This week I’m going to be trying some new things.
One thing I’m going to do is practice doing live interviews. I’m not a fan of live interviews, I have to admit. I remember from my journalism years how easy it is to get flustered and for journalists to take things out of context.
My last phone interview was so-so. For one thing, I hate phones with a passion. If I have to be on a phone, I’m usually texting, not talking. For another, I don’t think the interviewer was exactly the most seasoned person on the news or entertainment desk. One of her questions was: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” and another was “What’s been your biggest accomplishment?” She sounded like she was reciting the questions she’d been asked for her job interview. So my answers were “writing” and “getting published.” I just couldn’t tell what she wanted from me.
My interview tomorrow looks to be a lot more thorough. I don’t want to be stammering my way through it. I started thinking about Presidential press conferences and how they usually stay on the topic the President wants to talk about. No matter how the questions starts out, it ends up on his talking points.
I’m going to make some note cards with some likely questions (frequently there is some overlap with interview questions—understandably.) I’m going to pen some succinct answers. I hate going “uh-uh-uh” on the phone.
Along these same lines is a radio show (podcast) I’ll be doing in a month or so. My reservations about that is that it’s live so any stupidity of mine will run, unedited. Also—my Southern accent. I do drawl, but it’s not remotely heavy…to me, anyway. But on the answering machine and other times when I hear my voice recorded, I can tell it’s thicker than I think. Those automated customer service reps? The bots never understand me.
My practice for that will be similar to the phone interview. I’m going to come up with my very own set of talking points. I’ll be a lot less nervous if I’m prepared, after all. And if I’m not nervous, I can stray off-topic and I’ll be fine and dandy. It’s just when I’m not prepared that I’m a wreck.
I’m also playing around with new schedules for my writing—I’m vetting a different schedule each day. Yesterday I decided I’d get all the ordinary household stuff out of the way first—it’s necessary, after all, and some days it hangs over me while I write. So I did laundry, made doctor appointment phone calls, sent off bill payments, etc. first. Then I did blog stuff, then I wrote. Pros—I felt like I’d accomplished a lot in an hour’s time. I was energized after running around the house and it translated into my writing. Cons—I didn’t start writing until 10ish. That’s late for me.
Today I’m going to try something different and see how it goes. I never know how my little experiments are going to go, but I’m willing to try anything that might work with my problem areas (phone and live interviews, and my busy schedule.)
Great tips for a phone interview. Is it possible to ask ahead for the questions or to give them a few “standard” questions? With their busy schedules, they may appreciate not having to “think” of questions to ask. Just curious!
Hope you can come up with a schedule that works! I’m working on that too!
All the best, Elizabeth. Your tomorrow is my today, isn’t it? 9/9/9 – you’ll rock.
I hate phone interviews with a fervor- how do you communicate without non verbal cues?
Take a few deep breaths, Elizabeth. I’m sure you’ll do great!
Good luck, Elizabeth! Having talking points ready is a positive step. Don’t worry about the drawl…you write southern fiction, ya? Consider it a part of your charm! :)
I just received your Myrtle Clover mystery in the mail…guess what I’ll be doing later?
Knock their socks off!
I can’t really imagine you botching an interview. You’ll do fine.
And I know what you mean about having stuff hanging over your head while trying to write. If I have something to do, say the room is too messy, I sometimes have to stop writing and make it presentable before I can continue. Otherwise, it’s always in the back of my mind and I can’t fully concentrate.
Oh, and if you’re still nervous about the live interviews, have a Guinness beforehand. Or two, or several. Not only will this take the fear away, but it could make things increasingly interesting for the audience. ;0)
HI Elizabeth,
As a former PR person who trained clients for media interviews, I can tell you you’ve hit on exactly the right thing to do for your interview. Brainstorm with yourself the questions you think they might ask. Then come up with brief, succinct answers. What is it you want people to know about you, your writing process, and your books? You are such a consummate professional, you’ll be fine, I just know it.
P.S. I finished “Pretty is as Pretty Dies” yesterday and just fell in love with Myrtle. I’m going to give it to my mother-in-law to read. It’s just delightful.
karen
Can’t wait to hear how it goes. It’s been a long time since I was interviewed (for my music) and I didn’t mind the interview, but despised the print interpretation. Relax and have fun. And be grateful someone wants to interview you about your writing!
