Avoid the 5 Biggest Media Interview Mistakes

Written by Susan Harrow


Tallulah Bankhead described working on television as *like being shot out of a cannon. They cram you all up with rehearsals, then someone lights a fuse and-BANG-there you are in someone's living room.* To be ready for your time to shoot out ofrepparttar cannon, takerepparttar 119854 time to thoroughly prepare your ideas and soundbites. Television, radio and print interviewers are often focused on presenting a lively, entertaining program-not on promoting you or your products. Honing your conversational skills to include a repertoire of key phrases will keep interest focused on you andrepparttar 119855 points you want to convey.

1. When asked a question that doesn't pertain to your topic.

Sharing information withrepparttar 119856 audience you know is fascinating makesrepparttar 119857 interview move at a swift pace while makingrepparttar 119858 interviewer appear as if he's doing an excellent job. For example say, *What most people want to know is....* Or, *What many people ask me about is....* Or, *What people find most surprising/useful/entertaining is....*

2. When asked a question for which you don't have a clear answer.

Stay within your area of expertise and reinforcerepparttar 119859 impression that you are knowledgeable in your field. You might say, *I don't know about that, but what I do know is....which I discuss in...(name of presentation, book, article, brochure, report etc.)*

3. When asked a question that is too general.

Ask yourself a specific question and then answer it. You might say, *I sometimes wonder how I could have written/said....* Then launch into a story, anecdote, or epiphany.

What I Learned From a Woman's Magazine

Written by David Leonhardt


What I Learned From a Woman's Magazine By David Leonhardt

It's amazing what you can learn about marketing if you can just findrepparttar time to spend in a dentist's waiting room. I was reading a certain woman's magazine, which will remain nameless because of my allergy to lawsuits. The magazine obviously has figured out what sells well, given that it operates on a consistent formula.

For instance, one cover proclaims: "3 sizes slimmer by Memorial Day". Then, in one corner is a picture of "Cookies 'n Cream Cake", while in another corner is a picture of "'Lollipups' to brighten someone's day".

On another cover,repparttar 119853 main headline is: "Lose that BELLY FAT!", while a secondary headline asks, "Can't stop binging?" Just to make sure that readers can answer, "Yes", there is a nice picture inrepparttar 119854 corner of a "Banana Split Cookie Cake" labeled "Yum!", andrepparttar 119855 promise of "Family-pleasing Pasta dinners" inside.

See a pattern? Let's try one more. The big headline reads: "Lose 28 lbs by Thanksgiving". How? Perhapsrepparttar 119856 big picture of a "Oreo Cookie Cheesecake" labeled "Yum!" will give us a hint. Orrepparttar 119857 promise of "Best-ever Potluck recipes".

OK. By now I am sure you seerepparttar 119858 pattern. That's right – poor grammar, punctuation and capitalization.

The other pattern is, of course,repparttar 119859 secret success formula:

1.Offer you a way to lose weight 2.Tempt you to putrepparttar 119860 weight right back on 3.Offer you another way to lose weight

I pointed this out to my dentist, hoping he might decide to increaserepparttar 119861 quality of reading material in his waiting room.

The next week, I returned to find that my observation had obviously made an impression on him. There was all new reading material: Yummy Deserts Magazine, Best Cakes Review, and The Sugar Mountain Weekly.

I noticedrepparttar 119862 décor had changed, too. Gone wererepparttar 119863 bare beige walls. Up were larger-than-life posters of cookies, cakes and ice cream. And strategically placed aroundrepparttar 119864 room were candy dishes.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use