Blind guest masters the secrets to giving great TV/radio interviews

When you work in TV and radio, at some point in your career, you will encounter people who make horrible guests.  They are boring, nervous and just plain dry.

But Beatrice Leonard was the complete opposite.  She was recently a guest on Perspective, the Community Affairs show I host here in Chicago.  Despite her blindness, she came to our set with a great attitude, a wonderful sense of humor and was a joy to interview.

Unlike most people, she hit the mark on several interview strategies I always encourage my clients to use:

1.) Use the hosts name frequently. This makes you come across more personal and endears you to the host.

2.) Tell a great story or give relevant statistics.  Everyone loves a great story because it gives us a chance to visualize a situation and brings us closer to someone else’s experience.

3.) Avoid the hard sell.  Anyone who gets a chance to do a media interview wants to make sure to promote their product or service.  The key is do it subtlely.  Don’t oversell or turn the interview into an infomercial.  That will immediately turn the listeners off and ruin your chances of getting invited back.

Kudos to Beatrice Leonard.  She did everything right.  Add to that, she made a topic that could have boring a lot of fun.  Take a look at a portion of her interview.

Secrets of the Secret Service: How e-mails can create a public relations nightmare

Just when I thought I could get back to my standard how-to-get-publicity blog posts, one of my fellow Twitterers, @TheJennTaFur alerted me to this story from the New York Times:

http://snipurl.com/secretserv 

The story is about how several Secret Service supervisors engaged in crude sexual jokes and racially derogatory banter about blacks including a “funny” anectdote about how Rev. Jesse Jackson would be assasinated.

Is this the same secret service charged with protecting our president–the most powerful person in the free world?  Is this the same Secret Service that would protect Barack Obama should he be elected?  If so, I can’t help but wonder how far they would really go to protect him.

Adding fuel to this fire is the fact that a spokesman at the Secret Service headquarters in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

NOTE TO SECRET SERVICE: PR/Crisis Communications rule number one = never flat out refuse a request for comment.  That suggests guilt, lack of leadership and a lack of concern for sensitive situations. 

When faced with scenarios like this, major agencies, corporations or government organizations have an obligation to issue a comment immediately.  Otherwise, the public and theorists like me are left to come to their own wacky, outlandish conclusions.  Add a blog and TWITTER to the mix and that’s a combination for disaster. 

On the other hand, most people could care less about racially or politically charged remarks unless they’re made by the former pastor of a Black presidential candidate.  We’ll see how far this story goes.  http://snipurl.com/secretserv 

A lesson from Janet Jackson on what NOT to do in a media interview

I just finished watching Janet Jackson’s interview with Larry King.  I was really looking forward to it because I remember what an impact she had on my life as a teen.  I wanted to wear my hair like her, dress like her and I especially wanted to dance like her.  But after seeing tonight’s interview, one thing is for sure–I would NOT want to do interviews like her and as a long-time radio and TV personality I definitely wouldn’t want to have a guest like her.  As much as I hate to say it, Janet’s performance tonight was downright bad!

Though she looked great as always, Janet just didn’t deliver the kind of insight that would warrant a one-hour with Larry King.  That time could have probably been better spent interviewing my 5-year old son! 

A media interview  is your time to shine.  It’s your opportunity to dispel myths, share new information, promote yourself (Janet was promoting her new CD), win new supporters, build your brand and shape your image.  Janet’s interview was a major disappointment because all she did was fill time with the same old stories we’ve heard before, warmed over for Larry King.  

Thanks to her mega-superstar status, Janet’s less than stellar performance probably won’t hurt her.  In fact, most people probably didn’t think the interview was all that bad.  But to help everyday people like you avoid what I consider a media disaster, I’ve put together a list of the top 3 things that you should never during an interview:

1.) Don’t succumb to political correctness - One mistake Janet consistently makes during interviews is that she thinks too hard about how to respond to certain questions for fear of saying the wrong thing.  My advice: just be honest when answering questions and tell it like it is.  I’m not suggesting you say things that are hurtful or damaging, but don’t be afraid to speak truth to power!  Whoopi Goldberg is one example of someone who is not afraid to speak her mind and she is a breath of fresh air.  True, Janet is no Whoopi, but if her sexually suggestive music is any indication of how open she can be, she should let her music philosophy guide her in interviews.

2.) Don’t display fake modesty or humility - Janet just naturally has this aura of shyness but for God’s sake Janet, you’re 41 years old!  It’s time to stop acting shy!  In interview settings it is vitally important to show confidence and self-assurance.  This helps people feel comfortable with you.  Janet’s false modesty act only makes me feel that she’s not being forthright.

3.) Don’t hold back interesting information that your audience wants or needs to hear - Throughout Janet’s interview I kept waiting for her to drop a bombshell on something–her family, her home life, her wardrobe malfunction–anything!  But she never did.  If you get invited to do a media interview, deliver the goods.  Give the audience something that they won’t get anywhere else.  Then they’ll look forward to your next visit and be more willing to support you.

Janet, if you need some serious media training, I’m available!  What did you think about Ms. Jackson’s interview?  Your feedback is welcome here.