Phone interviews can be nerve-racking beforehand, but remember that the journalist is a writer too. Ask her (or him) a few quesitons. For instance: ask if she (or he) has aspirations to write a mystery, too! If you can establish a human give-and-take with the journalist, you’ll have a much better interview and a much better time. Enjoy it! (I write this as a former journalist. In fact, it’s the reporter’s job to make YOU feel comfortable and at east with opening up. Unfortunately, not every young reporter gets that memo. But that’s our world today. You have to be ready to improvise with whatever is thrown your way. And from what I can tell, Elizabeth, you are among the most skilled improvisers on the planet! Good luck and have fun!
~Cleo
author of The Coffehouse Mysteries
Coffeehouse Mystery.com
“Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”
Cleo Coyle on Twitter
You’ve got the right approach, in my opinion. Figure out the questions and then prepare written answers. That way you sound bright and witty and no one knows you’re reading from a text! The trick is to keep the interview going where you want it to go and not to let it get off on some strange tangent where you find yourself talking about how to get that floor shiny clean or something equally strange.
I’ve did quite a few phone interviews back when I was directing in the theatre. I went into each knowing there were certain points that had to be made and tried to ensure that they were. Sound friendly, approachable but professional. I was usually kidded (if I was heard) that I had my ‘professional voice’ on. Not such a bad thing.
You’re prepared. Don’t talk too fast and you’ll be great – as I’m sure you know.
Elspeth
I’m currently going through practicing interviews myself. I enlisted a group of friends to interview me, and I record the interviews and then send them out to the same group of friends for feedback. I’m fortunate that among that group, there are a couple of people who have done or are doing this professionally, and the feedback, and the practice, has been invaluable. I was beyond nervous for the first one and rambled my way through it. I wrote down some talking points for the second one, and did much better. Then I learned about redirecting questions I didn’t particularly care for to get back to the points I was trying to make, and actually applied that reasonably gracefully in the third one. I still need a LOT of practice, and I’ve got my fourth one coming up this afternoon!
I feel like I go brain dead when I’m interviewed via a telephone and only think of something brilliant to say the moment I hang up. I like your idea of talking points and note cards. I’ll try that next time.
An interview technique I read about was, when asked a question you don’t like—for whatever reason—give it the briefest of oblique answers, then turn it–through segue–into something you do want to talk about. Just keep talking. I don’t have a good example, but as a journalist you may have heard of seen this technique used. Basically, you end up leading the interviewer where you want to go…it’s probably pretty easy to do with a weak interviewer, tougher with someone practiced and skilled at conducting interviews. Of course, in that case, you don’t really need to do much of it. Wishing you the best, while knowing you’ll do really well.
Best Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
Rayna–It’s at ten AM 9-10. Thanks for the well-wishes!
Jody–Sometimes I can get away with sending them a standard interview from my press kit (that I actually wrote.) Not this time, apparently. Sigh. For the podcast, I’m definitely going to ask for the questions in advance. After all, it’s not like I’m a politician or anything…no need to catch me off-guard.
Thanks, Alan!
Cleo–You’ve got a ton of experience doing this type thing (you’ve got 10 books on the shelves? And 3 coming out soon?). Good tip about engaging in conversation before the interview. Redirecting sounds like a great idea. Thank you!!
Thanks, Stacy! Hope you enjoy it. It’s true I’m writing regional fiction, so maybe it won’t be so bad. As long as I can be understood! Maybe I should practice enunciation, too.
Jack–It’s funny how the clutter can get intrusive, isn’t it?
And, yes, Guinness makes it all better! But not, I believe at 10 a.m. :)
Karen–I appreciate that so much! I love it when people love Myrtle, despite her many obvious faults.
And I really appreciate your tips. I need to figure out what I want to convey (you’d think I’d know, but I really don’t) and then try to put that across on the phone. Thanks!
Jane–But you did well on the television interview posted on your site. I thought the interviewer came off as a light-weight and you sounded like the seasoned pro.
Galen–You’re right–good point. It’s a twisty thing to curve back around to their talking points. They use segues like “And, like I was saying” and “This reminds me that…” to get back to their points.
Debra–Thanks for the good wishes!I’ll be sure to say how it went tomorrow.
Good luck with your phone interview. You’ll do just fine. As Elspeth said, don’t talk too fast. That’s the biggest mistake people make, blurting something out without taking a moment to ponder their response.
Stephen Tremp
Elizabeth, I just wanted to point out that the fact of people WANTING to interview you is a wonderful sign of success–so CONGRATULATIONS!
