|
Live On Television!
A Dozen Rules For Successful TV Interviews
Who could turn down their first request to be interviewed on television?
Certainly not Bill. What did it matter that he was at a family reunion
on Lake Michigan? What did it matter that the interview would be at 7:00
AM the following morning, in a town over an hour away, or that he had
a 7:00 PM engagement in the same area to give a talk? Bill hastily agreed.
FOX 28, WSJV television, was an affiliate
of the FOX network. Bill figured that if he aced the interview, it might
be picked up for national broadcast. Okay, fat chance, but such things
are possible.
Fox 28, WSJV Building
|
He and Jill arose at 4:20 AM, made the trek to Elkhart, Indiana, and showed
up at the studio a few minutes early. Water sprinklers sprayed the
sidewalks leading to each entrance. The building didn’t have
the look of a place starting the business day. The front and side
doors were locked. Bill checked the back door and got doused by
a sprinkler. They returned to the front entrance, still locked,
and used Directory Assistance to call the studio and announce their
presence. “We’re in the front lobby,” he said.
“We have a seven o’clock appointment.”
“But it’s only six o’clock,” the woman
replied.
|
Oops. Bill knew that Illinois, thirty miles to the west, was on Central
Time, but Michigan, to the north, was on Eastern Time, as Indiana should
have been. In fact, it turned out that Indiana was on Eastern Time, but
the northwest portion of the state refused to engage in Daylight Savings
Time. Well. One would have thought this little detail worth passing on
to visitors.
Bill and Jill retreated to their rental car and refined Bill’s
responses to potential interview questions. This was time well spent.
When the fated time arrived, Bill and Jill buzzed at the front door and
were ushered in by a man called Kent and told to wait in a sitting area
near the unstaffed receptionist’s desk. Bill enquired about the
length of the interview. “Maybe three minutes,” Kent responded,
and flicked on a large-screen TV before scuttling from the empty lobby.
On the screen, two attractive TV-people covered the news and the male
did a weather report. Bill later discovered the male to be Steve Duval
and the woman to be Kathy Ebert, co-hosts of Wake Up. Steve wore a blazer
and tie, which Bill knew to be required TV dress. Unfortunately, Bill
was on vacation and had neither. Instead, he wore a denim shirt.
At 7:20, Kent returned and led Bill and Jill further into the building,
down several empty halls, and into the recording studio. Steve and Kathy
were taking a short break, sitting on a couch that rested on a platform.
A multitude of bright lights hung from the high ceiling of the large room,
which had cement floors and the feel of a warehouse. A cameraman with
earphones scuttled about aligning his camera and called out, “thirty.”
Steve and Kathy arranged themselves, kicked into action as they went
live, and became smooth-talking TV people until the next break, which
began right after the announcement of a visiting expert on cyberterrorism.
Kent led Bill up onto the couch beside Steve and the cameraman arranged
the mike while Bill and Steve introduced themselves to each other and
spent a full minute discussing the interview. In moments, the camera was
rolling. Bill’s mouth shriveled in dryness as Steve introduced the
segment and began the questions.
|
Incredibly, Bill’s rehearsed bumper-sticker responses came off well.
Bill had no way of knowing that his entire family had paused their
reunion in Union Pier, Michigan, to watch the show. Meanwhile, Steve
did a great job of conjuring up reasonable questions and gave a
strong plug for Bill’s book and also for Bill’s speech
scheduled for that evening in South Bend. Bill had remembered to
bring a copy of his book, which Steve held up to the screen. The
three minute interview stretched to five minutes and ended with
Steve asking whether Bill knew any Top Secret information. Bill
said he couldn’t comment on that. Steve responded, “No
one ever tells me any top secrets.” Before Bill departed,
he left the copy of his novel with Steve as a gift. |
Steve Duval interviewing Bill on Fox 28
|
Bill must have done well enough, because later in the day FOX 28 called
for a follow-on interview and planned to do a more in-depth story the
next day. Unfortunately, other breaking news events preempted the interview.
No surge in sales occurred on Amazon.com. In fact, Bill doubts the interview
sold a single book. Nevertheless, he believed the experience worthwhile.
A Dozen Rules For Successful
TV Interviews
For others who encounter similar situations, here are the lessons Bill
learned from the experience:
  |
Watch the show in advance
to learn its personality and interests. |
|
Research the interviewer
and find personal facts that you can use to make your answers more
meaningful to the interviewer, who will show more enthusiasm and
maybe become an advocate for extended or repeat coverage. |
|
Find out in advance the
length of the interview and be prepared to give the host specific
questions to ask.
|
|
Prepare answers to the
most likely questions. Package your answers into sound bites of
no more than thirty seconds. Keep them informative, interesting,
and entertaining. Keep in mind the two points you most want to make
and prepare bridging statements so that you can make the points
regardless of what questions are asked.
|
|
Rehearse by role-playing with someone
acting as interviewer. Practice gestures and head movements that
amplify the answers. Bill’s family told him he came across
as too stiff, which frankly is a kinder word than petrified. Record
the rehearsal using a camcorder and study your performance.
|
|
Show enthusiasm, humor, and passion.
Bill emphasized instead the seriousness of the issue and took hits
from his family as a result.
|
|
Without being too brazen, build into
your answers a compelling reason why viewers should make a beeline
to buy your book. Bill’s experience has been that you either
hook buyers while they’re hot or lose the sale. Also, Bill
should have asked Steve to mention that the book was available for
sale on Amazon.com.
|
|
Dress for the occasion.
|
|
Take a drink of water before the camera
rolls.
|
|
Repeat the host’s name in answering
the questions. Bill knew he should do this, but didn’t.
|
|
Look at the host, not the camera.
This is from TV Interview 101 and Steve reminded Bill of the rule.
In fact, Bill knew the rule and got an A on this element of the
interview.
|
|
Practice in venues such as this local
station before venturing into national broadcast media, but seek
out local affiliates of national companies (such as FOX 28) so that
if you hit one out of the park the parent companies are positioned
to give your interview national coverage. This was, in fact, Bill’s
goal, but the preemption of his in-depth interview got in the way.
Ask for a tape of the session. FOX 28 sold Bill a tape of his interview
for $25. Bill used the tape to review and improve his performance.
|
How come Bill’s first TV interview came far from his home? Maybe
this was another lesson learned. Washington-area people have more cachet
the farther they go from Washington. And the arrival of an out-of-town
visitor is news.
|
