A media interview toolkit is a set of short, format-specific checklists, one each for TV, radio, print, podcast, and satellite interviews, that you review in the minutes before you go on. Not one master document. Separate lists, because each format rewards different behavior. I started building these for clients after watching a CEO deliver a perfect television answer to a print reporter, and then wonder why the quote that ran was the one throwaway line he never rehearsed.
Get the toolkit: https://www.MediaTrainingToolKit.com
In my producer years at ABC, NBC, and Fox, I watched hundreds of guests prepare the same way for every appearance. The ones who looked polished on camera often rambled on radio. The ones who were great talkers got burned in print. The problem was never talent. It was using one prep routine for five different games.
Why this matters (and what most executives get wrong)
Most executives prepare for "the media" as if it were one thing. They build a single page of talking points, read it in the car, and walk in. But the format changes what wins:
- TV is visual and brutally short. Energy, posture, and 10-second answers carry the day.
- Radio gives you more room, but your voice does all the work. Vocal variety and verbal signposting replace body language.
- Print is the trap. There is no clock, the conversation feels casual, and everything you say is quotable. Long, relaxed answers produce quotes you never intended to give.
- Podcasts reward stories and depth, but they also lull you into forgetting your message entirely.
- Satellite and remote interviews add a technical layer: eye line to the lens, a delay you must not talk over, and no host in the room to read.
One list cannot cover that. Five short lists can.
The five-step way to build your toolkit
1. Start every list with the same three message lines
Your core message, your proof point, and your call to action go at the top of all five checklists. The message does not change by format. Everything below it does. If you have not locked those lines yet, do that first (my piece on key messages for media interviews walks through it).
2. Write a top-ten list for each format you actually face
Keep each one to a single page. The TV list carries reminders about energy, sitting forward, and answer length. The radio list covers vocal energy and painting pictures with words. The print list leads with the rule that nothing is casual and everything is on the record. The podcast list reminds you to bring stories and still land your message. The satellite list covers eye contact with the lens and pausing through the delay.
3. Make each item an instruction, not a topic
"Energy" is a topic. "Bring 20 percent more energy than feels natural" is an instruction you can follow at 6:55 a.m. in a green room. Write every line as something you can do, not something to think about.
4. Keep the toolkit where you will actually see it
Print copies in your bag, a note on your phone, a folder your assistant can send you an hour before any booking. The toolkit only works if the right list is in front of you right before the interview.
5. Review the matching list, once, right before you go on
Five minutes is enough. You are not cramming; you are switching your brain to the rules of the format you are about to play. Then put it away and be present in the conversation.
The mistake most executives make
The pattern I see over and over: executives treat interview prep as a one-time event instead of a repeatable system. They prepare hard for their first big interview, do fine, and then coast on that memory for years. Every interview after that gets the leftover prep from a different format in a different year. A toolkit fixes this because it makes preparation a five-minute habit instead of a project you have to find time for.
Case study: the founder who stopped winging radio
A founder I worked with was excellent on camera and knew it. Then a business radio show invited him on, and he prepared the way he always had: same notes, same mindset. On air, with no camera to perform for, his energy dropped and his answers wandered. The host cut the segment short. We built him a radio-specific checklist: vocal energy up, describe what listeners cannot see, signpost every answer, land the message in the first 30 seconds. His next radio appearance led to two follow-up invitations from the same network. Nothing about his talent changed. The list in his hand did.
| Format | What wins | What burns you |
|---|---|---|
| TV | Energy, short answers, strong posture | Rambling past 20 seconds |
| Radio | Vocal variety, word pictures | Flat delivery, visual references |
| Discipline, quotable message lines | Casual asides (all on the record) | |
| Podcast | Stories with a message inside | Depth with no destination |
| Satellite | Lens eye contact, pausing for delay | Talking over the anchor |
What to do next
Build the list for the format you face most often this week, then add the others as bookings come in. If you want the deeper preparation system underneath the toolkit, start with how to prepare for a media interview. And if you have a real interview on the calendar and want to rehearse it on camera with me, get a quick quote and we will get you ready.