Your First Interview. A GigSmacked Guide.
The excitement and anticipation of your first interview is hard to describe so here’s how you make the most of the opportunity and ensure that your first isn’t your last.
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The first time I got the call that I was going to be on television I thought they must have mixed me up with somebody else. I called every relative I could think of! It was an early (way too early) morning interview for a popular Montreal morning news show and for some reason I thought the interviewers would tell me what to do. Mistake. The interview went okay, so ‘okay’ that I burned the footage. I was unprepared. You won’t have to worry about that because GigSmacked is hooking you up with the good stuff.
Whether it’s television, radio or over the phone doing interviews is a daunting task because you never know what to expect. If you have a good publicist (Keith Sherman & Associates handled my show, I highly recommend them) it can be smooth and painless. But not everyone can afford a publicist and what if your publicist sucks? Here’s how to prevent getting caught with your pants down when it comes to your big day:
1. Ask for the questions in advance. This mostly applies to print media but it’s worth a try for tv and radio. If they balk at this then watch or listen to a previous broadcast of whatever station you’re about to interview with. This will give you an idea of the flavor of their show.
2. Get plenty of sleep the night before. Interviews especially TV can sometimes be VERY EARLY. Performers like to party, and nobody’s knocking it. But remember that your first responsibility is to your gig. It does you no good to show up for a BBC talk show looking like death warmed over expecting them to ‘understand’. Beware of the power of editing. They can make you disappear and nobody will know your interview existed.
3. Listen. This will prevent you from saying ‘um’, ‘uh’, and other things that make us sound like Cro-Magnon man. Don’t feel like you have to answer every question right away but on the other hand don’t give it a Forrest Gump pause. Listen to the question, think about the SHORTEST ANSWER possible and then let it rip as you stay on the subject. If the interviewer wants to hear more they’ll elaborate. Less is more.
4. If your gig is more than one person (a band, theatre troupe etc) get together and rehearse some questions in the mirror the day before the interview. Just make up a list of questions. If you can, record it and play it back. You’ll be surprised to see how your chemistry comes across on camera and you may decide that not all of you should speak.
5. Just be yourself. You got this interview because you have something unique and interesting to offer the audience. Don’t use words you don’t know the meaning of in an effort to sound intelligent. In the internet and social media age EVERYTHING you say exists online forever so let’s prevent the grandkids from asking you why you screwed the pooch on national television.
p.s. Don’t forget to promote your show or event during the interview! Television and radio are designed for short attention span. The quickest way to promote your gig? By quoting your website.
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If you don’t have a website get one. It’s 2010.
Got a good interview story or something to add? We want to hear from you. Leave us a comment about your experience. Share,Tweet, and spread this post! Facebook is cool too.
As someone who has CONDUCTED interviews with countless performers, I strongly discourage anyone from asking for the questions in advance. The only people who have the nerve to do this are A-listers currently though through some sort of scandal, and even then journalists often won’t comply. If you try pulling this, you’ll come across as either clueless or a diva.
My interview guide for comedians, which can translate to any type of performer: http://www.third-beat.com/?p=930
Thanks for the tip Sharilyn, looks like we both have a lot of experience under our belts. Great to hear it from someone like yourself who has obviously paid the dues and knows the game. I disagree with the ‘you’ll come across as clueless or a diva’ analogy. Like anything else there is a professional and unprofessional way to do things. You can come off as clueless or a diva for any number of things: complaining about the advertising or questioning the monitor mix during sound check. Anything can rub people the wrong way if it is not handled constructively. Tact is crucial whether you’re an A-lister or not. The moral of the story here is that not one method will work for every journalist because as we’ve discovered in our careers every journalist is just as different as every actor/comic/musician/band/singer out there. The great thing about your comment (and hopefully GigSmacked) is the invaluable guidance we can provide from our experiences while reminding actors that the responsibility lies with them to be as prepared as possible. Thanks again for commenting and we hope to hear from you again! -Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com