Schnurmacher - Are we on yet?: insider secrets on how to be interviewed (and other essential media skills)

Copyright 2012 Tommy Schnurmacher

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, for any reason, by any means without the permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Debbie Geltner

Print and digital design: WildElement.ca

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Schnurmacher, Thomas

Are we on yet? : insider secrets on how to be interviewed (and other essential media skills) / Tommy Schnurmacher.

Electronic monograph.
Issued also in print format.

ISBN 978-0-9878317-9-8 (HTML).
ISBN 978-0-9879946-7-7 (MOBI).
ISBN 978-1-927535-03-5 (PDF)

1. Interviewing. 2. Interviewing in mass media.
3. Public relations. I. Title.

P96.I54S35 2012----659.2----C2012-904570-5

Printed and bound in Canada by Marquis Book Printer Inc.

Linda Leith Publishing Inc.
P.O. Box 322, Station Victoria, Westmount QC H3Z Canada
www.lindaleith.com

ARE WE ON YET?

Insider Secrets on
How to be Interviewed
(and other essential media skills)

TOMMY SCHNURMACHER

CONTENTS

FOREWORD
I am a Busy Talk Show Host. Why did I write this book?

Hello. How are you? I am very pleased to be here. My wonderful organization has many people and we do many important things.

Are you still with me? You still reading? Im relieved because that opening paragraph is enough to have anyone fling this book into the nearest remainder rack. One would think that no one writes like that and no one talks like that. One would be wrong.

That first paragraph has not been invented. It is what I hear when I make the mistake of interviewing guests who simply do not know how to behave during an interview. They shall remain nameless for two reasons. One, it would not be right to expose the innocent to ridicule. Two, they are really very charming and generous people who simply have no clue what to do during an interview.

Their performance on air is the main reason for this book.

Im going to let you in on a big secret.

There are many people around who are bright, smart and successful. They are passionate about what they do. It took me 15 years as a prime time radio talk-show host to come to the startling realization that something mysterious happens to these very same people as soon as they find themselves in front of a radio microphone or a TV camera.

Dedicated authors, passionate bloggers and ambitious entrepreneurs all make the same terrible mistake. They try to sound like a radio person or a TV person. Bad idea. Very bad idea. DO NOT TRY TO SOUND LIKE A RADIO OR TV PERSON . It wont work. Is there something that will work? Yes, there is. As a matter of fact, it is guaranteed to work.

You know what? I am going to hand you a fantastic tip right here right now on the first page. Dont want to look like a deer in the headlights? Dont want to sound clueless? Heres the secret technique. And let me tell you something, if you can master this, you are well on your way to the head of the class.

Forget radio. Forget TV. Forget who is the interviewer and who is the interviewee. All you have to do is pretend that the interviewer is someone who is sitting next to you on a plane. She appears to be fascinated by what you do for a living.

You just forget about the flight and have a stimulating conversation and, before you know it, the flight is over.

Thats it?

Thats it. You should have the exact same kind of conversation as you would have on that plane. Because thats all a great interview is, its a great conversation.

It seems so simple, but many people are unaware of this basic technique and of other tips that are equally simple to learn and adopt. There are too many people who give too many tedious interviews.

I am going to remedy this sad situation with the information provided in this book. Whether youre the eager beaver owner of a small business, a seasoned entrepreneur selling a product or service, a volunteer promoting a great cause, or an author promoting yourself, the simple techniques and tips outlined in this book will turn you into the guest they beg to come back.

Its one thing to land the interview, but what do you do when you get it? Most people spend hours preparing. They arrive in studio with pages and pages of handwritten notes. The younger ones arrive awash in iPods, iPads and laptops.

Is that a good idea? No, actually, its a terrible idea. A radio interview is not a high school exam, friends. You dont need gadgetry, and you dont need notes. All you really need is this book, which will make sure you can ace any interview.

The book you hold in your hand or the ebook that you have just downloaded is short and concise. Its an insiders look at what the interviewer any interviewer REALLY wants.

All interviewers have an agenda. The newspaper reporter wants information. Preferably information that no one else has. The TV reporter wants you to look good, and be entertaining, and say at least a few words that will stand out on the evening news.

The radio interviewer? He doesnt care what you look like, but he is praying you will be entertaining. If he had his druthers, he would want every word coming out of your mouth to be compelling. He it could just as well be a she wants the interview to be so gripping that a listener, late for an appointment, will nonetheless sit listening to it in his parked car because he cannot tear himself away from what you have to say.

Is that even possible?

Possible? It is downright easy as long as you know what to do and what to avoid.

Full disclaimer: If youre looking for mass media analysis and theory, youre not in the right place. This book has precious little theory. This is not a learned tome on the history of mass communications and media analysis. Some of the media training books on the market go on way too long and contain far too much information. You dont need all that information. Being interviewed is not brain surgery.

At times acerbic, but always focused, this book is filled with practical, effective and easy-to-use tips to ensure that you make the most of any interview. Filled with real-life examples, it will help you avoid all the common pitfalls.

You will have all the tools you need to promote yourself or your company with tried and true methods that will enhance your product and do justice to your brand.

I have interviewed everyone from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Dame Edna, from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to Joan Rivers, from right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart to left-wing author Naomi Klein, and from student protesters to billionaire philanthropist Seymour Schulich. And just wait till you read the sections on Catherine Deneuve, Arianna Huffington and Pulitzer prize-winning novelist Jeffrey Eugenides.

But what if youre not famous? Not to worry. You do not have to be a celebrity to become the media darling who keeps being invited back over and over again.

I could have made it much easier on myself. I could have written a book about how to conduct an interview. Just think. I would just have to cite one Oprah Winfrey interview after another. Those would be the examples of how to do it right, and I could have used Larry Kings hallmark transatlantic conversation with Lady Gaga as a dramatic illustration of what not to do. But hey, there are plenty of books out there on how to conduct an interview. But what about giving an interview? It is almost impossible to find a book that explains how to be interviewed. How to give an interview. How to excel as an interviewee.