If you’ve ever watched a great interview and thought, “They made that look so easy,” you’re not wrong — but you are seeing the result of serious preparation. In media, the art of a strong answer isn’t about saying the most. It’s about saying what matters, clearly and quickly.

That’s where so many people struggle. Under pressure, it’s easy to ramble. You feel the need to explain, to fill space, to keep talking in the hope you’ll say the right thing. But the more you say, the less people hear. That’s why cutting the waffle is one of the most important things we teach in our Media Training Course.

Media is about clarity. Audiences today are busy, distracted, and have short attention spans. Whether you’re on TV, radio, or being quoted in a news article, your words need to land fast. Every sentence should do a job — reinforce a message, show personality, or offer a meaningful quote. Anything that doesn’t do that is noise.

It’s not just about trimming words. It’s about having a clear plan before you go in. That starts with knowing what your key messages are. What do you want people to take away from the interview? What are the two or three ideas that matter most? Once those are clear, your job is to keep returning to them — not by repeating them word-for-word, but by finding fresh, natural ways to bring them into the conversation.

It also means letting go of the need to sound overly polished. The best media guests don’t speak in paragraphs. They speak in sharp, conversational sentences that feel real. They know how to pause, how to stop, and how to make their words count.

At The Presenter Studio, we train people to master that balance — short answers that don’t sound curt, clear points that don’t feel rehearsed. Because when you cut the waffle, what you’re left with is the good stuff. And that’s what gets remembered.

If you’re ready to get your messaging tight, clear and media-ready, visit to learn how we can help - https://www.presenterstudio.com/business-presenter-training/presentation-skills-training