Practice answers: likely questions, said aloud and recorded
Write seven questions, answer each aloud, record one round on your phone, play it back against a checklist and redo the weakest answer.
Start here Essentials
At minimum, write seven questions, give each answer a first sentence that answers it, say each aloud, record one round on your phone and redo the answer you liked least. Everything marked Go deeper can wait.
- Write five likely questions, the one you dread, and "Is there anything else?" on the practice sheet (seven questions, practice sheet).
- Write the first sentence of each answer so it answers that question (the first sentence).
- Say each answer aloud, in your own words (say it aloud).
- Record one round on your phone and play it back with the playback checklist (playback).
- Redo the answer you liked least (redo the weakest answer).
Minimum time: about 30 minutes. Done when: the practice sheet shows seven questions with first sentences, each marked said aloud, and the playback checklist is ticked from one recorded round.
1. Seven questions to write down Understand
Your main points gave you a message. This chapter gets you ready to say it in answer to the questions a reporter is likely to ask. The practice here is aloud, because the way an answer sounds is part of how it works. Terms in this chapter are in the glossary.
The University of North Carolina's health-system media guide tells interviewees to prepare for five likely questions plus the one they hope not to get (UNC Health, Media Training Resources). This manual adds the question reporters often ask at the end. That makes seven.
| Kind | How many | Where to find them |
|---|---|---|
| Likely | Five | The story angle you wrote in Before you say yes; your own main point (what would a doubtful person ask?); what a neighbor or coworker asked when you told them; the practice question deck, filtered to your situation and format |
| Dreaded | One | The question you hope not to get. Write it as a reporter would say it, not in the softer words you use when you think about it |
| Closing | One | "Is there anything else you'd like to add?" or a version of it |
Likely questions
Start from what a reporter has to write. The Before you say yes request told you the angle. If the story is "neighbors sharing instead of buying," the reporter needs to know how it works, who uses it, why, and what is hard about it. Those are four of the five. For a routine topic, the questions follow the project: how it started, how it works, who benefits, what is next.
For a story about something that has gone wrong, the questions are different. The CDC's chapter on working with the media lists questions reporters commonly ask in a crisis: what is happening now, who is in charge, is it contained, what should people do, why did this happen, did you have warning, and what are you not telling us (CDC, Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication manual, Working with the Media, 2014). If your story is bad news, use that list as a starting point. Bad news and personal stories returns to it.
The practice question deck has about 60 questions you can filter by format, situation and chapter. Pick the ones that match yours. The deck is this manual's own, written for practice, and the rows adapted from the CDC chapter and SciLine say so.
The question you dread
Most people have one. It is often a question about someone else's fault, a number you are not sure of, or an outcome you cannot control. Write it exactly as a reporter would ask it, in the harshest words you can imagine a fair person using. The version in your head is probably gentler than the one you would hear, and an answer practiced against the gentle version may fail on the real one. Practice tip
You do not need a perfect answer. For many dreaded questions the honest answer is "I don't know" or "that's not mine to say." The next section shows how to say that clearly. Hard and unexpected questions gives a response pattern for each type of hard question.
The closing question
Reporters often end with a question like "Is there anything else?" It is an invitation to repeat your main point. SciLine suggests a second step at the end: ask the reporter to sum up what they heard, and repeat your key points if the summary missed them (SciLine, Five tips for scientists speaking to reporters). That check catches a misunderstanding before the story is written. Guidance
2. The first sentence answers the question
For each question, write the first sentence of your answer. The rule is plain: the first sentence answers the question that was asked.
The Throughline Group, a communications practice, argues that a bridge back to your message should typically be preceded by a direct answer, and that heavy-handed bridging reads as dishonest (Throughline Group, Is bridging an outdated practice?). The UNC guide says an answer begins by acknowledging the question, and that ignoring it looks inexperienced or suspicious because journalists detect evasion. Both are practitioners' advice, not research. This manual follows them because answering first is also what a listener expects. Practitioners' advice
The shape of an answer
- Answer. The first sentence responds to the question. If the answer is "yes," "no," a number or "I don't know," say that first.
- Support. One fact, example or number from Your main points that explains the answer.
- Point. Return to your main point if it fits. If it does not fit, leave it.
- Stop. When you have answered, stop. Do not fill the silence.
The CDC's spokesperson chapter says to practice answering in 10- to 20-second phrases, to pause every 20 seconds if an answer must run longer, and to rehearse stopping when you are told to stop. The University of Florida's extension service says to keep answers for recorded TV or radio to 20 seconds or less (University of Florida IFAS Extension, Media Interview Skills). Treat these as lines to practice against. The shape above often fits inside 20 seconds, and if you need longer, the answer is still the first sentence.
