Media Training Tips On Interviews by Jim Cameron

Here are a few media DO’s and DON’Ts from Jim’s Media Training Workshops:

• Know the points you want to get across in the interview.  Build a bridge of words from the reporter’s question to your messages… and deliver them several times during the interview.
• Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know the answer to a question but instead offer to find the answer and get back to the reporter before their deadline.  Never respond to questions based on unfamiliar facts.
• Don’t be rushed into answering.  Don’t feel obliged to fill “dead air” after a tricky question.  Just pause, think… and then answer.
• Avoid professional jargon.  Keep your message simple, but not condescending.
• Find out as much as you can about the reporter and his/her story before you agree to be interviewed.  Have they covered your business and its issues before?  Who else are they talking to for this story?  Do you really want to be in that mix?  You can always politely decline an interview.  Nobody can force you to talk if you don’t wish to.
• On TV, always dress your part, projecting a cool, clean-cut professional image.
• Don’t look into the camera.  Instead, look at whomever is talking.  Avoid the temptation to look at the monitor or acknowledge other distractions out of camera range.  And remember:  you are always potentially on camera, even if someone else is talking.  TV Director’s love “reaction shots” of your expression or body language when someone else is verbally skewering you.
• Project your messages with enthusiasm.  That attitude is contagious.  And if you’re not excited about your message, the reporter and audience never will be.