The message you try to get across during a media interview should not be as complicated as rocket science (unless, of course, your topic is rocket science).
Your goal is to make it as straightforward as possible for the reporter to translate your words to his readers, viewers, or listeners. This means keeping your language and examples simple. During your interviews, talk as you would to your 12-year-old child, niece, nephew, grandchild, etc. Or if you are a doctor, explain things as you might to one of your patients. Businesspeople, think of a potential customer who knows next to nothing about your service or product.
Never try to impress reporters with jargon or inside baseball terminology. You will succeed only in making them work too hard, thus forcing them to turn to another source that can put matters in plain English better than you can. Simple words lead to successful quotes.
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