Doing Television Interviews

Eduardo del Buey
La Jornada Maya

Martes 28 de agosto, 2018

Doing a television interview need not be scary. Through practice and preparation, it can be mastered and used effectively to transmit your messages to broad audiences.

For this reason, when I give a communication course, I insist that clients set aside at least one full day and preferably two to get full benefit.

Communications courses usually include sessions on how to craft effective messages and message supports – stories, statistics, and props. They also include a session of a videotaped one-on-one interview in which each participant can see him/herself in action and apply the principles discussed during the introduction.

Your key messages are what you want your audience to take away from the interview. They must be front and center in all of your answers. Remember, the journalist is not your target, the audience is. What they remember after the interview is more important than satisfying the journalist’s need to put you on the spot.

In grafting messages, it is best to always ensure that they are never longer than 10 to 15 seconds. They must be supported by a story with which audiences can relate and accompanied by an effective prop, if appropriate, to buttress a key point. Longer sentences will cause audiences to drift away, reducing the impact and their understanding of your message.

Using props can often be an effective way to get a message across. I often use the example of how an effective World Food Program spokesperson once used a simple protein bar to show how a small daily donation of US$2 could purchase four of these – enough to keep a person fed for a day.

I inform them that management expert Tom Peters believes that, “The best leaders... almost without exception and at every level, are master users of stories and symbols”. And what you want is to lead your audience into your sphere of influence.

I advise them to use user-friendly statistics. Most people don’t understand the $2 or $3 billion needed to save a population after a disaster, but they do understand four protein bars to sustain a person for a day, or the way you can save a child’s life for the price of a latte, since most of us have bought these items at some time.

When it comes to the mock interview I suggest that clients sit with their feet firmly planted on the ground and their bodies tilted slightly forward, since this creates energy – energy needed to come across as a vital interlocutor and grab your audience beyond the camera.

I tell them television dampens both voice and personality.

I advise them to speak in a louder voice than usual, and to use their hands to emphasize key points in their responses. I suggest that they take a couple of deep breaths before the Q & A session begins to relax their bodies, still their minds, and get their diaphragms ready to speak.

As well, I remind them to be conscious of their facial expression at all times. Their demeanor must reflect the tone of their words. Eye rolls, grimaces, and expressions of shock all register with viewers, and often convey more than the spoken word. How often have we seen an interviewee who looks like a deer caught in headlights? Not a good image, especially when one is dealing with adverse news or a crisis.

We all have smart phones. We all must learn to act for the camera. We all must rehearse for interviews. By rehearsing and recording ourselves in this context, we can see where we are going off-script with respect to body language and prepare.

As well, take one or two seconds between the end of the question and the beginning of your answer. This will create a sense of expectation among the audience and will give you a moment to collect your thoughts as you lead into your messages.

Never repeat a negative question. Subconsciously, this will register in the viewers’ minds as an admission that the premise of the question was correct. Rather, simply begin by saying “I disagree with your premise but would like to remind you that...” and proceed with your positive messages.

I also tell them that television accentuates the verbal crutches we all have used at some time or another. I tell them that, when I joined the Canadian Foreign Service many years ago, I was pleased to work closely with a brilliant senior officer who had not only a breadth and depth of experience, but also a broad knowledge of a wide array of issues. He was always brimming with original ideas and insights.

His only problem was that every sentence he uttered was followed by a four or five second “umm” or “aahh”.

This distraction detracted from the brilliance of his ideas, and his presentations and interventions became something to avoid rather than admire.

Another verbal crutch is “you know”. According to communications guru Brad Phillips, Caroline Kennedy once used this phrase over a hundred times in an interview when she was unofficially campaigning to succeed Hillary Clinton as Senator from New York. This caused much hilarity in the media, and many believe that this was instrumental in costing her the job.

These verbal crutches become a greater handicap when used indiscriminately in a business setting, where the quality of a presentation is judged by the language and style of the presenter. The use of verbal crutches will alienate the very audiences you are trying to attract and convince.

There are ways to eliminate these crutches from everyday use, improve the delivery of your ideas, and help you connect rather than distract.

First of all, video-record yourself to analyze how often you use these crutches. You will be surprised that, while unconsciously delivered, they are ever-present in your discourse.

To rid yourself of these crutches, learn to formulate an entire sentence containing one thought. Once the sentence is ended, rather than go into an “ummm” or “aahh” mode, take a deep breath and allow silence to frame what you have just said.

This will slow down your speech (which is good, since speaking fast ensures that parts of your message will be lost in the delivery) and give you a chance to prepare your next thought and sentence. It will also help your audience digest the idea you are trying to convey.

You will be surprised how quickly your delivery evolves and becomes more professional and effective, and lets you make your point without tiring or even alienating your audience.

When you speak, do so from the diaphragm – take deep breaths down to your stomach and then push out, using your vocal chords like an instrument. This adds depth and strength to your voice without taxing your vocal chords that can seize up due to nerves or stress on them.

When the participants in my course see and hear themselves, they critique their own performance, noting that at times they go off-message, speak too low and without emphasizing key words, or keep their hands too still.

This is a key exercise in getting them to know themselves and assess their potential. As the interviews progress, performances improve considerably, as participants apply the lessons learnt to their own performance.

At the end, they all see the logic in what they have been taught, and how they can use these techniques to improve their skills at making presentations, speeches, or participate in important meetings.

There is no substitute for a good, on camera training session, especially when peers are reviewing performance and teams are being guided in message preparation and planning strategically for the mock interviews. Feedback indicates that it does make a significant difference in enhancing their self-awareness and self-esteem as communicators.

Remember, breathe deeply and regularly, pause between sentences, use your posture to energize yourself, use your hands to gesticulate, and speak in a louder voice than usual.

Reach out beyond the camera and grab your audience, using your messages and body effectively and seamlessly.

Your body is a communications instrument.

Rehearse often, and you can become a virtuoso!

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