Where did they say they were calling from?
A friend of mine was given a message at work when he came back from lunch the other day: a newspaper reporter will stop by tommorrow to ask some questions. My friend writes an occasional column in a local paper and has been interviewed a couple of times before, so he didn’t think much of it and since the colleague had confirmed that he’d be available, my friend didn’t call back.
But when he walked in the next day, there was an entire camera crew in the lobby and a reporter shoving a mike in his face. Even though he’d been preparing thoughts for an interview, the presence of the camera and all the people threw him for a loop and he certainly hadn’t dressed for a TV appearance. My friend says he was extremely nervous because it was so unexpected and worries that it will come across poorly. We haven’t seen the finished TV segment yet - fingers crossed!
Now it would be perfectly reasonable in a situation like this to explain the misunderstanding and ask for a bit of time to settle yourself and your thoughts; possibly even change some of your clothing if that’s possible. Depending on the nature of the story and the crew’s schedule, it might even be possible to reschedule, but keep in mind that you’ve indirectly committed to the interview through your colleague.
This is why it’s so important for anyone setting up an interview to make sure you have all the facts straight - it can make a huge difference if you get it wrong.
Posted: December 18th, 2006 under Guest Experiences, Location Interviews, Media Interview Preparation, TV Interview Case Studies.