How Not to Give an Interview

As I was pouring my morning coffee the other day, I caught part of an interview in the morning news. “Did I just hear what I think I heard?” I wondered.

Curious, I grabbed the remote and played the segment back.

“Why do you do this event?” the news anchor asked.

“To put our product out there. It’s a great advertising tool for us as builders.”

“What?!!” I thought. “That is the most uncustomer-focused reply that I have ever heard.”

The gentleman who was being interviewed was representing the area homebuilders in promoting their Parade of Homes. I’m certain that he did not volunteer to do this interview. Likely, he drew the short straw. Or, everyone else refused to do it, either because they were too busy or they had done it before. His unemotional tone of voice and unenthusiastic demeanor instantly proclaimed that he was only doing the interview because he had no choice.

I suspect that he won’t do it again, either. After all, he now can join the ranks of those who have done the interview before and avoid it next time.

His interview points to a very common problem with publicity: Who will give the interviews? When events get established, savvy promoters include on-air interviews in the media mix. They think that the best people to give these interviews ought to be the professionals who are involved in presenting the event. Logically, that works. That logic does not consider, however, that the skills needed to construct a home are not the same skills needed to give a good interview. In fact, these skills may have no intersection whatsoever, which this guy proved.

That does not make him bad; it makes him a bad choice to do the interview.

Whoever is being interviewed first and foremost needs to be excited about the event. He or she should be bursting with enthusiasm. Excitement and enthusiasm are catching and pique interest in viewers or listeners. This is much more important than being in a profession associated with the event.

Secondarily, the person should understand why the customer would benefit from attending the event. What’s in it for the customer to go? What will he or she learn? How will attending help the customer solve a problem?

Thirdly, the person being interviewed ought to come prepared with answers to questions. The questions should previously have been submitted to the interviewer, making that person’s job easier. These questions are a shared platform from which to conduct the interview. They highlight what is important to communicate in the interview. They require thought about how customers benefit from attending the event. Preparing the answers to these questions in advance and bringing that preparation along to the interview makes the interview effective, smooth, and easy for all concerned.

There’s an adage that 90% of life is showing up. That is not true for an interview. For an interview, 90% is preparation prior to showing up. That will enable the person being interviewed to conduct the interview from the customer’s point of view, not from the business’s point of view.

How do you conduct your interviews?