Media Relations Training for Nonprofits: Creating Moving Quotes and Memorable Quips

by Rachael Lighty

A strong sound bite can help nonprofits stand out among the sea of organizations competing for potential donors, volunteers, recognition and media placement. Effective messaging is essential for nonprofits to tell their story in a way that evokes a call to action for their audience. Creating moving quotes and memorable quips can give the nonprofit’s stories a human voice, change the pace of a news piece, and add creativity and color to content and copy.

Unfortunately, quotations in press releases and media interviews can often sound as if they were manufactured by a computer; not spoken by a human being. Quotes can be the least interesting parts of copy – but they shouldn’t be. By making your quotes or sound bites easy to remember and easy to repeat, your message will be heard and shared, among the audience you are targeting.

In today’s blog, I will discuss ways in which you can transform your quotes and quips from blah to brilliant, as well as provide a crash course pitching and interview skills, with an emphasis on creating quotes that speak to the audiences of nonprofit organizations.

There are 3 key topics that I will review at a high level in the blog, but for a more in-depth look at each of these topics, and others, I encourage you to watch my webinar on Media Training for Nonprofits (link below).

Best Practices for Pitching

The Elevator Pitch

The first step in getting others to be interested in the story of your nonprofit is to craft and hone your elevator pitch. All staff members and volunteers at your nonprofit should have some training and knowledge of what the elevator pitch is for your nonprofit organization. Take the time to perfect your pitch – it’s your best tool in your toolbox to quickly get the attention of your audience.

I will briefly touch the top tips for elevator speeches for nonprofits, but I encourage you to read the Blog, Through the Eyes of The Nonprofit, to really dive into how you can perfect and hone your elevator speech. As a nonprofit, this is not only important for pitching media, but it’s extremely important in advancing your nonprofits mission with all audiences – donors and partners, government agencies, volunteers, staff members, and those who receive assistance from your nonprofit organization. I encourage you to really spend time on the key points in your elevator speech. You can combine those message points with the tips in this blog to immediately begin to stand out to your audience – no matter your stage.

  • Keep it short. Your pitch is longer than your sound bite, but not a long narrative. Your pitch should be longer than 30 seconds, but no longer than 3 minutes. Time it. Practice It. And get feedback on your pitch from others in your organization before trying it out on external audiences.
  • Don’t wing it, script it. Map out your key messages for the audience you want to engage with.
  • Include a story. Talk about the people or the cause you help. Put a face to the aide you provide.
  • Check out other pitches for inspiration. The blog suggests Peter Singer’s book, The Life You Can Save and features a 3 minute video that I encourage you to watch.
  • Know what you want – and include an ask.  This can be a direct ask for financial, volunteer, or in-kind support and donations, or just an invitation to your audience to learn more about your nonprofit organization.
  • Delivery matters. As a representative of a nonprofit, it’s important to make sure you think through all of the verbal and nonverbal aspects of your pitch. Have passion, clarity and focus.

Join the Conversation by Understanding How Top Journalists Work

  • Start small. Leverage your closest media contacts and pitch reporters who know you and/or your nonprofit best.
  • Prove your credentials.
  • Make introductions. If you know a reporter is likely to cover your issue in the months ahead, reach out to them for a possible meeting now. The goal is to introduce the reporter to your nonprofit, your expertise and familiarize them with the sources who might benefit them as they report the story.

Before You Pitch

Before you write an email or pick up a phone to call a reporter, take the time to ask yourself the following questions:

  • How exciting, timely and unique is my story?
  • What is my hook/focus/goal/key message?
  • Is the pitch tailored to the media that I am pitching? 
  • Have I worked with this journalist before?
  • Who is my intended audience?
  • Why should the journalist’s editor/boss/reader/audience care?

Pitch

Writing Memorable Quotes and Snappy Sound Bites

Make It Meaningful

Ok, so you pitched your story. And the journalist is interested! What’s next?

Now it’s time to create your message content. Words are powerful. They convey your message and influence the audience and its perception of you. Word choice and arrangement need just as much attention as speech organization and purpose. Select clear, accurate, descriptive and short words that best communicate your ideas and arrange them effectively and correctly.

Every word should add value, meaning and punch to the your quote.

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
President Ronald Reagan

Reagan

Make it Creative

Rhetorical devices are special ways of arranging words to make an idea or thought sound more pleasing and easier for listeners or readers to remember. Below are some of the more effective devices.

  • Simile – A simile is a comparison that uses the words “like” or “as.”
    • Example – “If we deny our children an education, ignorance will grow like a cancer.”
  • Alliteration – In alliteration, the initial sounds in words or in stressed syllables within the words are repeated in a pleasing or memorable manner.
    • Example – “Unnoted and unused.” “Hallowed Halls.” “Protect and Preserve Peace.”
  • Triadic Phrases – Triads are ideas, adjectives or points that are grouped together in threes. Expressed this way, thoughts have a pleasant rhythm, are dramatic and become more memorable.
    • Example – We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
  • Not X, but Y
    • President Barack Obama has used this type of rhetoric in many of his speeches over the past few years.
    • Example – “Our destiny will not be written for us, but by us.” Barack Obama
  • Watch for Jargon. Use specialized terminology only when speaking to people familiar with those terms.
  • Tell an Appropriate Anecdote – Tell an appropriate anecdote to drive home the message of your story.

