The CaliforniaAsphalt Pavement Association presents:
SpringAsphalt Pavement Conference
March 24, 2023 – Ontario, CA

 Today you will learn:
▪ What is news? 5W+H
▪ Preparing for the interview
▪ Handling nervousness
▪ The soundbite: S.E.C.S.
▪ Do’s & Don’ts
▪ Handling the aggressive questions
▪ Social Media landmines
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 WHAT IS NEWS?
▪ Fact-based
▪ Timely
▪ Interesting
▪ Informative
▪ Unusual
▪ Compelling
▪ Local impact
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 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NEWS AND
OPINION?
▪ Original, credible reporting
▪ Based on solid source material
▪ Reasonable effort to get differing points of view
▪ Documented proof
▪ Sworn testimony
▪ “Let the buyer beware”
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 THE INFORMATIONAGE: A BLESSING OR A
CURSE?
▪ Incredible speed, potential for worldwide
distribution
▪ Lack of context
▪ Hard to “un-ring the bell”
▪ Understanding who is behind the message
▪ Overwhelming
▪ Be careful of what you post!
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 5W+H (the basic building blocks of a news
story):
▪ WHO?
▪ WHAT?
▪ WHEN?
▪ WHERE?
▪ WHY?
And
▪ HOW?
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 The “Inverted Pyramid” of a news story
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 CONSTRUCTINGTHE SOUNDBITE:
▪ STATEMENT
▪ EVIDENCE
▪ CONCLUSION
▪ SHUT UP!
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 How long is a typical soundbite?
▪ 2 MINUTES
▪ 1 MINUTE
▪ 30 SECONDS
▪ 15 SECONDS
▪ 5 SECONDS
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 Preparing for the interview:
▪ Consult a professional
▪ Do your homework!
▪ Decide what you CAN and CANNOT talk about
▪ Negotiate the terms of the interview
▪ Identify key pointsYOU want to make
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 Combating nervousness:
▪ Preparation is the key
▪ Check your appearance
▪ Practice with a co-worker
▪ Pretend you are explaining it to a highschooler
▪ Don’t forget to breathe!
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 Tough questions:
▪ Stay calm
▪ Stay on message
▪ “No comment” is not preferred
▪ Answer without answering
▪ Transition toYOUR message
▪ Don’t get drawn off topic
▪ Correct provable errors in fact
▪ NEVER speculate!
▪ Be brief and avoid jargon
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 EXERCISE:
▪ LasVegas Rules
▪ Break up in groups of 2
▪ Think of something controversial that happened in
your work career
▪ Pretend you must do a media interview about it
▪ Write out a 20-second sound bite (S.E.C.S)
▪ Read aloud to your partner (who will time you)
▪ Partner: Ask one follow-up question
▪ Switch
▪ Share feedback on the experience
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 EXERCISE:
▪ Volunteers from the audience to do interviews on
stage! (Bring your smart phone).
▪ Best interviews win a prize!
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 FINALTHOUGHS:
▪ Be a sophisticated information consumer.
▪ Be prepared.
▪ Speaking in effective sound bites comes in handy
in many situations (not just media interviews)
▪ Practice makes perfect!
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 REFERENCES:
▪ “Crisis Communications:The Definitive Guide to
Managing the Message” Steven Fink (2013)
▪ “How to Handle the News Media Interview,” LaCosse
Productions, San Francisco, CA (1992)
▪ “Communicating effectively is essential in a crisis”
California Asphalt magazine(2020) Russell Snyder
▪ “The 7 R’s of Crisis Communications” California Asphalt
magazine (202o) Kevin Elliott & JeffreyC. Bliss
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RussellW. Snyder
Executive Director
1550 Harbor Blvd., Suite 120
West Sacramento, CA 95798
(916) 791-5044
rsnyder@calapa.net
www.calapa.net
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