The following three "axioms" of media interviews - and the four axioms contained in last week's Media Tip - are practical tools designed to help you develop the mind-sets that will best enable you to give effective interviews. By adhering to these axioms, you will present yourself as honest, forthright, self-assured and credible.

Axiom #5: All information is either public, and thus available to all outsiders, or it is confidential, and thus available only to insiders. And all information is automatically public unless a compelling case can be made to keep it confidential.

Explanation: Time and again, organizations decide not to make information available to the media because they believe the facts might make them look bad or because they don't know how to present the facts in a "positive" light or simply because they do not want to help the media, in general, or a single media outlet, in particular. None of this is acceptable, because none of this works in your favour. Such self-serving and vindictive behaviour will mobilize both the media and the public you are trying to influence against you. So, how do you decide what is to be made public and what is to be kept confidential? Aside from the dictates of legislation and regulation governing disclosure, here is a litmus test you might apply. Write down the real reason for keeping a fact confidential. Then put yourself in the shoes of a reporter or other key public, read what you've written and ask yourself the following questions: Does this explanation make it appear that the organization is trying to cover up a wrongdoing? Is the principal used to justify keeping information confidential being applied selectively? Is the information already obtainable from other sources? If you answer "yes" to these questions, the decision to keep the information confidential is probably wrong. If you answer "no," then keep the information confidential, but also give your explanation to any reporter asking for confidential information.

Your attitude: "I want to give the reporter all the information he or she requests, but if something is confidential, I want to explain why. "

Axiom #6: All reporters deserve the same cordial professionalism from you and your organization - before, during and after an interview.

Explanation: It doesn't matter whether the reporter is well informed or ignorant; a genius or an idiot; competent or incompetent; a moral paragon or a moral Neanderthal; friendly or nasty; polite or rude; a lion or a pussycat - you treat them all alike by always behaving with the same openness and professionalism. The reason is simple: Your role as a spokesperson is to convey information so that your key publics exposed to the interview will act in ways that will help your organization attain its goals and objectives. You will not accomplish this by chastising, punishing, reforming, isolating, thwarting, rebuffing or embarrassing the reporter. Doing these things will only make you seem like a belligerent and arrogant bully with something to hide.

Your attitude: "My role is to communicate with my key publics, not to fight with the reporter."

Axiom #7: Effective communication results not only from speaking the truth, but from believing in what you say.

Explanation: Lying is out; first, because it is wrong, and second, because it is counterproductive. Here's why: To most of us, lying is a betrayal of a vital moral value. So when we lie - and most of us who believe it is wrong, still do it - we set up an internal conflict that will usually surface in our verbal or nonverbal communication (the famous Freudian Slip). We thus betray our own lie and in the process erode our own credibility. A sticky problem arises, not when you're asked to tell an outright lie, but rather when you're asked to support a policy or action of your employer with which you do not fully agree. Basically, you have two choices: Either develop a sincerely held belief in the true benefit and worth of the party line or refuse to act as a spokesperson.

Your attitude: "I believe in what my organization is doing and have nothing to fear from the truth."