From Nerves to Natural: Mastering Your First Broadcast Interview

Being on TV or radio for an interview for the first time can be intimidating; there are the nerves, the unpredictability of how the interview will go and the general pressure to make sure you’re delivering your message clearly to the audience. It can be tough to get the right balance between messaging and conversation, but if you find the sweet spot you can boost awareness and credibility, while reaching a wide audience. With the right preparation and mindset, you can turn that first interview into a confident and memorable segment that truly showcases your expertise and the brand.

Preparation is Key

As in most of the things you do in life, preparation is key. You want to begin by having a good understanding of the show, audience and typical interview style. It wouldn’t hurt to listen in or watch the show prior to your appearance. Most shows have a playback feature available online, so it’s nice and easy to get a sense of the tone, pace, and type of questions they usually ask ahead of time.

You also want to make sure during your interview you know what you want to actually say. Identify 2 – 3 core points you want to communicate, write them down and have a think about how you may be able to incorporate them naturally without feeling overly brand forward. Alongside this, having some anecdotes or memorable stories ready to go, that will allow you to illustrate your point, can allow you to pivot more naturally.

It's also worth noting that presenters can have their own narrative and may pose some questions that you weren’t expecting. How probing these questions may be depends on the story you’ve been invited on to speak about, and what your brand is. While you’re unlikely to face anything too hard on a story about puppies, you may be a little more challenged if your story is on something more political or money based. Don’t panic though; thinking ahead to what kinds of questions these could be and practising some answers will make sure you’re feeling more prepared for the unexpected.

Master your Delivery

So you’ve got your interview slot lined up, done the prep work and now you’re about to speak to the presenter and get your message across to potentially millions of people. It feels less daunting with the work you’ve done ahead of this moment, but this is what it was all leading up to and it’s important to make sure you don’t stumble at this last hurdle. How do we make sure that your message and brand are being portrayed clearly and engagingly?

First of all, make sure you’re keeping your answers to a concise length. Now, this doesn’t mean one word answers – being asked a question and simply saying “yes” or “no” makes for a dull interview with no room for further discussion. On the other end of the spectrum, however, waffling away for 5 minutes non stop will lose audience and the presenter's interest, and muddy what you are actually trying to say. The exact length you're aiming for will differ depending on what kind of show you will be appearing on. For a chatty sofa piece, your answer can be a little longer, veering towards a minute or so. A news segment, however, especially if it’s pre-recorded, you may be better off keeping answers to shorter soundbites – aiming for around 25-30 seconds. This is when your prep work will come in, having listened or watched a few pieces ahead of time should give you a good idea of what is a usual length to an answer, and what comes across as too much. 

Another important point to remember is to speak naturally. You want to avoid overly complicated technical jargon, unless it is explicitly key to what you are speaking about. Remember, for the most part, the people listening to or watching you are normal members of the general public who aren’t going to necessarily know your company's or industry's personal vernacular. We are looking to build trust and get the public to buy into you as the expert; in order to do this, you need to sound authentic, relatable and above all, understandable. Keep the audience engaged by speaking clearly and breaking down complex ideas into simple, actionable insights.

How we speak is also important. Things like using pauses effectively to emphasise key points can really elevate your message. Keep your tone light and friendly to help listeners relate to you. Try not to get flustered if you’re thrown an unexpected question, take a breath and don’t get defensive. Presenters aren’t there, for the most part, to trip you up – they’re just trying to get the information they know their audience will want to know. And smile, even if you’re doing a radio interview. Not only does it create warmth while conveying confidence, it can improve vocal quality and help you to feel more relaxed.

Post-Interview Takeaways

You’ve finished your interview and hopefully you’re feeling pretty confident about how it’s gone. You can now take a moment to reflect and build on the experience. It could be helpful to listen back to the recording via the station’s playback service. You can reflect on what worked and what can be improved for next time. Also ask others for feedback and take it on board, to see how it came across from an outside perspective.

Don’t forget that perfecting your broadcast interview skills can take time, and with practice and guidance anyone can master clear, confident, and engaging on-air communication.

If you’re ready to put these tips into practice with expert guidance, contact us today. We’ll work with you to build skills, polish delivery, and make every media moment count.