28 Feb 2018

Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) in conjunction with Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) recently organised a workshop for athletes who will be competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games next month.

South African media consultant Janine Lazarus told the athletes about the importance of always keeping their interviews with the media short and simple.

“During an interview, you don’t have to talk too much,” she said.

Lazarus said eye contact and posture played an important role during interviews given that they showed how confident and comfortable the interviewee was. She said it was also important for athletes to always ‘own the space’ after the competitions regardless of how tired they may be feeling.

“The media will always come to you immediately after the race or competition. So it’s important for you to always give them interviews and remember to keep it short and simple, for example you can tell them that it wasn’t my best race because I am saving myself for the finals, I am going to bring the gold home.  Those are the three key messages,” she said.

Lazarus also said it was important for them to always project their voices .

Botswana 400 metre runner Karabo Sibanda said in an interview that the workshop was an eye opener.

He said he was happy they were taught about the importance of body posture, eye contact and owning the space after the race, adding that would help him in his future interviews.

“I am going to the Commonwealth Games and trust me I am going to conduct my interviews in a very different and professional manner,” he said.

His take home message, he said, was to be always assertive during the interviews despite the outcome of the race.

“I have also learnt that it matters how we handle the media as they can build or destroy us. We were also taught that the media do not know much about our personal lives so it is important to keep it private,” he said.

Botswana cyclist Matshediso Ebudilwe concurred with Sibanda that the workshop was an eye opener adding that all along she had a difficult time dealing with the media. She said after being trained, she was going to be a better person in terms of media interviews, adding that she learnt about the importance of keeping her answers short and simple.

Brand Botswana manager, Thuso Palai said they found it imperative to train athletes on how to handle the media because they represented the country during international competitions.

“Whatever they do or say is a reflection of our country. So we wanted them to appreciate that they were very important because they represent us and they can brand Botswana,” he said. Ends