Eight Keys to Successful Interviews
Last week I listed eight common interview mistakes. Here are eight things you can do to make your interviews more successful:
- Have a clear objective: Know what you want to happen as a result of talking to this reporter. A “positive” story isn’t specific enough. Why are you talking to this reporter?
- Have a clear message: Be able to repeat it in 15 seconds or less. Not because of soundbites (most of them are shorter than that), but because if you can’t say your message in 15 seconds or less you haven’t made it simple enough and clear enough for the rest of us to hear it, understand it and remember it.
- Talk to your audience: Everybody’s favorite subject is me. Know what you want to accomplish, but talk about it in terms your audience will care about. I’m less interested in a story about you than I am in a story that’s useful to me.
- Be responsive: Answer the reporter’s questions unless there’s a good reason why you can’t — the answer’s confidential or you don’t know the answer, for example.
- Be honest: Real honesty involves some transparency. Saying things that are literally true, but misleading, isn’t being honest. You probably don’t want to share your deepest, darkest secrets with reporters. But sometimes conceding a small, obvious flaw buys you more credibility for the points you really care about.
- Be yourself: What you say is important. How you say it is, too. You don’t have to be “polished” or a great orator as long as you’re believable and likable. For most people that means being yourself.
- Get to the point: Deliver your punch line first, then add the supporting details. Building to a conclusion usually isn’t a good idea when talking to reporters. Start with your message and then tell me why.
- Stick to the point: Be responsive to the reporter’s questions. But come back to your message every chance you get.
That’s my two cents’ worth. What’s yours?
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Tags: Media Interviews, media relations, monday morning media minute