Avoiding Interview Mistakes with Media Training
If you are planning on being interviewed by media outlets, no matter how small, it is essential that you go for some media training beforehand. This will ensure that your interview goes smoothly and it will increase your chances of being asked to interview again. Below are some common interview mistakes as well as tips on how to avoid them.
Assuming You’re a Natural
Media training is necessary even if you are a good public speaker and even if you have made tons of successful promotional videos. The difference is that you are in control of these situations. An interview on the other hand may involve the pressure of having to quickly answer several questions to the best of your ability and sometimes in front of a live audience. This can present a much greater challenge to even the most confident individuals. It is therefore advised that you attend some media training sessions where you can practice your interviewing skills. Your trainer should present you with some difficult situations so that you can develop a plan of action when it comes to dealing with rude interviewers and challenging questions.
Being Unprepared
One of the most common and fatal of all mistakes is not being prepared for your interview. This includes not knowing what the interview is about and not knowing who your interviewer will be. Knowing a bit about who the interviewer is, for whom he or she is working, and the type of audience that will be watching the interview will give you some guidance as to what you should say and how you should say it. If your interview is going to be viewed by a panel of experts, then there is no need to simplify what you have to say, as would be the case if your interview concerned a technical field and was going to be viewed or read by laymen. It is therefore important that you do the necessary research into the interviewer prior to your interview.
Rambling in Your Answers
Most TV and radio interviews are very brief and do not exceed a couple of minutes. For this reason, your answers should be as compact as possible while still providing meaningful answers to the questions. This applies equally to print interviews. In order to avoid this mistake, you should prepare answers to questions you are likely to get and practice them. You do not need to know your answers word for word but it is good to know which content you want to cover and how to do so in a concise manner.
Trying to be Funny
Unless you are one of the few who have been blessed with a comedic flair, don’t try to be funny. Although a little humor is indeed welcomed at interviews and tends to break the ice, it should not to be forced. Rather just be yourself and deliver your answers in a straightforward manner. This is often exactly what potential clients want.
Being Oblivious to the Camera
For many people it is easier to simply ignore the fact that they are being filmed. However, this is not the way to present the best version of yourself in a TV interview and there are several techniques which are taught in media training and which focus on how you interact with the camera.
