Holy Heck! I’m On Live: Tips for Conducting a Media Interview

Posted on Jul 18, 2010 | 4 comments

This week, I’m going to highlight how to comfortably maneuver your way through media interviews as shy people. (However, I would love to make this interactive, so please don’t hesitate to join the discussion on the Facebook fan page or start one in the blogs comment section.) If you’ve read my book, you know that I have found reporters to be quite kind during my interviews. Of course, I usually arrive with little seasonal gifts and exclamations of nervousness (I have always been a little too transparent, but find comfort in putting the truth out there – I believe people have been kinder because of this personality trait).

Radio interviews are my favorite. There are very few people looking at me and I don’t feel as if my words are being immortalized forever in print. However, as with all interviews, as soon the attention is on me, I get nervous and feel like my brain turns to scrambled eggs. Thankfully, I have found some tactics to help me prepare for this.

1)    Before the interview, review your notes and press release, or whatever tool you utilized to obtain the interview. I usually do this the night before the interview as well as the day of.

2)    Be as relaxed as possible when you arrive for the interview. This can difficult, I know.  I recommend that you call a trusted friend or colleague, pre-interview, to give you a pep talk. Post-interview, have a pre-selected reward in mind. It could be your favorite, flavor-packed coffee drink or a movie night.

3)    Brainstorm the toughest questions you can imagine being asked by the reporter. Outline answers to these possible difficult questions. Consider practicing the answers aloud. If you feel completely repaired for the interview, you should have less anxiety.

4)    Have a clear idea of the key points you want to share. Two to five points should be manageable. Next, prioritize these key messages. You can effectively do this by numbering, color-coding or starring. As I often take my notes with me to interviews, I choose a combination of color-coding and starring. I choose this thorough method because as soon as that little red on-air light glows, I feel like I go mostly blind. The color helps me zone in on my key points. (So do the stars.)

5)    Keep speech-making basics in mind. Try to speak in complete sentences combined with some shorter, easily remembered sound bites. Try to refrain from “ums” and other verbal tics. (When you listen to the audio of the mini-management course available with “You Want Me to What?,” you may notice many of these tics. My apologies. Although I strive for perfection, when I get nervous, the “ums” and such still rear their ugly heads. I continuously work on this.)

6)    If you don’t know an answer, don’t worry.  There is no need to panic or to make up an answer. If you’re comfortable saying, “I don’t know,” consider it. A tactic I often use is the following. “That is a wonderful question. I want to ensure I give the most informative answer possible, so let me look into it and I will get back with you. I know you want your audience to have the best information.” Then, of course, research it and follow-up; otherwise, you could lose credibility.

7)    Do your best and then forgive yourself if you make any mistakes. It is important to remember that you are professional, the one giving the information. Keep in mind that your audience, for the most part, will focus on the information and not the mistakes. They may not even notice if you did something wrong. So keep your head up and keep going. You’ve got this! (If you want to know my most embarrassing media blunder it was when, instead of talking about the many facets of our service, I talked of our many faucets repeatedly. It was a 6:00 am interview and I am no morning glory! When I think of that interview, I still see visions of bathroom faucets and kitchen faucets. But, if it makes you smile knowing it wasn’t you, perhaps it was worth it.)

Of course, there are a few additional things to consider to ensure you remain in the high esteem of the reporter.

• Be on time to the interview
• Stay unbiased
• Value his time during the interview
• Be appropriate and give valuable information.
• Choose a time outside the realm of his hectic deadline time for pre and post-interview contacts
• Send a thank you note

Now send out those press releases! I’d love to hear from you! If you have questions, comments, newsletter or blog ideas, kudos or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me on twitter or Facebook (easily accessible through the “follow me” link on http://www.shymarketingsecrets.com) or email me at mikimarkovich@shymarketingsecrets.com.

Note: This blog post came straight from my newsletter. So, if you like this and desire more, be sure to sign up for the free report on “How to Boost Profits Even if You’re Shy.” There are no tricks. I’d never sell your information. And, you can unsubscribe at any time. Smiles to you and best wishes always.

-MM