10 Television Interview Tips
When publicizing a story, you will want to have one or two spokespeople available for interviews who are familiar with both their material and the basic rules of interviewing. It is very important that they be prepared. If an interview has already been arranged, they should become familiar with that particular show, program or publication. Profile the audience and have in mind a typical viewer, listener or reader. In the case of TV or radio, find out if anyone else is appearing, whether the show is live or pre-recorded, and if the audience will be calling in to ask questions.
The following are some tips to keep in mind when participating in a television interview:
1. SOCO (Single Overriding Communications Objective).
Focus on getting one main message across in the interview. Come back to your main message again and again, expressing it in different ways.
2. Anticipate the questions you may be asked.
Prepare a question and answer sheet prior to the interview and practice. Think of the questions you most dread being asked, and practice responding to them. Also be sure to have a "last line" ready. The reporter may end the interview by asking, "Is there anything else you would like to add?" This is a good place to again go back to your "SOCO" and reiterate your main point.
3. Be enthusiastic about the subject.
People will often remember the level of your passion about your subject more than what you specifically say. Don't allow yourself to become defensive or angry, or to lecture the reporter or listeners. The best advice is to simply be yourself and rely on the strong points of your own character.
4. "Touch and Go!"
Don't allow the interviewer to sidetrack you from your main message. Instead, turn around an irrelevant question by “touching” upon it and then going on to again address your main point. For example, you might handle a question about TB vaccinations by responding, “Yes, it is important for our children to be vaccinated for TB as this can protect them from the disease during childhood. But the only sure means of protecting them throughout their entire life is to reduce the reservoir of infectious TB cases worldwide.” Watch politicians when they are interviewed on television to learn the art of “touch and go!”
5. Answer questions in full sentences.
If it is not a live interview, the final edited version may not include the voice of the interviewer, so avoid one-word answers. For example, answer the question “How many people die from TB each year globally?” not by just saying “Nearly two million,” but with a full sentence such as “Nearly two million people die from TB each year globally”.
6. Know where to look.
Look at the interviewer – not the camera – when talking to him or her. If there is an audience, look at them when appropriate. If you are seated during the interview, sit up straight and lean forward slightly.
7. Know what to wear.
Ask the producer what you should wear. In general, your attire should be comfortable, neither too formal nor too casual, and without busy designs or patterns.
8. Keep your answers simple.
Don't try to make too many complex points. And don't use jargon or highly technical medical language. Rather, use colorful words, analogies and even appropriate clichés.
9. Use powerful language.
The challenge is to shape messages about TB that use compelling rhetoric and create a sense of urgency. There is no need for false alarm or sensation to draw attention to TB. The reality of this contagious air-borne, sometimes incurable, disease that slowly rots the lungs is frightening enough. This is why, in 1993, the World Health Organization declared a “Global TB Emergency” rather than warning of “A Worsening TB Problem in Many Places.”
10. Use memorable phrases.
When you have only a few seconds in front of a microphone or in a meeting, you need to use memorable phrases — sound bites — that will stay with your audience long after you have left. The best sound bites get to the heart of the problem without lengthy qualified explanations. Broadcast producers can't resist them, and listeners and viewers remember them. The soundbite should capture and communicate the one key message you want to leave with the audience, if they remember nothing else.
