Every popular businessman will have to face numerous interviews from a printing newspaper, magazine, or a tv reporter. The purpose of the print interview could be for numerous reasons –the business has achieved something very significant or overtaken their competitors, or when a new product is launched by the company, or when there is negative publicity raging over the company. It’s very crucial for business people to stay within their comfort zone to respond to the questions. One slight miscommunication could spoil the company’s reputation.
Here are few tips to deliver a successful print interview –
1. Start a conversation with the reporter
Reporters reach out to business people for an interview with an intention. It’s unfair to “assume” that they contact you to write something negative about you or the business. First, acknowledge the reporter’s request. Failing to do this might push the reporters to reach out to other companies, or to competitors. If you are amidst something or in an important meeting, respond back to them stating your situation and that you will reach out to them. Don’t forget to take note of the reporter’s name, their media company details and contact number.
2. Understand the scope of interview
Understand the purpose of the print interview and focus of the story. Again, don’t make assumptions! Get a feel of the questions and the topics that the reporter is planning to ask. You need not immediately give your consent for the interview. You can buy time from them to prepare and set the interview on a date/time that’s comfortable with you.
3. Set up the interview time and location
Fix a time and location in advance and communicate it to the reporter. Make sure there are no interruptions, phone calls. It’s important to stay calm and focused during print interviews.
4. Prepare for the interview
How well you prepare will reflect how confident and bold your answers are! If everything goes well, it could land you a major business deal or you will see a spike in your business growth. Here’s some preparation tips-
- Have a list of points that you want to convey to the public. Keep a list of success stories that will interest the readers.
- Be prepared to get questions that you’re not expecting. If you feel the answer might be a controversial one, give a general perspective and move away from the topic.
- Reporters always look to nit-pick questions from your answers. Make sure you don’t fall prey! This could get picked up and portray things in a complete different way.
- Handover supporting material ready (if available) to the reporter if they will help them when curating the article
5. Use simple language
Interviews are not for showing your English dialect skills. Keep it in simple and plain language. Avoid using jargons, synonyms and abbreviations. When required, try to educate the reporter or give them a written list of the abbreviations so that they get it right in the article. It’s always good to check if the reporter needs any clarification on the points covered.
Author: Nick Jonson is the Managing Manager of Print In London, a London based Printing Service specialising in Same day Printing London. On his free time he like to Play Football ,Blogging, Music.
