Introduction
Media interviews are nerve-racking, but they’re also an opportunity to share your story with the world. When you’re asked a question by a reporter, you have to remember that the reporter is representing their outlet and has a set of pre-existing beliefs about what should be included in the story—and what should not be included in it. If you’re lucky enough to be represented by an outlet that values diversity and inclusion (which is pretty much every mainstream media outlet), then they’ll most likely throw in some kind of question about how minorities experience issues like racism as part of their reporting. But if not? Well, let’s just say that there could be some inaccuracies or biased reporting going on during those interviews (which is why it’s important to prepare answers beforehand).
Be prepared for the media interview.
To have a successful media interview, you need to be prepared.
- Know what to expect. The interviewer will be asking questions that they hope you can answer well and that will lead them to a story they want to tell. So, before your interview begins, think about what kind of questions you want answered in an interview with the media and how much time you think it should take for each question so that there’s no dead air or awkward silence left over from one person talking too much while another person is trying to ask their own questions. This way everyone knows when it’s time for them (and only them) to speak up!
- Be aware of bias in the industry or publication where the reporter works; some reporters may be more influenced by certain information than others due if they work at publications which are more likely biased towards certain topics or causes than others could possibly be because those publications might tend towards just one side instead of being neutral between both sides without any sort agreement whatsoever.”
Be positive and confident.
When you are interviewed by a media outlet, it is important to be positive and confident. A negative attitude will not make the reporter more interested in your story. The best way to show them this is by being positive and making sure that you have no bad habits or habits that can be portrayed as bad habits by the reporter (such as drinking too much alcohol).
If you want them to think of you as someone who does their job well, then make sure everything about your appearance makes sense for that job. If they see one thing wrong with what they see on TV, then people will start thinking “well maybe this guy is not good at his job after all.”
Practice saying your rehearsed lines in front of a mirror.
Now that you have a good understanding of what to say, practice saying your rehearsed lines in front of a mirror. This is the best way to ensure that you are comfortable with the delivery and don’t forget anything important. You can also practice by having someone else read the script from beginning to end while you repeat it after them.
Once this exercise feels easy for both parties involved, move on to practicing alone or with someone else who knows how much time will be allotted for each question/answer pair (e.g., 30 seconds per). Once again, try not to rush through any part of this process; take your time!
Make sure you’re comfortable in your interview outfit before the actual shot.
Before the actual shot, make sure you’re comfortable in your interview outfit. It may seem like a small thing, but if someone is uncomfortable during an interview, it can make or break their performance.
Make sure that the outfit itself is appropriate for the occasion and weather (if applicable). For example: if it’s freezing outside and spring has arrived at your location–you don’t want to be wearing winter clothes! But if it’s hot out there, then perhaps nothing will feel more appropriate than shorts and flip-flops…or maybe even just swimwear? You get the point 🙂
It goes without saying that this all depends on where we’re shooting our media interviews from–so make sure there’s plenty of room around us so we won’t get lost or stuck behind barriers.”
When it comes to makeup and hair, keep it simple. You don’t want the interviewer to be distracted by your looks–they should be focused on you and what you have to say! If you’re wearing makeup at all, make sure that it’s subtle–after all, this is a professional setting.”
Dress appropriately for the occasion, but also project a professional image.
- Dress appropriately for the occasion, but also project a professional image. You want to show up in a nice outfit that represents you professionally, but not too formal or too casual either. If the interviewer is wearing business attire and you’re not, it can be easy to feel underdressed compared with them even if your clothes are nicer than theirs (which they probably are).
- Don’t wear jeans and t-shirts–or any other kind of casual clothing–unless it’s an interview where they’ll be interviewing people who work as part of their organization!
Focus on what you want to share instead of what you don’t want to share or have already been asked by other media outlets already.
- Focus on what you want to share instead of what you don’t want to share or have already been asked by other media outlets already.
- Don’t give away personal information that you don’t want to share.
- Don’t be afraid to say no if your answer doesn’t fit the question, or if it makes sense for the story at hand. You are not obligated to answer anything that feels uncomfortable for you–and if a reporter asks something too personal or invasive (e.g., “Is there anything else about yourself that we should know?”), then just say no!
It’s important to prepare for media interviews and be ready to respond to journalists’ questions as best as you can
- Prepare by researching the media outlet.
- Prepare by researching the journalist.
- Prepare by knowing what you want to say.
- Prepare by knowing how you want to say it in your own words and not from a script or other person’s words, because they may not be able to help with that during an interview with a reporter or editor who is working at their job full-time and has no time for questions like yours (which was probably never their intention). There’s no need for this pressure! You should feel free as much as possible during these types of interviews because journalists do not expect any answers from reporters themselves; rather, they’re there only for information about current events and trends surrounding issues within society at large that affect everyone–and yes even those who aren’t paying attention will still be affected by them somehow (even if just emotionally).
Conclusion
In conclusion, we hope that this article has provided some useful tips for answering questions from journalists. Remember that there will always be some degree of flexibility when dealing with the media, so don’t feel like you have to answer every question asked or everything is going wrong if you do not have all your planned answers lined up beforehand. For example, if someone asks “Why did you come out today?” while they’re filming an interview with a transgender person (who may not want their gender identity revealed), it’s probably best not to mention it unless asked directly by the interviewer again later on during the interview itself (which might happen if they’re trying to get more information about how trans people feel about coming out publicly). But at other times when possible–like in situations where people are being interviewed separately without any one person knowing what others will say until after those statements have been made public–it’s fine to share personal stories regarding coming out as transgender or any other marginalized identities