How to be a great guest during radio interviews
By Publicity Heaven’s editor Pete Wadsworth
If you’ve followed our PR guides over the months, hopefully at some point in the future you’re going to find yourself being interviewed by a journalist on the radio.
There are ways you should and shouldn’t behave during radio interviews. I was a radio journalist for five years and saw a clear distinction between great guests and bad ones.
Great guests get invited back and get lots more free publicity. Bad guests are rarely allowed back onto a station.
Here is my expert advice for being a great guest with every radio interview you do.
Listen to the show
This is something that is over-looked by far too many people before they get on air: you must make sure you listen to the show before your interview.
First and foremost it will give you an idea about the style of the show and how the presenter interviews his or her guests. The chances are that if you’re reading this, you’re unlikely to be a politician, so the interview is likely to be a relatively ‘soft news’ piece and the chances are that you’re not going to be harangued.
Listening to the show will also prepare you for any idiosyncrasies in the presenter’s voice, minor speech impediments or common mispronunciations that might throw your concentration if you’re hearing them for the first time during a question.
Even if you don’t specifically look out for these things, hearing the show first will just make the whole experience less threatening.
Know what they want to talk about and how they’re likely to address it
This might sound very obvious, but you don’t want to end up sounding like an idiot live on air.
Are you appearing as an expert? Or is this an interview about your own product or service? If it’s the latter then you should already be pretty well prepared, but make sure you give some thought to the questions they might ask you so you can be ready for them. If it’s the former then make absolutely sure you know as much as you possibly can about the issue you’re being called upon to talk about, which brings us neatly on to…
Do your research
When the producer or production assistant calls you to invite you onto the show make sure you get all the information you can from them.
- What is the item about?
- Who else will be appearing on the show?
- Will it be a debate format, or an interview?
Once you know the format, spend time researching the issue you’re going to be talking about. Make sure you know everything it is possible to know about the topic and, if necessary, make yourself a crib sheet.
Be concise
Keep your answers short and sweet. A common mistake people make when they’re being interviewed on the radio is coming to the end of their answer, finding that there’s a pause after they have finished talking and deciding to fill it with some more, now extraneous, words. The error interviewees make is assuming that the interviewer is waiting for some more from them, when usually all he is doing is making sure that he doesn’t talk over you.
When you have finished, stop talking and wait for the next question.
If your interview is taking place in the studio, gauging the length of your answers is much easier, since you will be able to look at the interviewer for clues that he is ready to ask the next question.
It’s more likely that you’ll do your interview on the phone though, so just use your judgement – the interviewer should be able to realise when you’re finished and ask the next question. Maintaining the pace of the interview is the interviewer’s job, not yours.
Take your time over your answer
Just as in a job interview, don’t be afraid to take a couple of moments to consider your answer. It’s much better to take that time before you start talking than to correct yourself halfway through your answer. If you need to give your answer some thought, acknowledge the question so that the interviewer knows that you have heard and understood the question.
Speak slowly
Speak a touch slower than you would do if you were in a conversation with a friend. The guide for radio news readers is about three words per second, which is considerably slower than normal speaking pace. You don’t want to be this slow, but try to avoid ‘jabbering’.
Some general points if you’re being interviewed on the phone
When you have finished talking rotate the handset so that the microphone is under your chin – you don’t want the sound of your breathing on the radio!
Make sure that you’re in a place where you won’t be interrupted, either by other phones ringing or people knocking on your door
Make sure you’re in a quiet place
Minimise distractions around you and for goodness sake, don’t sit in front of your computer!
Some general points if you’re asked in to the studio
Have a drink of water, but keep it at arm’s length. Although you’re unlikely to be anywhere near expensive equipment, you don’t want to spill it on anything pricey!
Don’t fiddle with the microphone, or tap on the desk – the microphone will pick this up
Don’t lean in to the microphone, you want your mouth to be about a foot away from it
Try not to alter your distance from the microphone too much
For goodness sake, TURN YOUR PHONE OFF!
Following these pointers should make your interviewing experience a much more pleasurable one. Just remember to relax and try to enjoy yourself.
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