You are reading Part 2 of 7 in this series. What is Advice for Scientists?
Television interviews can feel particularly intimidating, especially when they’re live. But as with any interview, preparation can keep you on track.
Before you agree to the interview, ask your own questions.
- Ask whether the interview is live, meaning it will be broadcast in real-time, or prerecorded, meaning it will be recorded ahead of time and broadcast later.
- Taped interviews can be edited or not. An edited interview might involve dropping individual soundbites or quotes into the context of a larger story, while an unedited interview will air your entire conversation with a reporter.
- Make sure you know what the story is about. Stories about current or local events related to your field of research are much more common than a conversation about your most recent publication.
Many interviews now take place via video conferencing, so plan your set up in advance.
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Make sure you’re in a position you’d be comfortable staying in for half an hour.
- Face a sunny window or place a light behind your computer to illuminate your face.
- Set your camera at eye level, which may mean stacking books or boxes under your computer, and make eye contact with it. Leave some room in the frame under your chin so the TV station can add your name and title or other text below your face, and some room above your head.
- Check your wifi connection, and use the HD video setting if bandwidth allows.
- Find a background that’s simple and uncluttered. Virtual or blurred backgrounds can lower your video and audio quality.
- If you’re in studio, always assume that mics and cameras are on and everything is on the record.
Make sure that what you’re saying is quotable in the final story.
- Speak in self-contained, 1- to 2-sentence soundbites. Don’t refer back to something you said at the beginning of the interview, because the reporter can’t include this unless they also include the earlier quote. Provide context each time you speak, even if it feels repetitive.
- Start your response by repeating the gist of the question. Not only does this make it easier to drop the quote into the story, but it buys you a few seconds to think.
- Be aware of your favorite filler words and try to eliminate them. Being prepared is your strongest defense against “ums” and “uhs”. Pausing is okay too, even in live interviews!
- Be aware of your physical tics. Try to keep your hands out of view and your head still.
Sticky situations will come up, but you can handle them.
- Everyone misspeaks from time to time. If you’re doing a prerecorded, edited interview, you can always ask to start an answer again. Reporters are under no obligation to ignore your first take, but they typically also want to get the best quotes possible.
- If you misspeak during a live or unedited interview, you can still say “I’m sorry, I misspoke. What is actually the case is…” It’s better to correct yourself in the moment than attempt damage control later.
- If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so. If an interview is prerecorded, offer to look up the answer and get back to the reporter.
- If a reporter asks a question based on a false premise, they’re probably genuinely misinformed, not trying to trap you. Say something like “Actually, that’s not quite true. What research shows is…” and then share what is
Don’t take it personally if you’re only featured for a sentence or two in the final story.
- TV news segments are often under two minutes. But your conversation could have driven the direction of the story, so your impact can be greater than your screen time.
Further reading: what to wear for a broadcast interview and examples of good and bad interviews