Learn the ideas, not a script
Write the first sentence word for word. For the rest, write only the key words: the fact, the example, the number. The CDC chapter says to learn the ideas, facts and anecdotes instead of memorizing answers, because a memorized answer tends to come off as rote. A reporter will ask the question in a different way than you wrote it. If you know your ideas, you can answer the question as asked. If you know only the words, you can get lost when the reporter changes one. Agency guidance
When you cannot answer
Some questions you cannot or should not answer: you do not know, the answer is not yours to give, the matter is under review, or a number is not available. Say so, and say why. The CDC chapter advises against "no comment" and says to give the reason instead: it is under investigation, no decision has been made, or you are not the right person. SciLine and NC State's media office also advise against "no comment." A reason line has three parts: what you cannot say, why, and what you can say or will do.
- "I don't know. I'll find out and send it to you today."
- "That's a question for the health department. I can tell you what we are doing."
- "I can't say what would happen legally, and I won't guess. That's a question for a lawyer."
A reason line also goes in the sheet's "Reason I can give" column. Guidance from three sources
Do not guess. SciLine says it is fine to say you do not know and to offer to follow up. The CDC chapter says "I don't know" is acceptable when followed by a commitment to find the answer, and warns against speculating. If a question asks about a legal outcome, a medical result, a safety judgment or an insurance claim, the honest answer is that someone else decides it. This manual does not give legal, medical, safety or financial advice, and you should not give it in an interview either; say who decides.
3. Say it aloud, record one round, play it back
Writing an answer and saying it are different skills. Saint Louis University's communications office tells interviewees to practice saying their words out loud before the interview (Saint Louis University, Interview Tips), and COMPASS says to practice with someone else and get feedback after the message is distilled. NPR Training's advice on writing for the voice is to read a sentence aloud, because a sentence that runs you out of breath is too long.
Say each answer
Go through the seven questions in order. Read the question aloud, or have a partner read it. Pause one second. Answer in your own words, using your written first sentence and your key words. Do not read the whole answer from the page. Mark each one "said aloud" on the sheet when you have done it.
If someone can play the reporter, use them. The University of Florida's guide describes a mock news interview, in which someone plays the reporter, recorded so you can review it. If you practice alone, read the question aloud from the sheet in a flat voice, as a stranger would, and answer.
Record one round
Use your phone's voice recorder or video camera. Record all seven answers in one take, in the order on the sheet. One round is enough to start. Do not stop to fix a stumble, since you want to hear what you do when it happens in real life.
The University of Florida guide also says that to check your speaking rate, you can record yourself talking with someone, ideally in a mock interview, and play it back. In a practice round the rate you measured in Your main points may not hold. The CDC chapter says microphones and nerves make people talk faster, and recommends slowing down and pausing between sentences. Baruch College's Tools for Clear Speech says rate varies with topic and nervousness, which is why they suggest several prompts. After your round, count the words in one or two answers and the seconds, and put them in the answer timer's rate tool. Compare with Your main points.
Play it back with the checklist
Listen to the whole recording once with the playback checklist open. Tick what you heard yourself do:
| Item | What to listen for |
|---|---|
| My first sentence answered the question | The first sentence of each answer, on its own, responds to the question. A listener who heard only that sentence would know your answer. |
| My main point came early and again later | Across the round, the main point appears in at least one early answer and in the closing answer. |
| Each answer made sense on its own | Play any one answer by itself. It should not need the one before. |
| No "as I said" | Phrases that point back to an earlier answer, such as "as I said" or "like I mentioned." A listener or a reader may only hear one answer. The CDC chapter says to avoid starting an answer with "as I said before" on radio, because the audience did not hear the earlier one. |
| I stopped when I had answered | Each answer ends at its last point. Listen for the extra sentence after you finished. |
| Numbers came with their source | Each figure was followed or preceded by where it came from, in a few words. |
The sheet also has optional notes for pace and filler words. "Um" and "uh" are normal in speech. The CDC chapter lists avoiding them as a goal for radio. Notice them on playback; do not count them yet.
Practice makes answers clearer. It does not predict the questions. A reporter may ask something you did not write, and the best preparation for that is knowing your message, not knowing your script. The playback checklist records what you did: whether you answered in the first sentence, repeated the point, or stopped. It does not grade readiness or say an answer is good enough. If the checklist shows a gap, that tells you what to practice, not that you are unready.
4. Redo the weakest answer
After playback, pick the answer you liked least. It may be the dreaded one, or one that ran long, or one where you lost the first sentence. Rewrite the first sentence if the playback showed it did not answer. Say it aloud again, and record that answer alone. Mark the new seconds on the sheet.
