In a media interview, just as in day-to-day life, pleasantries are natural and just being polite, so why should we try to avoid them in the context of getting your message across?
With TV, radio, and any other media interviews that take place, there is very limited time with how long you can be on-air and having the discussion. Sometimes this can be as short as two and a half minutes, so having 30-40 seconds to say hello and normal pleasantries are heavily eating into your time.
If you are able to skip a lot of these pleasantries, and skip them without looking rude, then you have more time to get across your message, and everything you want to say—every second counts.
Every Second Counts
Another good reason is that it just isn’t as interesting to the public. As much as it is the polite thing to do, it isn’t something they need to see or listen to. With it not being of much interest, you can find that it has the public switching off mentally to what you are saying before you have even started getting your message across. This is even more likely to happen during radio interviews as people normally have the radio on while doing something else. You want to be able to entice them and get them interested in what you have to say from the onset and throughout.
How to Move on Well
When interviewers start up, they will normally thank you for being on the show and ask a question related to why you are on. This could be something like, “Good morning, thank you for being on the show, so you are starring in a theatre show across the UK. Where are you starting out?” Instead of replying with “Good Morning” and “Thank you for having me,” simply go straight into answering the question and expanding further on it. This could be, for example, by saying, “Yes, the show Moulin Rouge will be all over the UK, we are starting in London as well as visiting Blackpool, Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester. We also will be offering an online version of the show for people who aren’t able to get tickets”. By doing this, you are saving time, answering the question, as well as offering up more information to keep the conversation going.
Keep the Flow
If you still feel the need to offer some form of pleasantry, a simple and quick “Thank you” before continuing with getting your message across shows your response and helps transition you into the conversation where you can get across everything you need to. Keep it a nice flow, don’t rush to get things out quickly as people may not pick up on what you are saying.
We cover these tactics and so many more in our in-depth media training available in person (when allowed) and online. So talk to the Hawkeye Media Training team today about doing better in your media interviews and making every second count!