You don't have to be the White House press secretary to hold a press briefing. After last week, that may be a relief.
Katie Zacharia's first briefing in the job lasted less than 15 minutes, and more than half of it was prepared remarks, NBC News reported. She took questions from three reporters. Days later, she was out of the role, ending one of the shortest tenures in modern White House history. Whatever your politics, the lesson is about preparation.
Briefings work best when the news is urgent, complex or affects the public. Hospitals announcing a service change, attorneys speaking for a client in a high-profile case and companies in a crisis all fit. Not everyone is cut out to be handed the mic. Before you or your client steps to the podium, consider these 10 steps.
Decide whether a briefing is the right format
A briefing makes sense when many outlets will want the news at once, questions are likely and consistent answers matter. If a written statement or a single interview will do the job, choose that.
Settle on three key messages
Decide what you want people to remember before anyone speaks. Limit it to three messages, each clear enough to quote. Every answer should tie back to them.
Choose one spokesperson
Name one voice, and make sure the team, the board and the staff know who it is. Mixed voices produce mixed headlines. The best spokesperson is not always the highest-ranking person, and it is rarely the person who is newest to the material. Pick someone credible, calm and plainspoken, and give that person time to prepare.
Anticipate the hardest questions
Write down every question you hope no one asks, then draft and rehearse your answers. Cover what went wrong, who is responsible, the spokesperson's own background and anything involving numbers, dates or money. Hold a mock briefing with a colleague playing a tough reporter, and run it at least twice.
Predictable questions are where briefings succeed or fail. Asked by a Fox News reporter whether the U.S. had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, Zacharia said she would "have to get back to you on that," NBC News reported. Then came the question about her credentials. Reports surfaced that she had described herself as a lawyer but had not passed the bar exam. Asked on the South Lawn where she took the question, she gave an answer that included "when I moved to China," Forbes reported, though NBC noted it was hard to hear over the helicopter blades. By Thursday she acknowledged she had not passed.
The question was predictable. The answer was not ready. It became the story.
Now consider the National Transportation Safety Board's briefings after a door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines jet in January 2024. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy briefed reporters Jan. 6 and again Jan. 7. She said investigators would not offer findings or conclusions while at the scene. Asked about the door plug's material, she said she did not yet have that information and would provide it at the next briefing.
Both spokespeople said, in effect, that they didn't know. Homendy explained why, described what investigators were doing and named when answers would come. "I'll get back to you" is a hope. "At the next briefing" is a commitment.
Prepare your materials
Have these ready:
- An opening statement of three minutes or less
- A one-page fact sheet
- An internal Q&A document
- Contact information for follow-up
- A plan to post the statement online right afterward
Handle the logistics
Give reporters at least a few hours' notice, and avoid late Friday afternoon. Pick a quiet, accessible location. Decide in advance how many questions you will take, and say so at the start. Offer a dial-in or livestream for reporters who can't attend. A briefing that ends abruptly looks evasive, so leave time for questions.
Look and sound like you mean it
Reporters and cameras judge delivery as well as content, and a shaky performance can undercut accurate facts.
- Read your statement aloud beforehand. Practice until you can look up from the page. Reading line by line signals that you don't know the material.
- End sentences on a downward note. Avoid the upward lilt that turns a statement into a question. Finish the thought and stop.
- Slow down. Nerves speed people up. Pause after key points. Silence reads as control.
- Cut the filler. Replace "um," "you know" and "kind of" with a breath.
- Mind your body. Stand still, keep your hands visible and make eye contact with the room, not just the page or the camera.
- Dress to fit the moment. Choose clothes that suit the tone of the news and won't distract.
- Stay level under pressure. If a question is hostile, keep your voice even, answer it and move on.
Know what you won't say
Agree beforehand on what is off limits, including pending legal matters, personal information and unconfirmed facts. Never speculate, and never say "no comment." "I don't have that yet, and here is when we will" is a complete answer.
Plan the follow-up
Send the statement and fact sheet to everyone, including reporters who didn't attend. Track coverage, correct errors quickly and answer open questions within the window you promised.
Vet your spokesperson before the podium
Check your spokesperson's public record before anyone else does. A credential, a résumé line or an old interview can become the headline overnight. Correct anything inaccurate and prepare a clear answer. Zacharia's credentials question was always going to come up. It may have cost her more than the briefing did.
The Bottom Line
Zacharia's debut drew mixed reviews at first, and the White House called the briefing "commanding," Forbes reported. Within days, she was out. The briefing room doesn't grade on a curve, and it doesn't wait.
Know your three messages. Choose one voice. Practice until the words are yours and rehearse the question you dread most. Be honest about what you don't know yet. That is how you control the story instead of chasing it.
Nicole Junas Ravlin is Founder and CEO at Junapr.