Each day we turn on the television and watch our local and national news.  There are stories about crime and weather, but typically the story they are promoting most heavily is a consumer piece that “You Just Don’t Want to Miss…”  Maybe it’s the new car alarm that helped save a woman’s life. Or, it’s a personal story about a young boy who had been the victim of a school bully, and his family is being featured for developing an educational product to help solve bullying issues in schools.

 

But what makes those television segments memorable enough to convince us to visit their website and actually make a purchase?  It is a magical television connection. It is the energy of an interview, when a host genuinely enjoys the time with a guest on a topic. Most importantly, it is having the audience and other media watching walk away liking the guest and being assured of the good value of the product.

 

If it could be bottled, it would be priceless. Of course, there’s no sure-fire formula. But there is an easy, three-step recipe for success. You must:

 

 

How does someone new to the media industry learn to read this recipe and prepare for an interview to ensure a magical result?  He or she receives Media Coaching from an experienced Media Coach who has worked with hundreds of clients on local and national interviews, and has years of experience producing national news programming.

 

Unlike traditional public relations where generic press releases are sent out in mass mailings, Media Coaching is a hands-on individualized approach used to create and revise your press materials, sharpen your pre-interview skills, and, most importantly, help you practice for your on camera appearances.  Working with a Media Coach can provide an insider’s view into what makes a producer want include your interview in a segment or leave it on “the cutting room floor.”

 

Of the many steps you can take, three stand out as the most critical to success: creating a plan for new product placement, creating “sound-bites” to effectively draw attention, and rehearsing your pitch so that you are most effective and confident for your on-camera interview. An experienced Media Coach can help with all three.

 

New Product Placement:  Your Media Coach will create a Media Plan and help develop story ideas, hooks, and headlines that will appeal to your target media outlets. It is not enough to send out a press release and say “I’m here!”  The story needs to be pre-packaged for the producers, so they will instantly know how to use you. Is your product a gift idea? A problem solver? Does it relate to a current news story? Along with your Media Plan, you’ll also learn how to build a Media Kit appropriate for your topic.

 

Sound-bite School:  When a producer or writer calls, your answers need to be perfectly constructed and formatted in strong “sound-bites.”  A sound-bite is a statement within an interview that stands on its own. It can be cut and used independently in promotional material or within an interview where the host’s prior question has been cut from the segment. A Media Coach will perform mock interviews to find the most natural sound-bites from your voice. This is the opposite of a hard sell or infomercial. Together, you’ll practice and polish your sound-bites so they flow as if you just thought of them. Understand that a strong pre-interview convinces a producer not only to choose you for the segment but to depend on you to fill more time. More air time can translate into more sales.

 

Confidence On-Camera:  It all comes down to three minutes.  But it should be no surprise that it takes an average of three hours to prepare for a three minute on-camera interview.  Your Media Coach should address every detail, including your wardrobe, your speech pattern, how you’ll sit in the chair, and how you’ll manipulate your props.  Via telephone or in person, your Media Coach will practice every possible question that a producer could ask based on your topic.  Together you’ll create comfortable language and segues to connect to your sound-bites and spark that powerful magical connection.  Afterwards, you can send a link or tape of the interview to your Media Coach, who will review it and point out the areas of success and opportunities for improvement. 

 

Television is the most powerful medium for building instant expert status and product endorsement.  Millions of viewers trust their television programming to bring them the most up to date stories and YOU can be one of them.

 

But do you have the flint to make the sparks fly?  Ask your Media Coach, because she’ll surely tell you the truth.

 

 

© Jamie Bright Forman, YourMediaCoach.com