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Crash Course in Surviving an On-Camera Media Encounter
During the climactic end of the movie "Close Encounters of the Third
Kind," main character Roy Neary -- played by Richard Dreyfuss -- lines
up with astronauts entering a huge alien spaceship to join a "personnel
exchange" with extraterrestrial visitors.
Because Roy is a last-minute unintended addition to the passenger manifest,
NASA scientists surround him to fill his head with information as quickly
as possible to prepare him for space travel.
A few weeks ago I felt like one of those NASA techies when I learned a professional
acquaintance would soon be interviewed for a national cable TV news/entertainment
show. This particular show's topic for a future edition was Internet get-rich-quick
business scams.
My friend had recently launched a very effective, honest and steadily growing
program to educate people in one particular method of generating business
and making a living via the Internet. His subscribers pay him a modest monthly
fee to receive a steady stream of Internet business-development information.
For his subscribers, he's one of the good guys providing useful business
advice that pays off. And that's the way he sees himself.
However I wasn't so sure that's the way the well-known TV personality doing
the interview would choose to portray him. After all, the interview would
be for a news and entertainment show. And the show stresses entertainment
more than news.
At best, the show could give my friend's business a positive boost. At worst,
it could group him with a bunch of online scammers and ruin his business
and his reputation.
So a few days before the camera crew arrived, here's the advice I gave my
friend who had no media interview experience, had never been on camera and
had never received media training.
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It is appropriate for you to be wary prior to a media interview, but it
does not mean you should not give it your best shot.
A media interview can be fun and exciting. But go into it with your eyes
wide open.
Be your own charming self, but don't drop your guard.
Think about what you want to say and how you want to say it whether on or
off camera because your words may come back to haunt you. Reporters often
use information you've given them or conversations you've had with them to
create questions for the interview.
Remain aware of what you're saying when making arrangements and even when
the interview is technically over. You're on the record even during a casual
conversation.
Remember these 11 key points prior to and during your media interview
- Media folks are not your friends and they're not you enemies. They
have a job to do. In your case their job is to get good TV fodder. If they
choose to make you look bad or to misinterpret what you say or do, they'll
do it.
While they're not bad people, don't think they're interviewing you to do
you a favor or to purposely make you look good.
- How can you protect yourself from "bad press" or from being
misinterpreted? We'll, you can't. You simply must say exactly what you want
to say in a manner that's straight forward, clear, factual and professional.
- You are always on the record -- even if you say, "This is off
the record." Don't say anything at any time that you don't want repeated
in print, on the air or across the Internet. This goes for casual discussions
over lunch or when walking with the reporter prior to or after an interview.
It also includes telephone conversations.
- Decide what you want to get out of your interview. While the reporter
controls the camera and most of the questions, it doesn't mean you can't
take your best shot at getting your points across.
Decide on three or four key points -- no more than four -- and make sure
you work them into your answers.
- Media people won't give you a list of questions they plan to ask,
but it's okay to ask in advance what type of questions they're planning to
ask and what will be the nature of the interview. Your reason for asking
is to enable you to provide the information they need. You also want to be
prepared. More importantly, though, you don't want to be blindsided.
- Don't criticize your competitors.
- Don't ever say "no comment." Give a reason why you choose
not to answer a question. Such as, "I don’t have enough information
to answer that question" or "I'm not qualified to answer that question," or "So
and so is a better person to answer to that question."
- Don't answer hypothetical questions. Simply say you'd rather deal
with actual circumstances.
- Look and sound professional. Dress for success, even though you work
in a casual office. When on camera, you want to come across as a solid professional.
- Answer direct questions with direct answers. Use short catchy sentences
and phrases that translate well into televised news bites. Say exactly what
you want to say then stop talking. Don't ramble.
- Don't expect to see your interview later or to edit anything connected
to it before it airs. Consider everything you say to a reporter and do on
camera the same way you think of bullets fired from a gun. Once you pull
the trigger, you can't call the bullet back.
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