How to Nail an In-Studio Interview: A Comprehensive Guide
Interviews are often the most direct way that a brand can speak to its audience. They provide journalists and their viewers with credible, captivating content while giving you a stage to literally voice your most critical messages. This means that in-studio interviews are an immense public relations opportunity that should never be overlooked. It also means that “getting it right” can be the difference between a resounding triumph and a very public disaster.
Fortunately, the method behind a successful media interview has been tried, tested, and tried again over the decades by dedicated public relations professionals. Learning from the successes and failures of others is all that’s left for the aspiring interviewee to do. What follows is a comprehensive guide to preparing, delivering, and following up on a media interview with professionalism and purpose.
Part One: Preparing for the Interview
The first step is deciding whether you should pursue a given interview in the first place. You can do this by researching the media outlet in question to determine whether their target audience and their approach to your topic or industry aligns with your own communication objectives. If not, the interview is not worth your time. You should also clarify key parameters like time, place, and scope of discussion as soon as you accept the interview to avoid potential confusion down the line.
With these details in place you can start building a message map. You should first scour your records for past brand communications—blogs, press releases, other interviews, etc.—that address the same topic to ensure consistency. Listing thorough answers for all the “tough questions” you can think of will also provide you with much-needed material. Finally, you should write down three to five key messages in clear, quotable language with concise proof points to support each one. Articulating these messages will be your objective during the interview.
Part Two: Delivering the Interview
The most important part of delivering an effective interview is presenting yourself in a composed and professional manner; if you cannot hold the respect of your audience, your message will always land on deaf ears. This means dressing well, maintaining a calm and conversational tone, speaking at a moderate pitch and pace, maintaining a relaxed posture, and never becoming frantic or frustrated when the interview takes an unexpected turn. You should remind yourself that you may always ask for clarification and that it is best to recognize when you do not know an answer. Practicing with people whose feedback you trust—media professionals, ideally—is the best way to learn these skills.
Next, you should know how to steer an interview toward your key messages. Four verbal tools can help you in this effort:
Headlining: Begin an answer by listing all the key points you are going to make, then go back to elaborate on them one by one. This way the audience is guaranteed to hear each of your points even if you get sidetracked by the interviewer midway through.
Bridging: Shift from the question you are asked to the message you are there to deliver. You may say, “That’s a fair point, but what’s really important here is…”
Flagging: Emphasize your key messages with phrases like “The key thing to remember is…”
Repetition: Well-placed, sparing use of repetition will reinforce your message in the audience’s mind. Caution is advised; too much repetition can sound very unnatural.
These methods should become second nature to help you maintain control of the interview in a smooth and courteous manner.
Part Three: Following Up on the Interview
The work does not end when the cameras stop rolling. Effective thought leaders must always be building relationships and amplifying their message where they can. This means thanking journalists after the interview, either in a private note or publicly via your company’s social media channels. Also be sure to deliver any additional data, quotes, or resources you may have promised during a non-live interview promptly and completely.
If the interview is posted at a permanent web address, such as the outlet’s website or YouTube channel, you should share the link through all your available channels to maximize exposure to your audience. Do not repost full videos unless expressly permitted; sending traffic to the outlet protects against copyright infringement and earns goodwill with the journalists.
Bottom Line
An in-studio interview is an opportunity to further your brand. Every step of the process—from accepting the right invitation to sharing the end product—should thus be aligned with that objective. The result will not only be an effective platform for sharing your most important messages, but a stepping stone to becoming more trusted and recognized as a leader in your industry.
Be sure to check out our other blogs on useful and interesting public relations topics, like the most prevalent myths about optimizing for AI citations.