Even accomplished business leaders make mistakes during media interviews. Here’s how to avoid seven common missteps that can undermine your credibility and cost you valuable coverage.

Being a successful CEO doesn’t automatically make you a great media spokesperson. I’ve coached executives across financial services and other professional industries who can lead organizations, navigate complex challenges and command a boardroom, yet struggle to communicate effectively with journalists.

Even the most accomplished executives can undermine their credibility by talking too much, making unsupported claims or turning interviews into sales pitches. Fortunately, these mistakes are avoidable. Here are seven I see most often and how to prevent them.

One of the biggest misconceptions executives have is that they must answer every question a journalist asks. You don’t. Even when a question relates to your industry, it may fall outside your specific expertise.

Rather than guessing, say, “I’m not the best person to answer that, but I can connect you with someone who is,” or “That’s outside my area of expertise, but what I can tell you is…” Journalists don’t expect you to know everything. They do expect you to know what you’re talking about. Of course, declining to speculate isn’t the same as evading a legitimate, difficult question about your business.

A journalist asks a straightforward question, and the executive launches into a five-minute explanation filled with background, caveats and unnecessary details. By the time they make their point, the reporter may have lost interest or run out of time.

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