Interviews for SoS

[September skies]

Tomorrow is my first newspaper interview (second on Thursday) so I thought I'd have some handy information on Hurricane Katrina.

If you want to find some good info - numbers, etc. -
this is a good link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
Here's an example of some of the info:
The official death toll now stands at 1,302 and the damage from $70 to $130 billion, topping Hurricane Andrew as the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Over a million people were displaced — a humantarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression.

In Louisiana, the hurricane's eye made landfall at 6:10am CDT on Monday, August 29, After 11:00am CDT, several sections of the levee system in New Orleans collapsed. By early September, people were being forcibly evacuated, mostly by bus to neighboring states.


I know this is a lot of information, but it is good to jot down some numbers and have them handy for use with the media when talking about why this book is so important.


Mention our goals


And promote - promote - promote the book -


Wow...this is big. I am so honored to be a part of it.


Chuncky, thanks for making it simpler for me by putting all the numbers of book sales etc. up in the other threads.

 

[JennaGlatzer]

I'm so proud of you! Kick some butt in that interview! We'll be here cheering you on.

Robert Villanueva, Jennifer Lawler, and I are going to be on a radio show soon, too. It tapes this Thursday, and I think it airs on Saturday afternoon. Beyond Words on KCLU, an NPR affiliate: 88.3 in Ventura County, 102.3 in Santa Barbara County, and on the web: www.kclu.org.

My local papers and TV station still do a fantastic job of ignoring me completely. I think they all must have circulated a memo: "We hate that Jenna Glatzer girl. Let's run another article about the Boy Scouts' camping trip and make sure to never, ever give her even a paragraph of mention no matter what she does."

 

[jdkiggins]

Congratulations September! Hope it goes well.

 

[September skies]

My local papers and TV station still do a fantastic job of ignoring me completely. I think they all must have circulated a memo: "We hate that Jenna Glatzer girl. Let's run another article about the Boy Scouts' camping trip and make sure to never, ever give her even a paragraph of mention no matter what she does."

That's because they don't know how great you are. But they'll wake up and they'll be sorry some day and wish they had interviewed you from the start.

 

[JennaGlatzer]

A few points for interviews on TV or radio--

-Make sure to mention the website as often as you can. www.storiesofstrength.com.

-Keep in mind the WIIFT factor: What's In It For Them? (The audience.) As much as you want to talk about all this great stuff we're doing, make sure you show them how they can be involved and get something out of it-- in this case, I'm pushing the "makes a great holiday gift" angle. They get to give a thoughtful gift AND they get to donate to relief efforts at the same time. You can also tell them that they can follow our progress on the website and join in the conversation.

-It's good to sound excited. Listeners on radio aren't usually paying close attention. They're driving, or working, or cooking, or whatever. If you speak all "professionally" and monotone, they won't hear a word you're saying. Don't worry too much about sounding "smart" and "official," and instead let your real enthusiasm come through. Pretend you're talking to a friend.

-When doing a phone interview, keep water or tea nearby. Make sure you've gone to the bathroom ahead of time. Turn off call-waiting if possible. Stick to a regular phone, not a portable or cell phone. Try to speak loud, clear, and slow. Stand up to keep your energy level up.

-If you find yourself saying "um" and "y'know" a lot, you're probably just rushing... don't worry about a second of silence. Slow yourself down; know that pauses are okay and natural.

-For TV interviews, stay away from patterned shirts (distracting) and sparkly jewelry (which tends to glare in the bright lights).

-Smile! Have fun! Nothing to worry about. The host and the listeners are on your side. They want you to do well. You're not on trial. You're being featured because you're interesting and are involved with something great.
I think I wrote an article about radio shows once... if I find it, I'll post it.

 

[maestrowork]

Some more on-camera (or on-the-phone) tips:

- Do NOT look at the camera unless you're instructed to do so. Looking at the camera makes you look stupid and unnatural, unless you're doing an informercial or speaking directly to the camera. Engage the host instead.

- Do NOT stare at the host for a long period of time.

- DO speak slowly and annunciate your words. Be articulate. Do not rush. If you find yourself flustering and rushing, take a few deep breaths and drink some water.

- Tease your viewers/listeners and also give them some time to grab a pen by saying things like, "I'm going to give the ordering information in just a minute" then go on for bit about the book, and give the information (including the web sites, etc.) a minute later... Jenna made a good point on doing the "sales pitch" at appropriate times like "it's the holiday season again... what better gifts to get for those you love while helping those unfortunate?"

- Bring a change of coat or shirt/blouse of different colors (preferably solid colors). Reason: sometimes your shirt/blouse/jacket might interfere or blend in too much with the backdrop. Nothing too bright (like screaming hot red or neon orange). But do wear something comfortable.

