Pre-interview List

By Rick Frishman - Jun 20 , 2008

Know the media outlet that will be interviewing you. Read the writers’ articles and watch or listen to the programs. Look for patterns and similarities; find out their styles. Understand the questions, slants, and approaches they usually take and plan your responses.

Make a List Beforehand

Before each interview, write a list of exactly what you want to say. Prepare a new list for every interview so you can review your information and make adjustments that freshen it. In making your pre-interview list, here’s how to proceed:

• Write five main points that you want to include in the interview. These points should be similar, if not identical, to the main points in your press release. Place each point in the order of its importance, with the first item being the one you wish to stress most.

• Under each point, write three or four sub-points that you could cover if the interview runs long. Prioritize the sub-points. For each of your main points, have at least one joke, story, statistic, or other device that will make you more entertaining, interesting, and memorable. Decide if you’re going to give away copies of your book, and if so, to whom, and how many.

• For every interview you give, try to add something new, even if it’s just a slight twist. Tie it to something topical by drawing on events in the news, occasions such as upcoming holidays, the seasons, or developments in your field. Whatever you add doesn’t have to be earth shaking or a major point or sub-point. It can be a new story, statistic, observation, theory, or quote. Besides providing a spark to each interview, new additions can revive your own enthusiasm and help keep you fully engaged.

Rehearse

Few people are born performers who can immediately give great interviews. For most of us, it takes practice, lots of repetition, and understanding what you should do.

In interviews, you want to appear to be natural, spontaneous, and unrehearsed, which takes lots of practice. You also want to deliver your points clearly, convincingly, and with authority. Make clarity your top priority because an interview is worthless if no one understands what you said!

Before each interview

1. Find the audience demographic. What group or groups will the interview target? Be as specific as possible. Will it be high school teachers, automobile salespeople, or security analysts?

2. Determine which of your points would be most likely to grab the target audience’s attention and hold their interest. Anticipate the problems they have, the questions you can answer, and the tangible benefits you can give them.

“It’s important for authors to realize that there are many different versions of the same exact question,” Jess Todtfeld points out. “The very first question is always going to be some variation of ‘Tell me about your book.’ They can be framed as, ‘Explain the __________ story,’ ‘How did you get to this point in your life?’ ‘What made you write this book?’ However, they’re all basically the same question, and ironically, it’s always the question that stumps authors the most.”

3. Make a list of industry-specific language or analogies to which each particular audience will relate. For instance, for accountants, sprinkle in terms such as bottom line, in the red, and balance sheet. In analogies, refer to the plus side of the ledger, net gains, or long-term yields.

4. Study the interviewer’s prior interviews. Most interviewers tend to have favorite questions and approaches. Observe their questioning style: they may be confrontational, probing, sarcastic, or supportive to interviewees. Anticipate the questions they might ask and plan how to present your main points in your answers.

5. Draft questions for your friends, family, and associates to ask you. Have them toss in questions of their own. Videotape your performance and have your friends, family, and associates honestly critique it so you can improve your weaknesses.

6. Prepare stories that vividly illustrate your message. Audiences relate to stories, and they will set the tone for the entire interview. If possible, change stories from interview to interview so people in your audiences don’t constantly hear the same old story.

7. Rehearse when you’re alone, at home, and in your car. When you’re home, observe yourself in the mirror and pay particular attention to your posture, facial expressions, and gestures. Correct what doesn’t look or sound great.

Rehearse to make interview responses seem more spontaneous. When you answer questions, speak directly to the audience. Don’t give speeches or lectures. When you notice that you’re giving canned replies, change the wording or stories and examples accompanying them to give them new verve.