That said–I share your hatred of phones. I despise them (I’m the only person I know who doesn’t carry a cell). I think your strategy of talking points is excellent. It reminds me a little of studying for college history exams–you get a list of 20 possible questions, from which you’ll get 5. The trick is to figure out how they connect and write GREAT answers that can be connected by by a simple line or two to ANY of the questions.
I’m sure you can do it (and that everyone will understand you!) And I figure they can only get easier with practice, yes? So good luck and have fun!
I’d definitely recommend coming up with questions you would want to answer, then writing up answers. Then keep your notes handy so you can easily find them during the phone interview. If you get asked a “stupid” question, answer shortly and politely, then segue into one of your prepared answers so you get across what you want to say. Watch celebrities on TV – they do that all the time.
And line up as many interviews as you can. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. If you’re doing an on-camera interview, be sure to bring your book. Even if you sent the interviewer a copy ahead of time, bring yours so you’re sure you’ll have one to show.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Good luck with the interview – sounds like you’ll be prepped and ready to go. Just remember to breathe :)
Telephone interviews make me very uncomfortable, so I’ve only done a couple of them. As a matter of fact, I really hate talking on the phone at all. Must be that thing Rayna mentioned about the absence of visual clues. Without the interviewer’s facial expressions and body language, I can’t evaluate how I’m doing. I’ll be interested in hearing how it goes for you. Maybe I’ll get brave and try again.
I’m messing around with my schedule the same way right now! I feel guilty if I don’t get my housework done.
Keeps us up to date on the podcast. I listen to them every morning when I’m walking the dog.
I am camera shy, microphone shy, the works. I wish you well.
Great tips! Sounds to me like you’re a good thinker-on-your-feeter! lol
Marvin D Wilson
Elspeth–Another of my problems is not knowing when I’m on the record and when I’m just chatting with the interviewer. Because I’ve seen my chat topics used in articles before and was really appalled (first book, a few years back.) Because I really might have some shiny floor stuff in there….that could be what I was doing when the phone rang. Or the dog could be going berserk or the UPS man ringing my bell (happens a lot), or the smoke detector could be going off (seems to have a short…)
Stephen–Well, and that’s something else. I need to think before I say anything. Maybe I can digress a little on my book and then answer their question when I have something organized to say. Which may be a while. These people may think I’m senile, actually. Oh well.
Hart–You are so nice! Thank you. Yes, I’m sort of remembering that from college–find the common thread, utilize it. I remember that in open essays, all roads lead back to “No Exit,” which–at the time–I knew better than the palm of my hand. The common thread in all questions SHOULD be my book, not me. Or, I’d RATHER it be my book, not me. So I’ll just finagle it back around. Good point.
Ingrid–Redirection–THAT’S what I need to do. When I get into unfamiliar territory, that’s when my idiocy starts shining through. I’ll just redirect to familiar territory. It worked for Reagan, bless him.
Helen–You need to go into PR. Your series on public speaking was very good, and this is sound advice, too. Maybe a sideline on your editing? I’m glad you reminded me to prepare for a dumb question. Last time I was just *amazed* at one of the questions I’d gotten. “Uhhhhhh,” I said. I was trying to figure out if she’d REALLY asked me the stupid question, or if I’d just misheard it. This time I’ll just answer the question, as I heard it, and if they MEANT something else, I’ll let them follow up.
Elizabeth–And, as I get older, it seems like snapshots of me get worse. When I was 18, I don’t think you *could* have taken a rotten picture of me. Now, they’re all wretched.
Marvin–I thank you! :)
Jemi–Thanks! :)
Patricia– I always want to ask if I can just email the interview. Isn’t that awful? I’m not good with even in-person social cues. But I write well. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m Little Miss Cheat Sheet!
I have an interview for a job tomorrow and have practiced points. I am not sure what they will ask me so I have to imagine, since I haven’t interviewed for a job in 18 years. Whew.
I write every day, of course. I have read to not put “things” in your day before your writing. Sounds like you sort of came to that conclusion. But on the other hand, doing the same schedule all the time, makes a dull brain.
Janel–Today I tried something different with my schedule (hard-core writing first). I’ll report on it tomorrow.
I’ll let you know on the podcast. Think it’s running near Halloween.
Sometimes shaking up the schedule a bit gets you thinking a little “outside the box” and energizes things a bit. I really like your ideas for the interviews – definitely have to keep your tips in mind if I ever decide to go that route. I do not do well in that type of situation. I was the kid that always had to flee the classroom to hurl on oral bookreport day…sigh. Probably too much information. Anyway – good luck with your interviews!
Nancy, from Realms of Thought…