The CDC's introductory chapter says repeated practice is the best way to prepare spokespeople for tough questions. We did not find a source that gives a number of rounds. Our convention for a first pass is one full recorded round and a redo of the weakest answer. More is better only if you have the time. Our convention
How much to do, by time and experience
| Time left | What to do |
|---|---|
| Under an hour | Write the seven questions and the first sentences. Say each answer aloud once. Skip the recording if there is no time, and listen for the same checklist items as you speak. |
| Later today | The whole route: write, say aloud, record one round, play back, redo the weakest. |
| A day or more | The whole route, plus a second recorded round on the next day to see whether the changes held. |
If this is your first interview, do the full round. If you do interviews often, one round with the weakest answers redone may be enough. Your own judgment about your experience is a better guide than a number.
A full mock interview with a partner
If a friend or colleague will help, ask them to play the reporter with these instructions:
- Ask the seven questions in a different order than the sheet, and add a follow-up to at least two.
- Interrupt once politely, as a reporter on deadline might, and see whether you can pick up.
- Stop an answer at 20 seconds by saying "thank you" once. The CDC chapter recommends rehearsing stopping when you are told to stop.
- Ask one rapid-fire set of three short questions in a row. The CDC chapter recommends practicing aggressive, rapid-fire questions.
- Record all of it, and play it back with the checklist.
This takes about 45 minutes. Hard and unexpected questions covers the hard question types, and Your media kit runs a full mock interview with everything this manual has built.
Review earlier recordings
The University of Florida guide suggests reviewing earlier recordings of yourself before an interview. If you did a practice round a week ago, listen to it, and then listen to today's. Notice what changed. This takes five minutes and shows whether the practice is working.
Why this manual teaches answer first
Bridging is a PR-industry term for moving from a question to your own message. Throughline's article acknowledges a debate in the field. One practitioner quoted there says that when politicians dodge, "they're probably bridging." Another says bridging belongs only where you genuinely cannot answer, because journalists notice. The article's author takes a middle position: a bridge should typically follow a direct answer. This manual uses that position. A 2011 psychology study, which this manual read only as an abstract, found that listeners often fail to notice a dodge when the answer fits a similar question, and rated the dodger more negatively once they were guided to notice it (Rogers and Norton, 2011). Do not read that as evidence that dodging works. It shows that the cost shows up when someone notices. Hard and unexpected questions returns to this.
5. See it See it
Dana Ruiz writes her seven questions. Everything here is invented: the people, the newspaper and the quotes. It is Wednesday night. Dana (Before you say yes and Your main points) has a message and a call with Jen Albrecht of the Miami Valley Courier on Thursday at 10 a.m. Known: her main point, her supports and her rate (about 148 words a minute). Assumed: that these are the questions Jen will ask. That is Dana's reading of the story angle, and Jen settles it on Thursday. Open: whether 260 members is current (Dana counts the sign-up sheet), and the legal answer to her dreaded question. A lawyer would settle that, and she does not need it before the call.
| Question | Kind | First sentence of her answer | Back to her point | Seconds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How did the tool library start? | Likely | I started it three years ago in my garage. | Now anyone on the east side can borrow a drill for free. | 11 |
| Who uses it? | Likely | Our 260 registered members, and anyone on the east side can join. | It means fewer people buy a tool they'll use twice. | 9 |
| What kinds of tools do you lend? | Likely | We have 410 tools, from drills to a post-hole digger. | One member fixed a fence with one. | 8 |
| Does it save people money? | Likely | I haven't added up what members save, but borrowing costs them nothing. | Fewer people buy a drill they'll use twice. | 10 |
| What is the hardest part of running it? | Likely | Keeping 410 tools in working order. | It is worth it so a neighbor can borrow one. | 17 |
| What happens if someone is hurt using a tool they borrowed from you? | Dreaded | I can't say what would happen legally, and I won't guess. | Reason: that is a question for a lawyer, and I haven't asked one. | 14 |
| Is there anything else you'd like to add? | Closing | Yes: anyone on the east side can borrow a drill for free, so fewer people buy one they'll use twice. | Her main point, said again | 9 |
Dana notices her answer to "Does it save people money?" is honest and careful. She has not tracked what members save, so she does not say a figure. That is a reason line in miniature: what she does not know, and what she can say.
She records the round on her phone in the garage, in 78 seconds in all. She plays it back with the checklist and finds four things:
- Her answer to "What is the hardest part of running it?" ran 17 seconds, and it began with a story about last winter. The first sentence did not answer the question. She rewrites it to the one in the table, and the table shows the first sentences after the rewrite. The seconds are from the recorded round.
