When I’m pitching a story, I approach a reporter like I’m talking to a colleague or a friend.
Instead of trying to create a false sense of urgency, I try to offer a helping hand by drawing their attention to something—just in case they may have missed it.
Reporters, especially beat reporters, talk to a lot of experts, and chances are they’ve heard of something before you’re ready to announce it.
And I try to stay away from superlatives.
Even if what I’m pitching may be a first, or one of the first, I downplay that.
We’re not going to be disrupting anything, and we don’t have anything revolutionary or groundbreaking.
I just want them to be aware of a development that may be right up their alley.
Also I tell them why this might be something they’d want to know, “especially with the hearing coming up next week,” for example.
Then when doing a follow up, I tell them I just want to make sure they don’t miss an opportunity.
This has been my approach throughout my career, and most of the feedback I’ve ever gotten from reporters is thanks for flagging something.
Bottom line: forget the hype and just be human.
Whether you’re launching a clean energy project, preparing for a press conference, or simply need sharper messaging that gets noticed, let’s connect and talk about how I can help!