO:
Question: “So how did you first get interested in finance?”
Answer #1: “I just always like math.”
Answer #2: “When I was 10, my aunt took me to work at the Quincy Market food exchange in Boston. She was the bookkeeper, and I thought it was really cool how she controlled the flow of all those meats and fruits and vegetables with her financial ledgers.”
 
So, which answer is going to stick? That’s the kind of human perspective that might even make it into print.
 
Get homey. Jump at any chance to talk to a journalist in your own office. And that means YOUR OFFICE, not a non-descript conference room. Photos of your family, pets, places you’ve been, knickknacks on your desk, art on your walls, the books on your shelves … they all invite questions about your spokesperson's life. Don’t be so focused on the news at hand that you don’t spend a few minutes answering a reporter’s inquiry about your daughter’s artistic triumphs or your collection of baseball gloves.
 
Be available. Every journalist has a collection of precious “can’t miss” sources who will return their calls and say something useful. If you help out a journalist who needs a quote or some background information on short notice, you’ve done them a personal favor, and they’re likely to remember it if you ever need one back.
 
At the end of the day, a personal connection alone won’t score you great media coverage. Journalists need knowledge and experience (preferably relayed in sound bites) so they can write articles that interest their readers. Remember, however, that journalists have their pick of hundreds of competent and accomplished technology executives. To make them pick your company’s executives, make sure they take the time to get personal.