How to do a media interview
Get preparing
- What is the one message you want to get across in this interview?
- What do you hope the person who is listening will remember?
- What do you want the listener to do? (Call to action).
Work out how to say your message in simple, plain English and keep it short (a maximum of a couple of sentences, and preferably one).
Write a note to remind you of a human interest story that is relevant to the message you want to get across. This “story” needs to be about people (or animals) and evoke an emotional / human interest response.
Why a story? Stories make the audience engage with what you’re saying on a personal level - you’re not just giving a lecture.
Write notes to remind you of a maximum of 3 facts that support the 1 message you are trying to get across. Keep facts simple, in plain English and short (a maximum of a couple of sentences).
Why three? People are unlikely to remember more than three things. If you try to get too much across, you risk losing the most important things you want to say.
Rehearse
Practice the message, telling your story, and your supporting facts. Say them in different ways. Get comfortable with what you want to say, and practice getting your ‘call to action’ into the interview.
Do the interview
Focus on getting your key message and your three facts across. That is your aim. Whatever questions you are asked, answer them in a way which allows you to use the answer as an illustration of your message, or answer it as briefly as possible and return to your planned interview.
Don’t simply answer the questions - answer them and without pause, return to the material you’d planned to say.
Don’t allow the line of questioning to wander off topic: remember, the interview will be edited, so don’t think because you got your key message in, you can just be less focused now. Aim for everything you say to be something that would achieve your aim if it was the only thing broadcast.
This might not be possible, but the more it can be, the better your chance of success. So many times people have said “oh they didn’t use the good bit, they cut out what I really wanted to say.” Everything needs to be something you really want to say!
Don’t worry about repeating yourself in a pre-recorded interview. It’s also fine to re-cap your message or your call to action in a live interview.