Many of today’s corporate executives have become so trained in avoiding missteps when it comes to media interviews that they’re turning off both journalists and the public, according to an article by media trainer Jane Praeger in Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog, a PR industry newsletter. Reacting to the today’s sound bite culture, she noted, execs have often been trained only in pre-emptive damage control – they learn to “make their points early, speak succinctly,…acknowledge tangential questions without necessarily answering them” and how to “not blurt out statements they would later regret.”

Unfortunately, they’ve neglected learning how to “build relationships with journalists, create ongoing dialogues, and make meaningful contributions to stories.”

Praeger, president of Ovid Inc. and a strategic communications lecturer at Columbia University, reminded readers that “the best interviews are conversations, and conversation is an art that requires listening, paying attention to non-verbal cues, responding, and above all, being interesting.”

How can executives be interesting without worrying about spontaneous remarks that may become tomorrow’s headlines?

• By speaking with passion and commitment.

• By understanding what journalists are looking for – “pithy, lively quotes; fresh, surprising anecdotes, real opinions.”

• By “articulating a strong point of view, backing it up with solid evidence, and expressing it with personality, specificity and the spark of real life.”

• By letting journalists do their jobs – by guiding an interview rather than controlling it.

“If we can temper our defensiveness and leaven our positive messages with a shot of reality and some nuance…journalists and the public will perceive us as more genuine,” Praeger concluded. “If we re-introduce the art of dialogue, we can still help advance our…agendas, raise the level of discourse, and maybe even bring real value to the news.”