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Tip of the Month - 6 ways to be more effective in an interview

There is no universal recipe for doing a good interview. So much depends on the journalist, the context and your own skills.  In addition interview dynamics may change from one region to another. There is often a cultural context to an interview.  But as we have taught dozens of senior managers in the world, there are a number of things that can help you no matter where you are.  Here are some of them.

Front Load the Message

We tend to remember what we hear first and what we hear last – and forget what we hear in the middle.  So it’s always good to start with your message (or conclusion) and then provide elaboration.  The dynamics of an interview upsets our personality somewhat. After all most of us are not really used to being under bright lights and speaking to a stranger.  I have found that people morph into either a race horse – starting quickly but fading – or a diesel car -- starting slowly but finishing strong.   Race horses have an edge – since they almost always start with their message.  Henry Kissinger used to say “Does anyone have any questions for my answers” – a trademark of a race horse.  Diesel cars should warm up by answering questions out loud five to ten minutes ahead of the actual interview.

Bride to your message

Very often a journalist’s question will bear no direct relation to the message you came to deliver.  Yet you need to answer the question – while trying to bring in your message. The bridging technique may help.  “That’s one way of looking at it… but … [my message]”  “Sure that is an issue, …. But the issue of …. Is the one that concerns us the most” .  A good interview is really like a good conversation, so if you bring out the important dimension from the beginning of the interview there is a likelihood that the rest of the interview will focus on that.

Play Chess

Good journalists usually prepare a scenario for any interview. They will usually start with a broad, scene setting question – or warm up. They then work their way through their prepared structure. If you can think a few questions ahead and try and guess where the reporter is going, this will usually help you to be better prepared. As in chess each move on the part of the reporter is setting up the next move and even the one beyond that.  This will help you avoid getting boxed in and appearing defensive.  Of course if the format is confrontational as in “Hard Talk” or similar shows, the context may be different.

Use the “Business Card” approach

A lot of effort is spent preparing lengthy “Q & A” – a series of corporate responses to suggested questions that journalists may ask. These are rarely used, in my experience, though they do provide some useful information.  A better approach is for you to write down three points you want to make in an interview on the back of one of your business cards just before you sit down for the interview.  This will help you focus on what it is you want to say, regardless of the distractions of the reporter’s questions.  While you always want to be an interesting guest, and be as responsive as you can to the journalist, you do want to get your point across to the audience as well. The business card approach will help you focus. Having much more than that will overload and may affect your spontaneity.

Be Yourself

Many people I train have some pre conceived notion of what a good spokesperson should sound and look like.  The best spokespersons are themselves.  Most of your audience is convinced by how you say things and what you look like when you say them.  Modulation (pitch, tone, and speed) and Body Language (smiles, frowns, etc) are important – some say up to 90 percent of how we communicate.  So be yourself. Imagine that you are having a conversation with someone you know – if that will help.  All of us have a pre conceived notion of what we should like and sound like. We judge our performance on that basis.  Remember that everyone else takes you at face value. So be yourself and you will be that much more convincing.  

Turn Crisis into Opportunity

In many cases the media will be more interested in talking with you when something has gone wrong. That is just the nature of news.  “When it bleeds it leads” is an oft quoted tenet of journalism.  When things have gone wrong and you have something to say, these times are ideal to engage the press and use the opportunity to get your own positive messages out at the same time.  So don’t avoid the media at this time.  In fact the media will be grateful that you said yes, and this will help build long term relations based on trust.
The recent US election has showed us once again, that communicating is a core competency of leadership in any organization whether it be in the private or public sectors.  Those who lead must be able to communicate, and most of your communication will occur through interviews. These tips might help you in being an effective interviewee.

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