Hey, it happens to the best of us. You’re smart, everyone likes you, but you get on camera and come across like the biggest misinformed jerk on the planet. Here are a few tips to make sure you aren’t the next Billy Bob:
1. Practice a ten second product pitch that everyone can understand. This isn’t a sales pitch, this is the quick way of explaining your product. Pandora’s, for example, is “a music discovery engine.” You can get into the details later - the goal for the first ten seconds is to get the viewer interested enough to watch the rest of your interview.
2. Know what your company is announcing – the media gets copies of all press releases, so if they do their homework, they’ll assume this is what you want to talk about. If they don’t do their homework, you’ll have to be ready to jump in with it.
3. Be prepared to talk about the state of your industry. Know how your company fits into the landscape and what the current issues are. No surprises here, the two standard topics that come up lately are the economic downturn and green initiatives within your company.
4. Have something ready to drop about what’s next. This is your chance to prove you are a thought-leader. If you’ve got Nostradamus-type skills, share them, but a simple, “Within the next year, I would love to see...” is good enough to get people thinking.
5. Let your personality and passion shine through. You’re representing your company because you love it, right? Let us see that. You don’t have to be funny (although, it helps) you just have to be passionate.
Put these tips together and you’ve got a solid start for nailing an interview. Remember, these tips are for on-camera only. Tips for in-person or over-the-phone interviews are drastically different, as what you say can often be misconstrued. Hope to interview you soon. :)
