ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT INTERVIEW ON TITANIC

Monday, December 1, 2014

Doing A Great Radio Interview

I just did  an interview on WGN in Chicago  and it occurred to me there are some basic rules to all radio interviews that will allow you to have a great interview.  First. You get there early. You don't want to be late ever. I would say arrive at least an hour early maybe two. Why? So you can calm down. For WGN I arrived two hours early and went to a Starbucks and then I went to Billy Goats tavern and had a burger. You  want to be relaxed and leading by a couple hours will allow you to get yourself orientated.

 My early interviews were very amped up and I talked way too fast.  I just felt I had to get it all in.
Now I just chat with the interviewer and don't worry about getting every bit of information. If the interviewer is good then he will cover you and make sure all the listeners get the vitals.
Chat with the radio host before the interview. This allows you both to get to  know each other and allows the give and take to occur that is so essential to a good interview. Really you are just having a conversation and anything that allows that conversation to come easier is good. So now the red light has just come on and you are on the air.

Don't let the red light freak you out. It happens. Especially at a big station where hundreds of thousands of people are listening. If you think about that then you might freeze. The thing to do is just focus on the host and forget about that big microphone staring you in the face. Just talk and before you know it you will be walking out of the studio with the knowledge that people have just heard a great interview.

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