15 years at the BBC taught me something most spokespeople never learn: difficult questions are often only challenging because of how they are structured.
Journalists use the same question types over and over again. Once you recognise the pattern, you can see where they’re heading before they finish the sentence.
And that changes everything about how you prepare.
I’ve mapped out the 5 most common difficult questions, the ones that catch spokespeople out every single time.
Learn to spot these and you’ll stop walking into traps you didn’t see coming.
Recognising the pattern of a question is the first step toward a successful interview. If you want to practise handling the toughest enquiries in a safe environment, find out more about our media training sessions.