 

Best Practices for Interviewing

In addition to preparing your message and content, it is also important to practice your delivery so you know how you sound and look when you respond to questions throughout an interview.

How people react to our message:

Message Graph

It’s hard to be natural when you’re talking to a reporter on the phone – with the keyboard clack clack clacking, or face-to-face with a microphone and camera in your face.

The truth is, however, that people leave the best impression and have far greater impact when they communicate in their own, natural expressive style.  Start paying attention to how you communicate when you’re at ease, with friends and trusted colleagues.

I want to keep driving home the importance of practicing your responses to questions. The more knowledgeable you are about the subject and the more prepared you feel, the more confident you will sound. Practice so that you can speak with confidence.

In your deliver, focus on:

  • Vocal projection
  • Rate of speech
  • Pausing naturally
  • Using enthusiasm (as appropriate)
  • Show energy and emotion to support the words you are saying
  • Annunciate and articulate 
  • Practice avoiding verbal fillers (Um, ah, actually, well, etc.)

Your delivery will keep getting better with practice, so make sure you are practicing by yourself and with others who can give you honest feedback to help you improve.

Tip from the Pros: When conducting an interview – stand up. Whether it’s on the phone or in person, your voice with be more even, your tone will be strong and confident and it will be easier to breathe naturally as you speak.

At the end of the day, the important thing for nonprofit organizations is to effectively share their message with the appropriate audience in a way that elicits an action. When preparing for and conducting media interviews, make your audience curious. You want them to finish watching the news piece, or finish reading an article wondering what they could do for you and what more they could learn about their cause. Your message elicited an emotion in them, which speaks to one of their five basic needs.

Get your audience to discuss your story with others and know what you want and don’t be afraid to include an ask. This doesn’t have to be a direct ask for a financial contribution – it can be expressing a need for volunteers, ideas or inviting the audience to learn more about your nonprofit organization. Many times reporters will ask you if there is anything else you want to add. This is great time to plug your website or your social media pages and encourage your audience to interact with you in the future.

Call to Action

For more information on media training for nonprofits, watch my webinar on Media Training for Nonprofits (link below). In the webinar, we take a deeper dive and explore the following topics more in-depth:

  • Best Practices for Pitching
  • Targeting Media Outlets
  • The Message Triangle
  • Writing Moving and Memorable Quotes
  • Creating Snappy Sound Bites
  • Persuading with Power
  • Message Delivery
  • Verbal and Nonverbal Cues
  • Best Practices and Interviewing Tips

Webinar: Media Training for Nonprofits: Creating Moving Quotes and Memorable Quips

For more resources on how to improve the effectiveness of your communications and media relations strategies and skills, visit the following websites and blogs for inspiration:

References:

Content in this blog is based in the author’s 11 years of media relations experience. Research, content and messages were reinforced by the following:

  1. Through Nonprofit Eyes (Blog), http://blog.moredonors.com/
  2. Toastmasters International, Competent Communications, http://www.toastmasters.org/225
  3. PR News Media Relations Guidebook: Navigating the Changing Media Landscape, Volume 2, http://www.prnewsonline.com/media-relations-guidebook-vol-2/
  4. Public Relations Society of America, Pitching Challenging Brands, http://www.prsa.org/Learning/Calendar/display/6098/Pitching_Challenging_Brands
  5. Pew Research Center’s State of the Media 2013 Annual Report on American Journalism, http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/news-media-2013-pew-research-center
  6. Big Dog’s Leadership Page – Presentation Skills, D.R. Clark, 1998, http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd.html

About Rachael Lighty:

Rachael Lighty is the lead spokesperson and media relations associate for Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), the largest natural gas and electric company in Maryland. Ms. Lighty has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Bloomsburg University and 11 years of diverse media relations and strategic communications experience – ranging from business-to-business communications and promotions to media relations, and crisis and political communications, with a focus in corporate social responsibility. In her role at BGE, her main focus is on media relations, crisis communications, corporate social responsibility, public relations and executive speechwriting. 

Ms. Lighty is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree at Georgetown University’s in the school’s Public Relations and Corporate Communications Master’s Program – a program that has been selected as the “PR Education Program of the Year” by PR Newsweek for three years in a row.

In her free time, Ms. Lighty serves as the Vice President and Communications and Marketing Chair for the Baltimore Public Relations Council. She also serves as a board member of the United Way of Central Maryland’s young professionals group, Emerging Leader’s United. Ms. Lighty provides freelance publicity consultation for a Baltimore-based publishing company and serves as a communications consultant for the United Way of Central Maryland Emerging Leaders United, the American Heart Association, Young Professionals for Alzheimer’s Awareness, Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults & the USAF Tech Sgt. Daniel Lee Zerbe Memorial Foundation.

Connect with Rachael Lighty on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/rachaellighty) or via Twitter, @rachaellighty.