As a media spokesperson, you have more control over the length of your media interview than you might think.

Ask any journalist. Gathering two or three usable quotes from a typical spokesperson is a bit like pulling teeth. Many spokespeople treat a media interview like a conversation and, as a result, journalists end up on the receiving end of a lot of partial thoughts (e.g. the spokesperson starts a new idea halfway through the previous thought), rambling answers, corporate speak, industry jargon, acronyms, buzzwords, etc. There's a reason many reporters will ask for 30 minutes of a spokesperson's time for a taped (e.g. not 'live') media interview. It's because they know it might take them that long to draw out a few usable quotes from the spokesperson.

However, long interviews aren't in the spokesperson's best interests. Long interviews translate into more words spoken, more opportunities to make mistakes and, ultimately, less influence over the quotes that end up in the story.

The next time you're a media spokesperson, you can reduce the duration of the interview significantly by doing the following:

• In one or two sentences, provide the reporter with a clear, simple explanation of the main gist of the story.
• Deliver three or four irresistible quotes. These are not marketing quotes designed to promote your company. These are short, interesting messages that tell a story and serve the audience's interests regarding this topic.
• Use language a human would use (and avoid sounding like a news release, a lawyer or a thesaurus).
• Road test your content by doing a quick practice interview in-house. Get honest feedback. Revise your messages as required.

If you're able to do these things well, the journalist should have what they need in about five minutes or so. I've personally witnessed clients using these techniques successfully. One spokesperson I worked with did 16 interviews in one day. I timed each of his interviews. His shortest interview of the day was 3.5 minutes long. The longest was just 6.5 minutes long.

In 16 separate interviews, 16 different journalists had everything they needed from this spokesperson in 6.5 minutes or less. That's not a fluke. It's the result of doing the things in the four bullet points above. We did our homework in advance. We wrote short, accurate messages that gave a high-level understanding of the situation as well as three or four very compelling quotes.

I'm guessing many of the journalists we worked with that day were pleasantly surprised. After five or so minutes, they knew they had what they needed and they asked that final question that indicates the interview is almost done: "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

The result? Sixteen very similar media stories and consistent messaging across print, radio and TV. And, of course, a happy client.

If you understand: 1) what the audience wants to know, and 2) what the journalist needs to do their job, you can combine that knowledge with strong messaging to reduce the length of your media interactions while simultaneously elevating the quality of your media coverage.

If you're ready to level up your media interview skills, join the more than 350 people in my online course, ​The Art of the Great Media Interview. 4 hours of my best content covering every aspect of the media interview process. It features videos, case studies, examples, checklists and downloadable PDFs. It's also a one-time purchase (not a subscription) so you'll have permanent access to this content.