6 Tips To Prepare for TV Interviews

Oct 16

You just landed an interview on a new syndicate outlet, now what? If you have never been on the news before it can be nerve wrecking and stressful. But this is the moment that will help build your brand’s reputation and awareness. THIS is the moment you dreamed of. Heck this is the moment any business dreams of. Matter of fact, this is PR gold. So now that you’re booked, you need to start preparing. Remember when you’re being interviewed you must be prepared to give sound bites. Sound bites are short direct answers which provide insights, your opinion, perspective, or facts. Don’t tell a story, it’s the news and most likely you only have 30-60 seconds of glory.

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED:

Find out ahead of time if the interview will be live or edited
Ask about the story and interview questions (sometimes questions will not be provided)
Understand the nature of the show or segment
Prepare three key points you want to deliver or point out with examples and facts
Practice your talking point with a stopwatch to time yourself
Prepare for any unexpected or uncomfortable questions
Prepare interesting anecdotes or examples to support your message

WARDROBE TIPS:

Avoid wearing black, white, or red on television. Blues and pastels are the best colors for television. When it comes to patterns here are a few to avoid: plaid, stripes, polka dots, and houndstooth. Remember this is not a casual thing being on the news. Make sure you are wearing business or business casual attire and wrinkle free. No jeans, tshirts, hats, baseball caps, or bandanas. For shoes, if it's an interview that requires you to stand, make sure you wear shoes that are comfortable- no flip flops. Keep in mind that you might want to wear a jacket or something with a lapel. This way there’s a place to clip the microphone.

MAKEUP AND GROOMING:

You want to make sure that you are neatly groomed. For women, keep your nails neat, short to medium length, and stick to neutral colors so that it doesn’t distract viewers. Makeup should also be kept to a minimum, natural makeup is the best. If you are offered makeup while on set do take them up. Just in case you should also bring your own makeup to allow for touch ups. Hair should be neatly done and limit the use of hair accessories because again it will distract the audience. For men, make sure your hair is neat and combed. Facial hair should be groomed and neat or no facial hair.

JEWELRY:

Keep jewelry to a minimum. For women too many large, jangling, reflective pieces of jewelry and earrings can be distracting. Wedding bands and engagement rings are ok. As well for men, keep the jewelry to a minimum. Watches are ok.

DURING THE INTERVIEW:

Remember that the producers selected you for YOU. So be yourself during the interview and be confident. Make sure you are speaking slowly, enunciate your words, and pause between your thoughts in taped interviews (this allows the editors to cut snippets). Use soundbites here while getting your point across using simple complete terms. Stick to your talking points and make sure throughout the interview you go back to them.

Never speculate or assume any answers that you don’t know. Rather explain that it’s a topic you can’t speak on but can tell them something else or that it’s outside the scope of your focus. Finally, don’t let people put words in your mouth so make sure you are clear in what you say.