Keys to a Great Interview: Strategic Advice from a 35-Year Media Veteran

If you’re like me, when you hear the exciting news that a journalist wants to interview you, you feel a variety of emotions – excited anticipation, nervous anxiety about how it will go, and “future-paced” gratitude for the potential outcome of that interview in the form of new connections and potential new business. This is a scenario I encounter almost every day, after 35 years in the media – a 20-year career as a television news producer for media outlets (including ABC News, CNN and CBS News) followed by 15 years in the PR field, helping my clients secure interview opportunities like this.?To make the most of these opportunities, I have a few suggestions that I believe you’ll find helpful.

·?????Focus on “Being of Service.” Many of life’s most important lessons have been “drilled into us” through repetition, and there is one fundamental insight that I was reminded of almost every day during the years I spent as a producer for “Good Morning America” at ABC News. Every afternoon, the GMA staff gathered to finish our planning for the next upcoming show.?Our tireless executive producer Shelley Ross constantly reminded us, “For our two-hour show tomorrow, there are 16 segments,” she would tell us. “And as our audience of eight million viewers watches every one of those segments, they are asking one question – consciously or subconsciously.?That question is, ‘What’s in it for me? How is this relevant to my life?’” If we failed to make it clear how each story (segment) was relevant (and helpful) in their life, we risked having them (literally) change the channel, possibly losing that viewer to one of our competitors. In a ratings-driven business, that is not a good thing! We all know that being helpful to others is a desirable quality – but it’s also essential for our own survival!

·?????Be Succinct. Many of my PR clients – especially those who are new to the experience of doing interviews -- would be the first to admit that the time they spent “on the set” (or Zoom screen) being interviewed by the host of a show rushed by like a high-speed freight-train. Whoosh! For this reason, it’s important to practice prior to showing up for a scheduled interview. In collaboration with my brilliant friend Dea Shandera-Hunter, I’ve been participating in weekly coaching calls with a great author, David Parker.?Together, we’ve helped David practice for interviews focusing on his new book, “Income and Wealth.” Through practice, it becomes possible to “tighten up” the points that will be most helpful to the audience, and it helps the interview subject mention their book or project in a natural, “non-salesy” manner.

·?????Share Information Through Storytelling. As I work with my PR clients – whether they happen to be an author, the representative of a non-profit charity, or have another project or service they’re seeking to bring to the attention of a wider audience – I encourage them to make a list of the key points they wish to share through the interview.?For each one of these points (messages), I encourage them to think of a story that will “paint a picture” in the minds of the people listening to the interview.?When I was working with Vicki Escarra, CEO of Feeding America, I learned that a disturbingly large number of children show up every day at food pantries throughout the U.S. because of “food insecurity” – the inability of their families to provide sufficient food for these innocent young people. I encouraged Vicki to think about a few specific incidents in which she spoke with some of these children as she visited the various hunger-relief centers.?She said that one day, as she was speaking with an adorable five-year old girl she met in a food line, the girl was eating a sandwich and then put the uneaten half of her sandwich back in the plastic bag, saving it carefully in her pocket.?“What’s the matter, honey?” Vicki asked the little girl. “Aren’t you hungry?” she asked. The little girl replied, “Oh, I’m very hungry, ma’am.?But my little sister back at home hasn’t eaten in two days, and I’m gonna take that half of the sandwich back to her.” It’s a heartbreaking story – and one that immediately etches itself into the memory of any person who heard it. I’m sure that contributions to Feeding America increased anytime Vicki told that story, in an interview.

·?????Provide Your Audience with a “Next Step.” Thanks to technology, television is no longer the “one-way way medium” it had been for such a long time.?To magnify the impact of an interview, I remind my PR clients to let viewers/listeners/readers know that they’d love to hear from them – to hear what they have experienced with respect to the subject being discussed, rather than just remaining passive “recipients” of the conversation. When I was working with author Joyce O’Brien and her husband Kevin, to help promote her powerful book, “Choose to Live!: Our Journey from Late Stage Cancers to Vibrant Health,” I encouraged them to say, “We’d love to hear from people listening to this interview who have also battled cancer, because we are constantly learning new insights that help us in our work with other cancer survivors.” We can all adapt an approach like this, tailoring it to our own purposes.

By the way, if you’re an author… starting in early September, I’ll be offering my six-week online course, “The Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Toolkit for Authors.” Let me know if you’d like to learn more about this!