Chapter 6: It s YOUR Interview


Whatever the situation, a media interview serves one purpose for you: It’s a forum for delivering your key messages about yourself, your product, your company, or your big idea. From a reporter’s point of view, of course, it is also an information- gathering exercise. Think of an interview as a chess game, and always play to win.

Every principle in this chapter is designed to help you accomplish one paramount objective: Control that interview. We say “your” interview because you own it, not the reporter. Approach the interview with the idea in mind that you are leading the cause. The media will “dig” what you have to say as long as you give the journalist a story—a real, honest-to-goodness piece of information that indeed tells the listener something he didn’t know before. That’s what we call earning press coverage … you know, earnestly.

The Confidence Game

Let’s start by setting the stage for a fab interview. In the two decades we’ve been in the media game, we’ve identified the one important quality that all of the most notable newsmakers have and that struggling spokespersons lack: real confidence. Most of the people we’ve worked with to date have been brilliant minds—innovators, entrepreneurs, and successful businesspeople with a keen sense of themselves.

They’re huge personalities at the top of their games. They’ve convinced the staunchest bankers to fork over millions of dollars to fund their venture, persuaded the best executives to give up secure jobs to take a spin on their roller-coaster ride, and swayed millions of consumers to buy their wares. They’re chiefly salesmen among salesmen, capable of selling binoculars to the blind.

But when it came to selling the story to the media, most of them couldn’t do it—at first. In the throes of an interview, most people in the hot seat lose whatever charisma they’ve got. They choke, get defensive, squirm in their chairs, and foul up valuable opportunities that will not come their way again. Broadcast interviews are the most intensely challenging. No matter how weathered an executive is, when the cameras start rolling, so do beads of sweat from the brow.

Confidence in front of the camera is a precious resource, but unlike platinum and rhino horns, it can definitely be cultivated and eventually honed into a fine skill that you can write home about. Bright lights and live TV will no longer turn your stomach and force you into giving a performance that you regret later. Just learn how to use the tools. Educate yourself so that you can take any situation and turn it into an opportunity to deliver your message—clearly, accurately, with pizzazz. See, with the press you have only one chance to get it right. There’s no time for freezing up in front of the camera. The average television interview lasts only a few minutes (often seconds), and it takes lots of practice to explain the benefits of what you’re offering in that short amount of time.

What you need to do first is to keep the power balance in perspective. Journalists are required to report news and information on one or two topics. But that doesn’t mean that they are experts. The science behind manufacturing, logistics, wireless communications, or whatever your field is changes daily. If a journalist completely understood your industry, he wouldn’t dedicate his day to listening to and learning from you, would he? Suffice it to say that you are the expert, and members of the media are not.

Therefore, be confident in what you do, and let that translate into what you say to the press. You are there to enlighten others. That’s what a pro thinks as he starts off any interview—no matter with whom, where, or why. Pure salesmanship has no limits.




Full Frontal PR[c] Getting People Talking About You, Your Business, or Your Product
Full Frontal PR[c] Getting People Talking About You, Your Business, or Your Product
ISBN: 1576600998
EAN: N/A
Year: 2005
Pages: 105

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