Preparing For an Interview
Friday, July 1, 2011 at 09:29AM Most people don't realize it, but you must prepare for an interview just as you would prepare for a concert performance.
I just did a radio interview for the solo CD, Backstage at the Resurrection, and I ended the conversation with a plug for my new duet CD with Cliff. That’s something I should not have done, and I’ll tell you why.
The DJ was playing Backstage, and now I talk about a new CD, which means he’s going to think that it is over for this CD and stop playing it. Maybe not today, but soon. I blew it.
My radio guy, Bill Wence, set it up and I should have stayed on point, but it was six a.m. for me and I was just talking and answering the DJ’s questions, I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing this interview for.
When you doing a radio or media interview, before you go in there to do it, you must prepare by focusing on what you want this interview to accomplish. If it’s for the solo CD, then that is all you talk about.
No matter what question you are asked you funnel it back to your agenda. Keep your eye on the prize. What do you want to have happen in this interview?
In my particular instance, I wanted him to not only
- continue to play the CD but to perhaps
- Bring me back
And that’s what I should have written down, as my script before this began.
So before you do an interview, make a check list of what you want to have happen; what you want to talk about; maybe even what you won’t talk about; who you want to thank; what you want to emphasize; when you are going to be there; what you like best about your new project; and last of all, be funny and charming. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
These things should be intuitively obvious to a tree, but we must keep reminding ourselves. There is an enormous amount of competition for airtime, CD sales and audiences in general. Keep your eye on the prize.
If only I had written this post first.
Reader Comments (1)
Thanks for the tips, actually i just get a job in best pharmacy and the interview was kind of funny because i start to talk the lady about music and stuff like that at the end she test my knowledge with some question and everything went well.