Anya Ayoung-Chee knows how to handle the media.
And, as a past Project Runway winner, turned bona fide fashion designer and entrepreneur, she needs to.
She’s a pro at anticipating questions.
She knows that reporters are curious about her life and work, especially the juicy parts… Like her sex scandal, in 2009, after winning Miss Trinidad & Tobago.
And, like any media relations pro, Anya ‘takes front’, anticipating questions, and addressing them.
In a recent interview with the The Huffington Post, she and her interviewer, Danielle James, start off engaging in easy conversation about T&T’s culture. But what’s striking about the interview is that Anya brings up her sex tape before James even thinks about doing it.
Someone else might have said, “That happened in 2009. They better not bring that up!”
Not Anya.
When her interviewer asks her how she feels about being a role model, she brings it up. She doesn’t cross her fingers, and hope James ignores it.
Here’s how the conversation goes:
Interviewer: “It seems you have really taken on the responsibility of not only being a mentor, but a role model.”
Anya: “I’m okay with being a role model — it doesn’t bother me… You’re pondering on the sex tape?”
Interviewer: “I wasn’t going to bring it up and honestly, I’m surprised you even mentioned it.”
Anya: “Role model to me in this age is embracing all the shadows. What do you do with your humanity? How humane are you towards others? This idea of perfection is false. I’m not perfect, I’m real. I make mistakes. I’ve been obsessed with being perfect my whole life. I’m so much more comfortable just being me.”
The interviewer loves her directness.
Anya also scores by giving people a peak into her personal life, explaining the pressure she felt to have a certain image while being Miss T&T, and how she eventually learnt how to be honest with herself, so that she can grow and evolve.
Wasn’t that a good interview?
Company spokespersons, and anyone who has to deal with the media should take points from this.
Here’s what you should take away.
- Anticipate tough questions.
- Have a good answer for those questions.
- Don’t block reporters/journalists/writers from discussing difficult issues, or things that are in the ‘shadows’ (unless you have to!). Shadows sometimes make great stories.
- Talk about the issues/situations your audience is curious about.
- Address the questions that pop into people’s minds, when a related topic is being discussed. For example, a conversation about Anya being a role model would immediately make some people remember the sex tape.
- Ensure that how you package your message meets your objectives, while satisfying journalists.
- Be direct.
- Be open. You seem more likable. If the writer likes you, the tone of the article will be more positive.
- Be human. Be natural. Be conversational. People like that. They gravitate to that. It endears them to your brand.
- Give great sound bites.
And on a lighter note… great personal style always makes for an attractive photo. I couldn’t leave out a fashion tip in an article about Anya… Right?
What did you think about Anya’s interview?
Image credit: mylifetime.com; image customised by LWG.