Here’s the situation: You are being interviewed by a TV reporter for an edited interview that will air later. You make one of your key points, but it just didn’t come out as smoothly or clearly as you want. So you have a choice. Do you
- Keep going, while secretly kicking yourself for bungling your best messages and sound bites? or
- Say to the reporter “Let me do that over…” and then say your same point again, but in a better way?
Most people being interviewed always pick option A. However, Option B is far preferable for most people in most situations. Of course, if you are a politician and you say something stupid, you can’t just expect the reporter to use your cleaned up version. And this solution doesn’t work on live TV. But there is nothing wrong with asking for a do-over in most recorded situations. Not only will the TV reporter not mind, he/she will likely appreciate you trying to do a better job and making your key points more understandable and more memorable.
This is yet another example of how talking to a reporter isn’t exactly like having a normal conversation. It’s different because of the editing process. But if you know the rules, you can use some of these differences to your advantage.
If you are looking to rehearse for an upcoming TV interview, please call me, TJ Walker, at 212.764.4955. At Media Training Worldwide, we help people get prepared for any type of media interview.