Well, wouldn’t you know it. No sooner do I declare my plan for enhancing interview performance than an opportunity appears. I had a phone message from the local TV station asking if they could interview me for a piece on the posters. After checking again with my supervisor (very supportive) I said yes.
However, unlike in my ideal situation, I had only a bit of time between intense meetings to prepare. I went back to my blog post and got to it. I wrote out the main messages I wanted to share; reviewed the feedback on facebook and wrote out responses; and consulted with experts. Specifically, I spoke with someone in Aboriginal Programs and Services about how to appropriately reference the posters in terms of being on Aboriginal land. I also spoke with someone in public affairs about what to say and how to say it. He proposed a few questions and points to consider, which I did.
The actual interview took about 5 minutes. It was rapid-fire. It was hard to keep my points in my head with the speed of the questions but I felt pretty good about my responses.
The segment aired tonight. It wasn’t bad. There wasn’t the problematic angle I had feared. They had quotes from diverse people which all seemed relevant. They included 2 soundbytes from me, both of which were reasonable.
In the end, I concluded that I prefer radio to TV interviews – or, at least, live to pre-recorded. I don’t enjoy soundbytes and being part of someone else’s framing of the situation. In a live interview there’s the possibility of shaping the narrative and conditioning your remarks, something you can’t do if someone else is editing out what they want.
Overall grade for the experience: B