by Tricia Goyer
Radio interviews vary from 3-5 minutes to 1-hour call-in programs. Here are 10 TIPS to help you be prepared for both.
1. No matter how long your interview, the first thing you want to do is talk in sound bites. This is the definition from Dictionary.com:
sound bite
–noun
a brief, striking remark or statement excerpted from an audiotape or videotape for insertion in a broadcast news story.
A sound bite is brilliant, witty, and wise ... which means coming up with good ones for your book may take work.
2. No matter what you are asked, plan to have 30 to 45 second answers. Anything longer sounds like a monologue and will tune listeners out.
3. Narrow down your sound bites to your most important points. Think of phrases that are catchy and memorable.
4. Of course, it's also important to set yourself up to make these points. Most of the time, authors are the one to develop interview questions for their media kits. I've done this for all my books. As I work on the questions, I also jot down the answers IN SOUND BITES. Then, I'm ready to go.
5. Often, interviewers ask the questions right off the sheet . . . in order. This makes it easy to talk in sound bites.
6. Of course, not every interviewer will use your questions. Once, when I was on live TV, via satellite, I had the interviewer say, "I've lost all the press material sent to me, what is your book . . . and what was it about?" YIKES!
Thankfully, I pulled it off my going over my (memorized) answers, even though I was never asked the questions!
7. When it comes to your answers, think of:
a) Interesting information--stuff you tell everyone when it comes to your topic.
b) Stories that highlight your book. This is especially important for radio listeners who cannot see you or a see the cover of your book. Stories give them something to remember you by.
c) A sense of humor. Great hosts love interacting with the people they interview.
It provides great entertainment for their listening audience. (Which is what media is all about.)
d) Share you passion. Everyone has a passion, and hopefully your book is yours. Talk about the parts of your book that are closest to your heart.
8. Cut out filler words as you talk. Yes, um, actually, well ... are ones you can do without. Practice with a friend to get it right. One thing I used to do was click my tongue to my teeth after I made a point. I quickly got rid of that habit when my son counted dozens of these clicks during one of my speeches. Yikes!
9. Don't worry about selling books or selling yourself. Instead think of sharing your passion and your heart. If you can entertain and enlighten people via the airwaves, they'll most likely be interested in wanting to know more.
10. Ask for a copy of your interview when you're done, and review it! Personally, I HATE listening to my interviews, but when I do, I always discover ways I can improve.
And that's the point, right? To get better and better at sharing the passion God birthed in our hearts?
Wow! These are excellent, practical tips. I'm going to print this out. I've only done a handful of radio interviews, but I always have couldas/shouldas afterward. Do you have any tips on getting interviews in the first place? Thanks!
Posted by: Jill Nelson | February 20, 2007 at 10:11 AM