In terms of broadcast PR a successful interview is a fine balance between giving the journalist what they want at the same time as promoting your brand or product.
The three Ps: If you’re asked to do a TV interview, there are three things you need to consider, and we’ve handily broken them down in to the three Ps so you’re less likely to forget them: Preparation, Presentation and Performance. By giving each of these careful consideration, you’ll go in to your interview feeling confident and relaxed, and are more likely to come out of it feeling you’ve maximised your opportunity.
Preparation: Before you start worrying about what to wear and where the studio is, make sure you’re fully prepared for the interview.
Ask yourself the following questions:
And ask the journalist the following questions:
Presentation: Research suggests that how you look and how you behave on screen has a much bigger impact than what you actually say in a television interview.
For a TV interview there are few outfit tips which will help you to come across better on screen. Try to avoid wearing all black or all white and fussy patterns can cause problems for cameras so ideally stick with block colours. If you wear glasses we would recommend keeping them on – you might feel you look better without them, but if you start squinting in to the camera you might regret not wearing them.
Finally, if you’re offered make-up always say yes. And if you’re not offered make-up please take at least some face powder with you to the interview. That goes for men as well as women! Studio lights – and even portable lights used for filming on location – can get very hot. The last thing you want is a shiny face.
Performance: Above all remember that radio or television audiences, for news or programming, are all after the same thing – entertainment.
When the interview is taking place try to come across as enthusiastic. The perfect spokesperson is authoritative, entertaining and opinionated, and if you enthuse it will help the audience to engage with you as an interviewee.
Try to avoid being too technical and don’t assume audience knowledge – things that you take for granted might not be obvious to the audience, so it’s always worth explaining yourself and steering away from jargon or complicated processes.
The most important thing to remember when taking part in a broadcast interview is to enjoy yourself – you wouldn’t have been invited to take part if the journalist didn’t think you were an appropriate interviewee so have confidence in yourself and your answers and have a good time.
Getting out of trouble: Nothing is 100% off the record. Once the mic is live or the camera switched on you are being recorded. Whatever you say — anywhere — can follow you around endlessly and perhaps disastrously. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so.media training , contact the team at Shout! who provide practical training which will help you to really make the most of any television interview.Nothing is 100% off the record. Once the mic is live or the camera switched on you are being recorded. Whatever you say — anywhere — can follow you around endlessly and perhaps disastrously. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so.media training , contact the team at Shout! who provide practical training which will help you to really make the most of any television interview.
