Interviews

Much of the difficulty for anyone faced with a radio or television interview is the factor of uncertainty. What will the studio be like? How will I be treated by the producer and interviewer? How will I look and perform under bright lights? Will I have to wear make-up? Will I noticeably perspire under pressure? How should I deal with any questions I’d rather they hadn’t asked? These are just a few of the issues confronting someone who has never been in a broadcast environment before.

Those who do have experience can still benefit enormously from practice, constructive criticism, hints and tips. Advice and help on performance, including use of voice and body language, are very much part of the course. It’s surprising how many areas for improvement can be identified by an impartial observer.

What We Do:

We aim to answer questions and explain, not by lecturing, but by actually going through the process of radio and television interviews. Here’s a typical format of a half-day training session:

• Radio phone-in interview

• Doorstep interview*

• TV studio one-to-one interview

• Down-the-line (DTL) chromakey interview**

 *Door-stepping takes place in a busy lobby. A cameraman and interviewer will be waiting to grab a few words with a subject as he or she leaves the building – literally on the doorstep. If there are other delegates, they can act as a ‘media scrum’ and direct questions at the interviewee.

**Down-the-line is a frequently used technique utilising chromakey (blue or green screen) where the interviewee is in one location facing a camera, and the interviewer is elsewhere, perhaps thousands of miles away. Chromakey is used to insert a background artificially (such as the Empire State Building or the Houses of Parliament) to underline the fact that the interviewee is in New York or London. Looking relaxed while addressing a camera lens as if it were a fellow human being is a difficult skill that few can master without practice.

All the interviews are recorded, played back and appraised. At this stage we evaluate the content of the interviews – what the guest has actually said – and the style in which the information has been delivered. Excellent content is hugely devalued if the delivery is poor; weak content will not be saved by even the best delivery (although it might be a little more palatable!)

In all cases precise subjects and scenarios for each interview are agreed in advance, and we treat any sensitive corporate information in the strictest confidence.