What's in store for this edition:
The best way to use facts in interviews, pitches and PR presentations
Just the Facts
When you have an interview, are making a pitch, or giving a presentation, you should have trustworthy, verifiable facts. Nothing kills PR credibility faster than half truths, twisted numbers or just saying stuff to make yourself look good.
Journalists are not suckers who will believe anything you say. They will check any “facts” you give to them. Your audience are no dummies either. When you respect your audience enough to have verifiable data, you’ve laid the groundwork for mutual respect and trust in your public relations.
In addition, having well-placed and smartly used data can make boring stats become very memorable. Abstract claims are easily forgotten, where as specific numbers will stick around longer it the reader’s mind.
Lets get into more details about using and presenting facts.
The PR Facts Format
Always pair statistic + source + date. When you include these, people can see for themselves if it’s relevant and reliable.
When presenting technical or academic numbers have a plain-language translation. What good are the stats if only a handful of people can understand them?
When presenting stats use units your audience will understand. For example, US audiences will have hard time understanding metric units)
Round to units your audience can remember. Which is more memorable?
19.4132% of Americans or 1 in 5 AmericansPair numbers with context. A percentage alone may sound impressive, but the impact really comes when you explain what that means in real life.
Example: “Nearly 1 in 5 parents reported switching brands in the last 90 days (XYZ Study, July 2025) thus showing the concern parents have with the X scandal.”
🚫Avoid a stat dump. More numbers does not mean more persuasion. Pick 1-3 stats that are important and use those.
Presenting Facts
Your Media Kits or Press Page should have fact sheets about your company with key stats, milestones and other relevant facts.
Check your data sources regularly, to keep data accurate and up-to-date.
Organize facts in to categories such as customers, industry trends, product milestones, etc. so you can adapt for interviews or presentations.
It works: For a taffy company I compiled a fun fact sheet that was used in a TV spot by a journalist who found discovered it in the press section of the company website.
TV, Story Pitching and Presentation Recommendations
Live TV interviews: Provide facts to producers ahead of time. When live on air, stick to one or two data points that are memorable.
Story pitches: Choose the juiciest, most memorable fact and start your pitch with that. Show the urgency or uniqueness of your idea. Journalists need a news hook and more often than not data can provide it.
Presentations: Mix your facts into the story. Start off with a surprising or relatable stat, don’t forget to provide context, and conclude with facts that call for action.
💫 ProTip: Journalists and producers do due diligence. So have those stats with attributes right!
“All we want are the facts, ma’am.”
Do this now: Check your data. Do you have data that you often use? Is it up to date? Are there outdated facts? Make updates as needed.
Create (or update) fact sheets on your press page.
Term to Learn
Attribution is the practice of crediting the source of a claim or statistic. Attribution, fact-checking, and verification are used to make sure all statements are accurate, current, and transparent before they reach media or audiences.
FAQ
Q: Where do “facts” come from?
A: Proofs and facts often come from reliable sources such as case studies, reviews, white papers, original research and more. “I saw it posted on Instagram” is not a reliable source of facts.
Get PR techniques from recent news.
Newsworthy
Nike Asks Why Do It?
Nike’s iconic Just Do It, has been softened for the “anxious” generation to Why Do It?
This isn’t a rebrand, or dropping of the iconic tag line, rather a marketing campaign to add life to a brand that has seen slumps.
It caught my eye when I was at a restaurant and ABC news was doing a story about it.
Often times marketing campaigns will lead to media exposure, especially with big brands like Nike.
When this type of campaign is run by marketing departments, they will work closely with Public Relations departments to make sure all messaging and storytelling are aligned.
If it’s a marketing campaign, what does the PR department have to do with it?
Public Relations departments:
Fields all the media inquires and coordinates interviews
Collects all the facts and figures for journalists (See the article’s mentions of the history of the brand moving with culture.)
Prepares and refines talking points for spokespersons (Did you notice the talking points the CMO mentioned?
Trains interviewees for media
Gathers all the media assets for journalists
Reaches out to journalists
✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Public Relations works best when they are part of the team.
Useful PR Resources.
🧰 TOOLKIT
Grammarly
A real-time grammar, spelling and tone checker.
Grammarly has app integration, it can recommend changes in tone based on your presets. You could use AI, but it does not teach you how to write better, it just makes changes for you, where as Grammarly gives options and suggestions while you’re writing.
They have a free and paid version.
I use this app everyday.
Attention Seeker of the Week
Archie and Kitsu are Pringle hunting felines, and they have joined in the attentions seekers club. Watch this for your daily dose of dopamine.
Are you saying good bye to summer yet? It’s still hot here in Florida and I’m happy to welcome any sort of cooler weather headed this way.
Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.
Your fellow Seeker,
Keren
🕶️
