Preparing Yourself for an Interview

By Rick Frishman - Jun 06 , 2008

An interview is a performance; it places you on center stage, directly in the spotlight, where you’re the headliner, the featured attraction. During interviews, all eyes and ears are focused directly on you, and everyone’s waiting eagerly for your words of wisdom. You’re expected to perform and to perform brilliantly; the success of your book or your career may depend on it.

Interviews are the epicenter of book publicity campaigns; they’re where you send out shock waves and make big impressions. If you consistently give lively, entertaining, and informative interviews, it will endear you to the media’s heart and you will become one of its favorites. Suddenly, your name will pop up everywhere, and your fame will spread.

Interviews can be your best friends because they give you unparalleled opportunities to tell your story and build your legend. If your interviews are compelling, informative, and inspirational, you will be in demand. You will become a media star and attract tremendous interest in your book.

For some, the thought of giving interviews strikes fear in their hearts and makes them want to take off on the run. If this happens to you, don’t worry—you’ve come to the right place. I know the secrets of giving fabulous interviews and overcoming your fears, and I’m going to teach them to you now.

Master Your Subject

The most important element in giving interviews is having complete mastery of your subject matter, knowing it cold. Before you expose yourself to the media, learn your topic inside out so you will be able to promptly answer any question about it.

Most problems with interviews arise because interview subjects don’t really know their material. When they’re questioned, they can’t give the right answers so they try to bluff, which rarely works.

Don’t be afraid of interviews. It’s natural to feel apprehensive and uneasy, especially when you’re not use to being interviewed. However, when you know your stuff, the butterflies will vanish the moment you speak. As soon as you utter your first words, your brain, and the storehouse of knowledge it holds, will kick in. It will take over completely and run the show.

The power of knowledge is awesome; let it work for you. It will moisten your throat, engage your mind, unloosen your tongue, and pull the words from within you. Soon, you’ll be speaking as fluidly as if you were on autopilot.

The other secrets are practice and concentration. Write out the key questions you expect to be asked and your great answers to them. Ask your friends and family to grill you until you can recite them flawlessly. Have them ask you their own, unscripted questions and then critique your responses.

Concentrate on each question as it’s asked and your answers will flow. In no time, you’ll forget your fear and be totally involved in the interview. As you speak, your spirit will lift; you’ll feed off the interest and reactions of the interviewer and audience, as well as your own clarity and expressiveness. You’ll find that you’re having fun.

You Have the Knowledge

It takes extensive knowledge to write a book. First, you had to acquire all that knowledge. Then you had to understand it thoroughly enough to clearly explain it to others so that they would immediately understand it. Those are huge accomplishments and represent the hardest work.

Compared with writing a book, giving an interview is a snap, especially when you get a few under your belt. Think of each interview as a showcase for your knowledge, as an occasion where you can tell others about your expertise. Speaking about topics on which you’re an authority is both rewarding and exhilarating, especially when others are receptive to it, impressed by it, and it can really help them.

I require all my clients to undergo training before they give interviews. No director would send an untrained, unrehearsed actor onstage. And in PR, publicists are the directors and our clients are the actors. Our clients must know their lines and how to deliver them or the audience will get up and leave.

Willy Spizman of The Spizman Agency agrees:

“It’s important to rehearse your content and prepare for the unexpected. Getting your message down to a few succinct points that you can give the producer beforehand also can help keep the segment on target. When visuals or props are used, they also can help get your message across, so evaluate your options and, whenever possible, incorporate examples.”

Never hold an interview without having first answered each of the following questions. Fill in your answers below.

1. What am I an expert on?
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2. What specific problems can I solve?
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3. What precise solution can I recommend?
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Robyn Freedman Spizman, my great friend and colleague, suggests,

“The most important thing an author can provide is a solution to some problem or everyday situation that people experience. While you want to give a fabulous interview, you also must inspire readers to buy your book without sounding like you’re giving a commercial. If you share a few ideas that really work, your readers will want more. Test your content and determine which tips are of most interest. Ask the station to post your cover and information on their Web site and post a link to your site. Add some helpful information and perhaps a list of resources to your site, so you capture people’s interest. Leave a business card that gives your book title and Web site plus a copy of your book with the receptionist at the station since he or she is the gate-keeper who will get calls inquiring about the book.

“Most authors do a great job telling audiences about their topic, but they don’t always do as well in selling their book. Be listener friendly by sharing three time-saving tips for getting organized, five fabulous ways to fight fat, or four ways to get your kids to go to bed on time without your having to yell and scream. Structure your content to make it easy for the media to stick to your agenda and to articulate your topic in a succinct way.”

Barbara De Angelis, best-selling author and renowned relationship expert, says:

“The most important piece of advice I give authors is to know what you want to say, know exactly how you want to say it, be committed to getting it across, and under no circumstances let anything stop you – including the interviewer’s questions, which can take you down roads that are sometimes murky, confused, and have nothing to do with your book. You can’t control the questions, the questioners, and where they’re coming from. But you can’t let yourself sink to the level of their awareness or intelligence and answer their questions on the level of the questions. If you do, you can be pulled down the questioner’s road, with his or her map to his or her destination, which may not be where you want to go. You have to know how to take any question and turn it into something that allows you to give your answer.”