- In the tool answer she said "as I said, we have 410 tools." She ticks "no 'as I said'" as not done.
- She stopped when she had answered in six of seven. The first answer kept going after the point.
- She counts 193 words in the 78 seconds, which is about 148 words a minute. This matches her Your main points rate, in a quiet garage with no reporter. She expects to run faster on Thursday.
The answer she likes least is the dreaded one. She redoes it: "I can't say what would happen legally, and I won't guess. That's a question for a lawyer, and I haven't asked one. What I can tell you is that anyone on the east side can borrow a drill for free." It takes 12 seconds on the second try. Under these assumptions she is ready for the questions she wrote. What Jen actually asks stays open until Thursday.
Marcus Bell: a hard question written out. Marcus Bell, owner of Bell's Bakery in Harlan Falls, Pennsylvania (a fictional town), has just had his Main Street shop closed for a day after an inspection (invented). His dreaded question, written as a reporter would ask it: "Did your customers get sick?" His reason line has three parts. What he cannot say: whether any illness is linked to the shop. Why: the health department, not Marcus, decides that, and none is known on the day. What he can say: "The inspector found a cooler running too warm, and we are fixing it. The health department is the one to ask about illness." He names what is known and who settles the rest, and he does not speculate (Hard and unexpected questions).
Free guides that show the same practice:
- University of Florida IFAS Extension, Media Interview Skills: a short publication on mock interviews, answer length and speaking rate.
- Baruch College, Speaking Rate: how to measure your own rate from a recording.
6. Practice Practice
Minimum: write the seven questions with first sentences, say each aloud, record one round on your phone, play it back with the checklist, and redo the weakest answer. Time: about 45 minutes. Materials: your phone's voice recorder, the practice sheet, your message sheet from Your main points, and, if you have one, a partner to read the questions. Under an hour before the interview, skip the recording and say each answer aloud once.
- Write the five likely questions. Start from the story angle on your request sheet, then add what a doubtful person would ask about your main point. Use the question deck if you are stuck.
- Write the dreaded question, in a reporter's words, and the closing question.
- Write the first sentence of each answer. Read the question, then read the sentence. Does it answer the question? If not, rewrite.
- Add the key words for the rest, and a line back to your main point where it fits. For the dreaded one, write a reason line if you cannot answer.
- Say each answer aloud, and mark it on the sheet. Time a few with the answer timer.
- Record one round, play it back with the checklist, and tick what you heard.
- Redo the answer you liked least, and record it again.
Your work goes into the questions and first sentences table and the playback checklist, both essential. The playback notes for pace and filler words are optional. If a partner will help, ask them to read the questions from the sheet.
A partner round. Ask a friend to play the reporter and follow the mock-interview steps in the Go deeper section above, with follow-ups and one interruption. Record it and play it back with the checklist. This takes about 45 minutes beyond the minimum.
7. Your interview Your interview
8. Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Does the sheet have five likely questions, one dreaded and one closing?
- Is the dreaded question written in a reporter's words?
- Does each first sentence answer its question when read alone?
- Did you say each answer aloud, and did you record at least one round?
- Did you listen to the recording once, with the checklist, and tick what you heard?
- For a question you cannot answer, do you have a reason you can give?
- Did you redo the answer you liked least?
Worked example
Dana's sheet (fictional) has five likely questions, a dreaded one and the closing question. Her first sentences answer their questions, apart from one she rewrote after playback. She said each aloud and recorded one round of 78 seconds. Her checklist shows three items not fully met: the first sentence on one answer, "as I said" in another, and stopping after the point on the first answer. She noted them. She redid the dreaded answer, which dropped from 14 seconds to 12. Her dreaded question has a reason line. Against the criteria she meets all seven. What Jen asks is still open.
Common mistakes
- Writing the whole answer and reading it. Notice it when you cannot answer without the page.
- Softening the dreaded question. Notice it when it sounds kind.
- A first sentence that is background. Notice it when you could remove the sentence and the answer would still start.
- Skipping the recording. Notice it when your only evidence is "it felt fine." One round shows things you cannot hear while you speak.
- Treating the checklist as a grade. Notice it when you feel you "failed." It lists what you did.
What is still unresolved
This chapter does not settle what the reporter will ask, how your voice will sound on the day, or whether an answer to a hard question is safe to give. The reporter settles the first. How a story gets made shows how the questions end up in a story. Print and online, Radio and podcasts and Video and TV cover format and voice. Hard and unexpected questions covers hard questions, and a lawyer or the office that decides settles the third.