Twenty (and one bonus) Tips For A Successful Interview By: Anthony Mora Copyright© Anthony Mora 2006 Congratulations, you made it through the pre-interview, and the producer has booked you on the TV program. You have joined an elite group. This is what you've worked towards.
You've reviewed your wardrobe and dressed appropriately. If you're discussing a product or a book, you've made sure that you're taking along some extra samples (you have already sent copies to the producer). You're about to walk out to your car, you've given yourself plenty of time (keep in mind - if you're late, you're dead), and you are ready to drive to the station and experience your first interview. Before you pull out of the driveway, be on the safe side, take a couple of minutes (you've given yourself plenty of time, right?) and review the following checklist.
1) Review the two or three primary points that you want to get across during the interview.
2) Make sure you've checked yourself in a mirror before you go on camera. Is your hair in place? Is your tie crooked? Is your lipstick smeared? Give yourself the basic once-over.
3) Remember, you don't have to force the information; weave your points into the interview. If you spend your time forcing an issue, it will come out sounding strained and stilted.
4) Relax. You are there to have a conversation. Well, at least you want it to look like a conversation.
5) No slouching. Sit erect.
6) Focus on the interviewer. The camera and crew is part of the furniture as far as you're concerned.
7) Start off with your most important information. Interviews can be very short. If you don't lead with what's important, you may have missed your chance.
8) Breathe. People have a tendency to hold their breath when nervous, which only creates more anxiety. Remember to breathe.
9) Smile. I've seen more media opportunities ruined by people who have refused to smile during their interviews. Looking grave does not make you appear more profound, it makes you look dull and somber.
10) Listen. Don't anticipate questions. Don't think that you know what the interviewer is asking. Wait until the question is asked and then respond.
11) If you get momentarily confused, or lose your train of thought, that's okay. It happens to everyone. Take a deep breath and start again.
12) It's alright to ask the interviewer to repeat a question. The last thing you want to do is give an answer to a question you don't fully understand.
13) If the interviewer takes the conversation into an area you're not comfortable with, or tries to manipulate you into answering questions that you don't want to answer, remember you have control over the situation. Don't be forced into saying something you don't want to say. Be polite, and stay on course.
14) If a particular question throws you, or if you don't want to answer a specific question, deflect it. Acknowledge that it was asked, and then return to an area that you're comfortable addressing. You see and hear these types of responses every day around election time. An example of an appropriate response would be: "I certainly understand why you'd ask that question, but what's really important is...," now return to your agenda.
15) Don't recite a laundry list of information and sacrifice a good interview. We've all had teachers who knew their subjects well, but bored the hell out of us. That may work in school, because there's a captive audience, but you have no such luxury. You are there to interest as well as inform the audience.
16) Don't be vague or use trade jargon. Speak in easy-to-understand language.
17) Show the audience what you're talking about. Use a story or an account that illustrates a point, as opposed to just giving them vague ideas or theories.
18) Keep your information short, concise, and to the point. Keep it clear, short, and easy to understand.
19) When trying to make a particular point, be assertive but not pushy.
20) If having clients visit your store is pertinent to your business, mention your location. The viewers may love you, but if they can't find you, you're in trouble. Don't simply blurt out your address, but weave your location into the conversation.
Bonus: Relax. Have fun. You've worked hard for this - enjoy it.
For Further Information Visit:
www.Anthonymora.com
Twenty and one bonus Tips For A Successful Interview - To learn more about this author, visit Anthony Mora's Website.
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Anthony Mora
(Visit Anthony's Website)
Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. is a Los
Angeles-based public relations firm that
focuses in the areas of media relations,
image development and media training.
Anthony Mora Communications regularly
places clients in major media outlets,
including Time, Newsweek, Oprah, the New
York Times, CNN, the Today Show, the Wall
Street Journal and hundreds of other media
outlets. Through media placement, you are
not presented within the context of an ad
or commercial. You're not positioned as
an ad but as the news.
President and CEO, Anthony Mora, has been
featured in: USA Today, Newsweek, The New
York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The
Wall Street Journal, The BBC, CNN, E!
Entertainment Television, Entrepreneur,
Fox News, MSNBC, and other media. He has
written three books, the most the most
recent, a how-to on PR called Spin to
Win.
For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMor
a.com
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