Be a Better Spokesperson

By Nancy Trent

Everyone wants advice on health and beauty. They want quick tips on what they should be eating to promote better skin, what supplements they should be taking, what the best cosmetic procedures are, and the list goes on. Consumers’ demands for information are infinite, and the media cannot keep up. They need and rely on the assistance of “those in the know” to keep them up to speed on the medical beauty industry.
People are more interested in seeking out the tutelage of celebrities than someone who has the knowledge and expertise to really help them. This is because celebrities have the beauty and fortune consumers envy and aspire to achieve. The key note to remember is that – more often than not – doctors are the experts celebrities rely on to help them maintain their good looks.
This begs the question: are celebrities experts? 99/100 are not, it is their influence that sways the masses. You can harness the secret of that influence. Use public relations techniques to transform yourself into a media darling, someone consumers love and journalists can count on.

What does a real expert look like?
Our perception of experts is those smooth-talking TV doctors that grace the small screen every night. In reality, an expert has no defining aesthetic characteristics. They have an education, a diploma, maybe a white doctor’s lab coat, maybe not. Many are authors. All of the technical requirements to be an expert are good, but in order to become a spokesperson, media savvy is even better.
           
What does it take to position a doctor as an expert? 
Highlight your credentials. This can be done through a number of arenas, and the more you hit the more clout people attribute to you.

• Write a book. This doesn’t have to be the War and Peace of medical books. After all, The South Beach Diet began as a pamphlet and turned into a national sensation.
  

• Participate in clinical trials. This is especially important for the hard-hitting journalists, there are a lot of doctors out there and it is important to be able to provide professional and validated reference materials for your claims.
  
• Be an active member of associations and influential medical societies. If your peers know who you are and respect you as a knowledgeable and leading voice, they will support you and refer media (and patients) to you.
  
• Publish in journals or in medical trade magazines. This will help you establish a portfolio that you can send to media when they want to know more about who you are and what you’ve done.
  
• Be a speaker. Not only will this increase your credibility and name recognition, it will be good practice for speaking in front of larger audiences and cameras.
  
• Be quoted in newspaper articles and appear on TV. Once you start getting your credentials out there you will become a good source for quotes and this will take on a cyclical effect – the more you’re quoted, the more you’re quoted.
  
• Be everything in, on or under the skin. You should know all of the latest treatments, equipment and what is being studied. You should be knowledgeable and prepared to speak in sound bytes about the issues and whatever is in the news. You need to have great case studies, excellent before and after photos, and always be available and quotable.
  

What will you need?

• Press Kit - Have a press kit that includes news journalists can use in the form of fact sheets, press releases, profiles, areas of expertise, story ideas, talking points/interview topics, before and after photos, case studies, headshots, tape of spokesperson, B-Roll of procedures and a summary of your books.
  

• Rolodex Card – To be accessible and friendly send each journalist a Rolodex card and email them your contact information.
  

• Message Development - Before you communicate with journalists obtain media training and develop a set of messages. You want to use language that both patients and journalists will understand and relate to. Practice giving reporters “quotable quotes” and news they can use. And always be prepared to cite compelling statistics, numbers, anecdotes, personal experience, etc. whenever possible.
  

• Media Training - How to handle media interviews are great and important impressions for now and later. Here are five basic media training tips:
  

1. Know your agenda: Before each interview, have your agenda in mind
   for those points you must get across about yourself, your practice, your particular area of expertise, the market, etc. Always try to answer the questions put to you, if possible, but then bridge to your agenda.  DAM: Diffuse the question, Answer it, and Make points from your agenda.
   
2. Turn uncertainty into a personable moment: When you don’t have the answers to a specific question, compliment the reporter on the question and tell him or her that you will get back with the answer. Or, use those questions as bridges to say something you would like to say.
   
3. If they’re wrong – tell them: When presented with an incorrect assumption or question, don’t repeat it, but say something like, “That is not correct. Let me tell you what is.”
   
4. Never put down anyone: This is very important to remember and it encompasses their services, their products, their research, etc. Nothing is ever off the record.
   
5. Always keep in mind your expertise and status:  Be aware of when to use layman’s language or technical terms.
   

Ultimately, the goal should be cultivate relationships with editors to become a media darling.   Help them. Simplify for them. Always make their job easier. And remember to send them a thank you note.  Enthusiasm is the really the key. If you are enthusiastic and excited about what you do, you give it energy that others can absorb and become enthusiastic themselves.