- Turn off your radio or other electronic equipment if you're doing a phone interview. Do not create "feedback." Same reason -- do not wear heavy jewelry, etc. Sometimes they create feedback to the mikes.

- Watch for fly-away hair. They may not have makeup artists to do your hair, etc. and you do not want to look like a wild man/woman on camera. Spray your hair down, etc.

- Bring a copy of the book! If you're on camera, refer to it -- also, it serves as a prop so you have something to do with your idle hands. If it's a phone interview, you can use it to refer to something or when asked, you could do a short reading...

- If you tend to sweat a lot, wear deodorant, etc. and bring a handkerchief. A studio can get really hot sometimes with the lights...

- This is a little voice training trick... if your natural voice tends to be thin and shrill, try to lower it. If your voice tends to be low and dull, try to raise it. We're not talking about completely changing the way you talk, but a slight adjustment would make you sound better.

- Smile a lot. I can't tell you how many times I see people being interviewed on TV and they forget to smile. They look like they're being tortured. Poor people.



p.s. I, too, am completely ignored by my local TV and radio stations. I did get feedback from newspapers, but only one definitely coverage so far. What's wrong with those people???!!

 

[JennaGlatzer]

Some really good tips on doing radio and TV interviews:

http://www.authorsandspeakersnetwork.com/articles.html

 

[aruna]

Public speaking is (was) a phobia of mine, and I had to get over it, fast, when my book got published. The greatest help came from the book "Be Heard Now", written by Lee Glickstine. Lee runs workshops called Speaking Circles, and I attended one. The difference between this and most public speaking workshops is that Lee focusses on engaging the whole person - the speaker and the audience - and being at ease within oneself, rather than learning speaking "techniques".

If anyone suffers from stage fright or anything similar, I highly recommend that book! It changed my life - well, one part of it, at least. The site is http://www.speakingcircles.com/

Shortly after that, I addressed an auditorium full of people at a story conference in Palm Springs, many of them seasoned work-shop givers themselves - and spoke with passion and ease, and afterwards everyone came up tp me and said how much they loved my talk, and how inspired they were.

 

[AmyDoodle]

THANK YOU September and everybody! I have a telephone interview with a local radio station tomorrow and my stomach must think I'm going national because it's trying to leave my body through my ear. Then I checked here and you guys had already answered all my questions and concerns. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go throw up.

 

[ChunkyC]

I have a telephone interview with a local radio station tomorrow

You'll be great!

and my stomach must think I'm going national because it's trying to leave my body through my ear.

Me too, and my interview is a month away!

 

[September skies]

Oh Amy, how exciting! You'll do great.
What's that old saying - "imagine everyone in their underwear"
Ok...maybe not the best advice - I'd probably start laughing.

But I'm sure you'll do great. And Jenna, Ray and Aruna have offered some great advice.

I'm a bit nervous about the reporter coming in an hour (and the photographer)

I took one of the SOS posters to Kinkos and had it mounted on a styrofoam type of board with a stand, so I'll have that to hide behind.

 

[ChunkyC]

I just thought of something else. If you are going on camera and will be bringing notes, be sure to print them out in large enough type that you can glance at them without lifting them up or leaning toward them. I've been watching how TV anchors, interviewers and guests do it and even those who hold notes in their hands keep them in the same position all the time low to the desk and rarely if ever tilt their heads down.

Also, I would keep paragraphs or sections together on the same page, don't let them wrap, otherwise you might find yourself having to flip a page while in the middle of responding to a question and the sound could interfere with what you are saying. Again, you never see a news anchor move to another page until there's a spot for a natural pause.

I think the ideal would be to have a couple of pages of notes laid side by side in front of you so you don't have to flip through them or even touch them at all.

 

[Cabria]

I've been talking to NTV News (local TV station planning to do my interview) - they are busy this week but it works out good actually. What we're going to do is wait until I receive my SoS anthology books in the mail, as well as all the printed material I'm working on getting. A local printer is donating posters, flyers and bookmarks - I was talking to the vice-president this morning. I thought I'd just touch base from my email and they are already printing the material for me!! 500 bookmarks! And a large number of flyers and posters ( in the 100's I believe - I'll let you all know the exact number when I receive them). They are being extremely generous with this and I am mentioning them on the TV interview. So this all works out well, because when I go for the interview, I'll have books and all printed material to display. It will be much more impressive that way I think (as long as I don't faint away during the interview! lol). I'm very excited about this! I'm also going to contact Canada Now here locally to see if they'll do a TV interview as well....hmmm...should be an old pro by then - yeah right!!!

