Learn the Secrets of Print Interviewing
Author: Susan Harrow
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Learn the Secrets of Print Interviewing
1. Remember you're always on the record.
Even when the tape is off, even when the reporter has put away
his pad, even when you think that the reporter thinks you walk
on water, you are on the record.
One of my clients who knows better, gave an interview to a
columnist at a prominent national paper. She thought they had a
jolly rapport and became a bit loose lipped about the fortune
the business had amassed in a hard-won deal. The interviewer
positioned her as a spoiled and arrogant twit who had, to a
certain degree, lucked out. She called me fuming, and at the
same time knowing it was her fault.
The reporter is not your therapist so this is not the time to
discuss your innermost workings. I remember a friend of mine
saying that there was nothing so mesmerizing as having a
therapist listen to her in total attention. It's seductive to
know that a person finds you fascinating. While you're not
paying a reporter, their job similar to a therapist's, is to be
a skilled listener. The reporter is there to do one thing-get a
good story. If you don't want to see it in print, don't let
those precious words leave your lips. Period.
2. Don't beg.
Your lips are made for talking. While it's imperative to be
attentive don't bow, scrape or otherwise raise your lips to the
posterior of the reporter. You are there because you have
valuable information to impart. Much as some reporters pretend
they don't need you, you're a critical part of their job. Focus
on their questions and your message and you'll make a good
interview.
3. Ask to verify your quotes.
Author Bill Barich describes his first media encounter for his
first book *Laughing in the Hills.* So I flew off to New York in
February with a borrowed suitcase, feeling for all the world
like John Boy Walton, the would-be-writer of television fame.
The magazine (The New Yorker) put me up at the Algonquin Hotel,
directly across from its headquarters, and soon I was seated in
the regal lobby bar and conducting an interview with a
journalist from (of all places) Women's Wear Daily, who'd been
dispatched by The Viking Press for some advance publicity.
Hardly a pro and suffering from years of isolation, I delivered
an impromptu lecture on the importance of literacy in a
democratic society (a surefire topic for the poor guy's
audience) and forgot to mention my book. When the story ran, I
had my first experience of being misquoted.
My entire lecture was boiled down to a single remark, *If you
can't read, you shouldn't be allowed to vote.* (SF Examiner
Magazine, April 12, 1998).
To avoid a similar fate, prepare your soundbites well. Have the
reporter read your quotes back to you so you can correct any
inaccuracies. Realize though, that if you're not pleased with
what you've said, the reporter is under no obligation to let you
try again. Though if you can think of something well worth
quoting that sounds better they will be inclined to use the
clearer, sassier quote. Verifying your quotes will help
reporters resist the temptation to condense what you say while
trying to keep the spirit intact. The New York Times is one of
the few publications whose editorial and style and usage manual
dictates that its reporters not doctor a quote.
4. Request your contact information be included.
Be very clear on how you would like to be identified and
contacted. Give the reporter the correct spelling of your name,
title, business, phone number, URL and any other relevant
information. Ask for what you want. Think about what will bring
you the maximum clients, exposure, whatever it is you desire and
ask to list those things first. If it's best for your 800# or
website request they be included.
5. Invite the reporter to call you back with any additional
questions.
Once a reporter gets back to his desk he may find that he forgot
something he wished he had asked-but may not want to seem
unprofessional or negligent and so might prefer to leave
something out rather than keep it in error. Another reporter may
be one sandwich short of a picnic, or brand new and not know the
ropes. To cover all types of reporters ask if you may call the
reporter back in the event that you think of something you'd
like to add. This is a great way to insure accuracy and save
face. And to maintain control over and shape your own story.
Happy interviewing!
Learn how to handle the 4 most difficult types of interviewers
in *Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul* (HarperCollins).
Need to prepare for a meeting, promotion, presentation, job or
media interview? Go to http://www.prsecrets.com |
