If your audience only remembers one thing about your interview, what do you want it to be? It’s what’s known as the ‘audience takeaway’ that is important. Think about the last radio or TV interview you heard. How much of it do you remember? Probably very little after an hour or two (or possibly even after five minutes). You want to ensure that the main thing the audience or the reporter remembers is not that you mispronounced a word or wore a funny outfit—but the key point you actually wanted them to remember. To this end, don’t be afraid to repeat this main message. Don’t be a bore but find different ways of saying it, or find link-phrases that justify returning to it, such as “but as I was saying, the really important point here is that …” then it is absolutely clear to one and all what you think really matters—and after all, you are the expert, which is why you are the person being interviewed.
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.
