Practice It Out Loud

Don’t let your time on-air be your first rehearsal, if you are being interviewed on radio or television. Once you have decided on the main points you want to get across, practice them to make sure they come across as powerfully as possible. It makes good sense to spend a few minutes on this even if you are speaking to a journalist from the ‘print’ media too. The process helps ensure these issues will be ‘front of mind’ when you speak to the reporter. The same principle applies to communicating with customers, clients or other stakeholders, if they are your audience. The clearer you are about what you want to achieve in your interview, the more your subconscious will be able to bring these points to the fore. The rehearsal process will help you avoid jargon and make your points in a flowing and convincing way, rather than searching for the right word. Running through these sentences a few times beforehand can make a big difference. Don’t imagine you can just wing it – that is when the mistakes get made. (Taken from the book The M-Factor by Tom Maddocks.)