10 Interview Pitfalls

1. Understand your role.  Media interview is not a sales call. Avoid puffery and exaggeration. Interviewers resent this attitude. Some reporters edit buffoonery which minimizes the possibly of an otherwise good interview. If possible, tactfully mention the company’s website address.
2. Not clearly understanding the role of the media.  While some see an interview as free advertising, most media shy from a “payoff.” This is not to say this isn’t practiced.  If that’s the case, remember that readers or viewers today are more sophisticated.  The reporter’s role is to provide interesting, useful information. Sincerely helping the reporter can maximize positive coverage.
3. Message focus.  Don’t “wing” it.  This can be particularly damaging in television interviews because there is less time to provide proper background information. Recommendation:  Stick with several specific points. Write them on a file card.  Back each statement with an example or an illustration. This provides proof and differentiates a “claim” from a “fact.”
4. Avoid an informational dump.  Some interview subjects feel the need to educate the interviewer. When this happens, the reporter’s eyes begin to glass over and the interview loses focus.  Recommendation:  Assess the level of detail the interviewer is seeking.  Get to the point comfortably, but fast.  In television interviews, about 30 seconds is all the time provided to make your point.
5. Jargon. Acronyms might be the language of your industry but might confuse general news or business reporters. Adjust technical language to fit the reporter’s level of understanding. Caution: If the reporter is savvy about your industry or technology, they might feel insulted.  Remedy: Listen!  If possible converse prior to the interview and gain insight regarding the reporter’s level of understanding.
6. Listen.  A guaranteed way to irritate an interviewer is to interrupt or finish questions.  The key is to establish rapport and communicate respectfully .Recommendation:  Talk as if communicating to a colleague or friend.  If you want to get an expert view on how effectively you listen, ask your wife or husband.
7. Over answering. Some interview subjects who claim to be misquoted actually talk too much.  Make your point quickly, be polite and stop talking.  Silence can be very effective. Clearly understand that this reporter is not your best friend...  What you say can show up in print or edited video as a big surprise to you – and your boss.
8. Minimize PR presence: Having public relations’ person answer questions can be detrimental to an interview.  Use their talents as a resource, but not as a censor. A savvy PR person can break the ice and enrich an interview by providing brief background information.  Following an interview the PR person can follow-up with the reporter on pictures, graphs, video or other relevant information.
9. Trashing competitors.  Don’t do it.  Even if you are egged on by the interviewer.  John Rocker formerly employed as a pitcher by the baseball Atlanta Braves trashed an entire community in an interview. Today he is out of baseball.  Trashing causes you to lose creditability.  If in doubt, take the high road and praise a competitor.
10. Being Mr. Tough Guy.  Some interviewees believe that being tough equals interview control. Sometimes the meekest reporter will flatten an abrasive interview subject along with their company, product or service.  When this happens, everyone suffers. Victory goes to those who control the ink, microphone or video camera.

Are there other mistakes? Of course.  But when you are in front of a TV camera or across the table from a journalist, you have a far better chance of creating a profitable media interview by avoiding these ten pitfalls.