If you are ever in a TV or radio studio, always assume the cameras and microphones are live. Even when you are in rehearsals / conversation / commercials / before and after the interview, act as though you are ‘on the record’. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t be happy for your mother or your boss to hear! Many politicians have been caught making ill-advised comments about colleagues while chatting ‘afterwards’ to the interviewer. Former Prime Minister John Major was once memorably captured on tape referring to some of his colleagues as ‘b*st*rds’, while many will remember Gordon Brown being caught during the 2010 election campaign, referring to a member of the public who he’d just spoken to as ‘bigoted’, while unaware he was still connected to a live radio mic. More recent victims include Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho overheard being rude about some of his team. They all had a lot of explaining to do afterwards!
Tom on X
How do you cope if a broadcast interview becomes more aggressive than you were expecting?
We can now offer on-camera and autocue skills coaching for spokespeople who have to present online video material or webinars.
