Football and public relations may seem to have little in common. Appearances can be deceptive. There are useful parallels in media relationships, the pressure of high-level performance and teamwork. Those similarities become particularly clear during the busy final quarter of the year.
That quarter traditionally brings an increase in business activity, including marketing and communication. In August and September, for example, we delivered considerably more media training than usual.
Teamwork with your communications department
Teamwork is essential both in football and in a communications department. In football, scouts and technical staff do extensive preparation so that the person in the spotlight can perform well. The communications team plays a similar role, although the scope of that work varies between companies.
Some businesses proudly say they handle things without involving corporate communications. Others make excellent use of the department and work as a team. The latter understand its value: communications professionals know the media and the audience, maintain relationships with journalists, understand possible reasons for an interview and know which messages the organisation wants to communicate.
An interview is a little like the Champions League
Delivering when it matters is not easy. In everyday life, you may not expect to feel nervous in an interview. That can change when the camera starts recording or you do not connect with the journalist.
Pressure affects people on the pitch and in an interview. A surge of adrenaline can affect fine motor control and ball handling. In the first five to ten minutes of a match, players may make unusually aggressive tackles or hit an opponent instead of the ball. In interviews, pressure can appear as trembling, an unsteady voice or an answer that slips out under stress. An unexpected answer may be exactly what a journalist finds interesting.
Interview communication takes preparation. Media training helps you understand your response to pressure, maintain control, improve concentration, focus on communication objectives and relax while performing. That helps you enter the match like a professional.
Football and interviews: you are on camera
Football can be unforgiving. Live broadcasts allow incidents to be replayed, enlarged and assessed immediately, while studio commentators analyse every move.
Most journalists also record their conversations. That allows a natural discussion, with the article written afterwards. Interviews may then be reviewed, analysed or edited. Afterwards, you may find yourself asking: “Did I really say that?”
As communications specialists, we also record interviews to assess how they went, identify ways to communicate messages more effectively, consider what sounded convincing and check that remarks have been quoted accurately.
Stay as alert as a goalkeeper facing penalties
Just as a motivational talk can change a Champions League match, media training can transform your interview skills. Simple techniques can help you stay in control of your communication. For example, pay attention if a journalist stops taking notes during an interview.
Think carefully about how you want information to become public, too. Putting a football under your shirt and sucking your thumb may not be exactly how you and your partner agreed to announce a pregnancy. Pressure can produce surprising behaviour, even from professionals.
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