Deb

 

[ChunkyC]

Awesome, Deb, well done!

 

[Cabria]

Thanks Charlie. I like your advice about the notes during interview btw. Good to know. Also, does anyone know the name of the flower on the SoS cover? Pehaps this has been covered on another thread somewhere but I'd like to know. Thanks!

Deb

 

[Kim Gogo]

hmmm...maybe I'm naive but I have a number of friends that work at radio stations in the area and I am sure, if you ask the interviewer (tv/radio/newspaper) to go through the questions with you in advance, he/she will.

If you explain you're nervous and was hoping he/she would be willing to give you a little advance notice of the questions, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. Just explain that it's a very important cause and you want to be sure that you say all the important things. He/she doesn't want to have to edit and edit and edit the interview b/c you keep saying um....wait...let me look up that information for you. And it will reflect poorly on them if they don't edit that out.

Just ask what the questions will cover so that you don't turn 15 shades of red and crawl under your chair in the middle of the interview. Accoustics, I'm sure, aren't very good down there.

kim

 

[ChunkyC]

I think that makes all kinds of sense, Kim. You'll have your 'talking points', the things you want to make sure you cover, and they'll have their own list of the kinds of questions they like to ask interviewees. Coordinating with them will help 'block out' the interview.

 

[September skies]

I survived!

Oh my gosh - I can breathe now. The first reporter just left and the interview went well. I've just never been on this side of the table before. It was my first interview EVER.
But no worries - I feel I represented our book well and covered all of the important details. Thanks to Chunky's suggestion, I had two pages in front of me with important details but rarely needed to refer to them. I made an extra set for the reporter and she was so thrilled to be able to take the info with her. (as a reporter, I know how helpful little things like that are)

Thanks Jenna, for the suggestions too. I smiled a lot (which is natural for me) but I remembered about sounding excited and I even had the reporter laughing a couple of times and getting excited with me. I kept referring to the book by name (I'm sure she must have thought this was an infomercial) and when I didn't know what to do with my hands, I'd pick up the poster board and speak as I glanced from her to the flyer board.

It went really well.
Thanks everyone.

 

[AmyDoodle]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful advice and tips. Having a support group like this makes all the difference. I'm making some flash cards with the main information in BIG print to tape on the wall by the phone so a glance will give me what I need without having to worry about fishing them out of my water glass or having them stick to sweaty fingers. Also, it makes it easier to do these interviews when we remember the people who lost everything they had in one day and know that the few minutes we spend on the phone or in front of a camera will make a difference in their lives.

Chunky, I'll bet you're a natural. After your interview, everybody else will be fighting for your attention. (I find that wearing ear plugs keeps your stomach from escaping out either side, but puts a damper any sort of two-sided conversation.)

September, is your interview done? I've been thinking about you this afternoon and I know you were great!

If you hear from me tomorrow, I survived.

 

[AmyDoodle]

September's First Interview

WOOO-HOOOOO!!!!! TERRIFIC!!!

 

[September skies]

Robert Villanueva, Jennifer Lawler, and I are going to be on a radio show soon, too. It tapes this Thursday, and I think it airs on Saturday afternoon. Beyond Words on KCLU, an NPR affiliate: 88.3 in Ventura County, 102.3 in Santa Barbara County, and on the web: www.kclu.org.

YEAA! I can listen in. I already wrote it on a sticky note and placed it on my computer and refrigerator -- the two places I frequent daily.

 

[Cabria]

Just got a phone message from VOCM Radio - they want me to call them to set up an interview. Have my daughter's high school "Cap and Gown" ceremony tonight (she's already in university but this is what the high school does - hold the ceremony in the fall). Anyway...will phone VOCM tomorrow to set up the interview. Oh yeah....anyone know the name of the flower on the book cover?

Deb

 

[Kim Gogo]

Gerbera Daisy, I believe.


kim

 

[ChunkyC]

Way to go, September! You've set the bar for the rest of us!

Robert Villanueva, Jennifer Lawler, and I are going to be on a radio show soon, too. It tapes this Thursday, and I think it airs on Saturday afternoon. Beyond Words on KCLU, an NPR affiliate: 88.3 in Ventura County, 102.3 in Santa Barbara County, and on the web: www.kclu.org.

I'm listening to the Windows Media stream right now. Very clear. I checked the KCLU program guide, and Beyond Words is on at 2 p.m. Pacific this Saturday. I already have my PDA set to alarm 15 minutes before the show starts, whoohoo!

 

[Cabria]

Gerbera Daisy, I believe.


kim

Thanks for replying on that Kim!

Deb