Whether you’re doing a TV interview, giving a seminar or making a presentation, it’s important to be prepared. Although from your perspective you might feel your main objective is to inform, in truth your primary goal is to engage with your audience, whether it be an audience of one or (via traditional media or social media) an audience of millions. If you’ve launched a public relations or media relations campaign, you need to be prepared before doing that phone interview or appearing on a TV segment. If you’re speaking at an event, again, you need to do your homework and be ready before stepping up to the microphone. With that in mind, before you start your speech, presentation or interview, study the following:
1) WARM UP. It takes most people at least ten minutes to warm up, but you might not always have that luxury, so practice. Picture that this is you, sitting around after a dinner party telling a great story to good friends. This is the “you” that will make a great interview. Practice with your associates, in the car, at the studio. Just talking and laughing with people, and especially putting others at ease, will do it.
2) IT’S YOUR MESSAGE Imagine reframing the interview in your mind, to where you have invited these people in order to educate, inform, and entertain them. Your job is not to sell, but to communicate and engage. This will add vitality, power, and energy as you deliver your message.
3) PASSION. Why are you there? Because you want to make money, sell books, land clients? Probably. That’s important. But try this motivator instead: you’ve got a great story, secrets to share, tips to impart, solutions to offer and you want everyone to know about it. You REALLY BELIEVE what you’re saying, you’ve got the answers, and it’s fun and rewarding to enlighten others. You have a mission and you’re passionate about your mission. You want the public to know the truth. Passion will make you come across like a dynamic expert who has the answers, rather than simply a talking head.
4) LOOK TO THE PROBLEM. If you need a hint as to how to make your communication more vital and exciting, ask yourself – what problems did you (or your profession) solve in order to develop that approach, write that book, or create that program? Give your story a narrative, with a beginning, middle and an end. Explain how bad the problem was, how you solved it and how happy your clients are now that it’s solved.
5) BELIEVE IN YOUR MESSAGE. If you’re shy and you have trouble speaking in public, focus on your ability to help, inform and educate; believe in your story, or your product, or your message. Can you help people? Can you make their lives better? The answer is yes! Believe in your message.
Remember the best PR or media relations campaign will fall flat if you don’t believe in and effectively deliver your message. So work on your delivery and presentation. Pump up your passion. Enthusiasm can be infectious. When it comes to your business and your brand, you are the message.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012
eHow Contributor. “Prepare for a Television Interview.” Photo. eHow. 16 July 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/how_2065941_prepare-television-interview.html>
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Expanding Your PR Focus: When creating your PR pitches, your primary expertise is the area you’re going to generally focus on. But that focus doesn’t have to be limiting. Before launching your public relations outreach, study different ways that you can present or pitch your primary story. For example, if you’ve produced a new film, you can talk about the story line, the actors, the director, the journey it took to bring the film to fruition, any current topical stories that the film touches on, how the film reflects the culture, etc. There are a number of different approaches you can take and you want to broaden your pitch when approaching the media. The more story angles you given them, the greater your chances of garnering media coverage.
