When
you’re being interviewed by the news media, you should be aware of a number of
things to do – or avoid. Here are 11
tips to chew on:
1.
Be mindful of
the ground-rules
Basically,
when you talk to the media it is all on the record – unless you agree ahead of
time that some or all is not. In any
case, be aware that you are talking to someone who can share what you say with
others.
2.
Remember why
they are interviewing you
They
want to hear something interesting, new, or unique about the story angle or
topic that you pitched to them. Be
prepared to provide ideas, facts, and stories to support your claims.
3.
Be pro-active
Everyone’s
time is limited, so use it effectively.
Your goal is to be on the offense and project a positive image. You won’t get that from being defensive,
neutral, or conservative.
4.
Project energy
and enthusiasm
No one wants to listen to a low-talking,
slow-talking, half-comatose expert.
Express excitement and people will feel the momentum. It can be contagious – electrify others,
rather than get electrocuted.
5.
Don’t ramble
Keep
answers concise, compact and focused.
Express one idea at a time.
6.
Respond with a
direct answer
Open
your remarks by saying something that sounds definitive and conclusive:
·
“The
most important thing is…”
·
“The
top priority is…”
·
“A
key point is…”
·
“Look,
the bottom line is…”
·
“There’s
a clear choice to be made between…”
·
“My
biggest concern is…”
7.
Bridge from the
question you dislike to the answer you want
Often,
you will be asked a question that you don’t really know the answer to, would
rather not address, seems to attack you or at least puts you in a jam. So what do you do? You try to dance around it and lead into
something you’d like rather talk about.
You briefly use a few words to acknowledge their question and then move
in to what you’d rather speak on. You
can say something like:
·
“Well,
I’m not so sure about that, but I am sure that…”
·
“Time
will tell if there’s merit to that, but I can tell you that right now we…”
·
“I
don’t want to get into the specifics of that right now, but I will tell you
that…”
8.
Body language
counts
Even
if you’re talking by phone to the media, they can sense your body
language. Certainly, in person, people
can see your facial expressions, posture, hand gestures, tone of voice, eye
contact, and overall demeanor. It makes
an impression, so make it a positive one.
9.
Be quotable
State
a strong fact. Voice an outrageous
opinion. Warn about something. Reveal a secret. Or use colorful language, analogies, and
humor to be memorable. Think like the
media – they want a headline.
10.
Don’t do these
things
Never
disparage others; talk yourself up instead.
Don’t repeat negatives; stick with positives. Avoid jargon or arcane terms. Do not sound annoyed or flustered. Temper your use of sarcasm – many may not get
it. Be careful not to guess or
speculate. Don’t try to be an expert
beyond your field.
11.
Finish strong
Come
back in the end to a core message or theme and repeatedly hit on it.
EXCERPTS
FROM: Being Good: An Introduction to
Ethics by Simon Blackburn
“An
impartial moral law can bear very unevenly on different people, and it is
little wonder if people become disenchanted by an ethics largely maintained by
those who do not have to live it.”
“People
are not, for instance, born free – they are born into a civil order that will
impose duties and obligations on them.
They do not remain free in all kinds of respects, and they are not born
equal and don’t remain equal in all kinds of ways either. But the intention will be to criticize the
existing order in the name of these ideals, or to work for an ideal that
incorporates some notion of basic equality (equality before the law, for
instance) and some central menu of freedoms.”
“Again,
even when we live benevolent, admired lives according to the standards of our
times, we can fear that had things been tougher we would have joined the
fallen. If we are good, it may be
because we were never tempted enough, or frightened enough, or put in desperate
enough need. We can also fear the
restless evil in the human heart. We
know that neither success nor suffering ennobles people. In such a mood, we can be overwhelmed just by
the relentless human capacity for making life horrible for others. The right reaction is not to succumb to the
mood, but to reflect that the cure lies in our own hands.”
Interview With Author Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo
What type of books do you write? Currently I have one book out and it is in the nonfiction, memoir category.
What is your newest book about? The book is about an old rescued ranch horse and all the amazing things he has done since he was rescued. After he suffered a near fatal accident, he moved on to being a mentor for a young girl and later went on to become a therapy horse for special needs riders.
What inspired you to write it? Pie's story was so inspiring and made people feel so good, I really had no choice but to write it.
What is the writing process like for you? The book floated around in my head for months and then I finally put it on paper. After I wrote the rough draft, I went back and fleshed out and put in anything I missed.
What did you do before you became an author? I'm still doing what I was doing before the book. I work at an alternative junior high during the day and work with horses and dogs at night.
How does it feel to be a published author? I am a lot busier than I was before the book came out. Now I have all the social promotions to do online. I really wasn't expecting that, but it is what it is.
Any advice for struggling writers? If you want to write, write. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. Find the reason you want to write and do it for that.
Where do you see book publishing heading? I see it heading to mostly online books ordered on demand. The brick and mortar bookstore will be a specialty spot and not near as common as they are now.
Books Excerpt from The United States of Incompetence by Art Carey
“No society can function without widely accepted norms of behavior and standards of conduct. In the name of freedom and fulfillment, we Americans have become self-centered, irresponsible, and undisciplined. We lack self-control and a sense of stewardship. Knowingly, we are squandering our resources and shortchanging our children. Our promises are enforced by lawyers. The wheels of commerce and industry are greased by sleaze… In the face of growing social problems, we anesthetize ourselves with drugs and mindless TV, shirking responsibility, grabbing for all the gusts we can get, boogieing into the apocalypse. Many of us no longer believe in anything above and beyond ourselves… There are those who lament that we’ve lost our gentility, that we’ve lost our manners and politeness. Actually, we’ve gone far beyond that today. We have lost our civility – that mutual respect among citizens which is the basis for civilization. We have lost what F. Scott Fitzgerald once called ‘a sense of the fundamental decencies.’ We’ve lost our reverence for human life itself.”
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Brian
Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and
not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow
him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This
is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013
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