How to Prepare and Deliver Media Interviews (Part 2)
Have you been asked to appear in a media interview? The Public Speaker provides more tips for doing better interviews, from preparation to follow up. Learn these tips to start interviewing like a pro.
Lisa B. Marshall
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How to Prepare and Deliver Media Interviews (Part 2)
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This is Part 2 of the mini-series on how to prepare and deliver media interviews. Check out Part 1 before you continue for my first tips on preparing for your media appearance.
One early morning my phone rang—I was making school lunches and listening to my daughter practice piano before school. It was the producer of an early morning talk show that I was scheduled to be on the following week. He said, “Hi, Lisa, are you ready to go?” Without skipping a beat, I said “Yes, give me a second.” I motioned to one daughter to stop practicing and asked the other to come finish making the lunches. I ran into the closet (which is the quietest place in my house) and delivered the interview..
It turned out the host had gotten the dates mixed up, but didn’t realize it until we were done with the interview. This story demonstrates two very important points—always be prepared to deliver an interview and secondly, always make the host look good.
Be Prepared at All Times
Besides being prepared well in advance, you should also be prepared for the interview to go completely off-track. I once had an interview where the first few questions had nothing to do with my book—the host apparently prepared for the wrong interview. So, I had to carefully respond but also move the conversation toward the topics that related to me and my product. Thankfully, I had prepared ahead of time so was able to do a good interview on literally a moment’s notice.
Make the Host Look Good
About making the host look good, in my case, when the producer called to do the interview a week before it was schedule, I chose not to correct him at all. However, if you need to correct the producer or host, do it diplomatically. Often it’s better to just let things go unless the mistake they’ve made has a real negative impact on you or your product.
If you don’t sound interesting and dynamic, your listeners will drop out…
Be More Energetic and Friendly
Be more energetic than you normally are. Use the names of the host, and callers and if possible, sincerely compliment them. Speak a little faster. Stand up and smile during your interview. Trisha Ventker, author of Internet Dates from Hell says “…If you don’t sound interesting and dynamic, your listeners will drop out and the ratings of that radio show will go down. You run the risk that your interview will be cut short and you’ll never be asked back.” That’s not good. The goal should be to make yourself as interesting and engaging as possible so that the producers ask you back time and time again.
Prepare Tips and Stories
Not only do you need to be energetic, you need to also provide value to the listening audience. You need to provide meaty tips and interesting stories. Keep in mind your primary goal is to educate and entertain the audience—not to pitch your products or services.
Prepare tips and stories ahead of time for commonly asked questions. Practice responding in a casual manner. I use Evernote to create notes for each of my topic areas and I have these on the monitor during the interview. As the host asks me questions, I can click on each topic notes and use the outlines as reference if necessary. One word of caution though, if you use notes, just be sure not to read them verbatim; your audience will know if you’re reading from a script. You should strive to sound natural rather than canned.
Provide Value
Provide ValueIt is important to actually give concrete information. Don’t say “You can find the answer in my book.” Your goal is to provide helpful information and most importantly, to create hunger for more. For example, you might answer like this: “That’s an issue for some people. I talk about several approaches in the book. Here’s my favorite…” Don’t be afraid to use some of your best or unexpected tips; they are often the ideas that will spur action.
See also: How to Tell Better Stories
Tell stories that talk about clients following your advice and succeeding. Be as vivid, descriptive, and emotional as possible with the stories. Also, use stories to hint at what you do besides write books. In my case I try to mention speaking engagements, consulting, training, etc. in examples so that I am indirectly letting the audience know what my services are.
Say Thanks!
The end of the interview is the time to directly promote yourself—often the host will tell the audience where they can find more from you, but sometimes, it will be up to you. Be ready with your website or very brief promotional information. For most interviews, that’s it.
Keep in mind, the host still has a show to do, so don’t be surprised if they disappear as soon as your on air interview is over. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow up. Send a thank-you email or card or perhaps consider sending a testimonial for their website. You might even recommend someone they might want to interview and offer to make an introduction.
Review Your Performance
I know many of us find this painful, but reviewing video or audio of your appearance is the best way to improve your media skills. Listen and review your interview against a short checklist of your goals. Frankly, for me review is the hardest part of an interview and I’m guilty of sometimes skipping this step because I always think about what I could have done differently. Don’t be hard on yourself, it takes practice to get good at this.
See also: Why You Hate Your On-Air Voice
The more interviews you do, the better you will be at them. With today’s tips I hope you’re now ready to nail your interview. I’ve got an interview later today, let’s see if I follow my own advice.
This is Lisa B. Marshall, The Public Speaker. Helping you lead, influence, and inspire through better communication. Do you wish you got an email from me letting you know the new podcast is available? Join my newsletter to get weekly updates and get a free bonus.
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Microphone image coursey of Shuttershock.
About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.