How to prepare for a media interview

My top 3 tips for thriving (not just surviving) in interviews

I was literally in the middle of writing this post about handling media interviews last week when I got a call asking me to come on the radio as an interviewee.

Even as a journalist, it can be nerve-wracking doing a media interview. Whenever I do media training (teaching people how to talk to journalists), I find almost everyone is anxious at the beginning - whether they’re a senior exec in a multinational firm or a self-employed entrepreneur.

So a little bit of nerves is completely normal… but interviews shouldn’t be terrifying. They can be easy, fun (yes, really) and, most importantly, brilliant for promoting your brand and boosting your profile.

The key to feeling at ease is making sure you’re fully prepared. So, I thought I’d share my top tips for interview preparation to help you feel empowered.

I followed my own advice (unusual for me) ahead of my LBC interview last week, and found it really helped to calm my nerves and focus on what I wanted to say.

Testing out my own advice on staying calm as an interviewee…

1. Remember: You’re both human

The journalist doing the interview is a human being just like you. You both had to get up this morning, get into work, have lots of other things to juggle today and would like the interview to go as well as possible.

This may sound blindingly obvious but it’s the first thing we discuss in my media training sessions - as it’s so common for people to view journalists as “other”. Despite what you might have seen on some social media channels, we’re actually just regular people!

I find it reassuring to remember we’re all the same: doing our best at work and making mistakes sometimes. (And this is just as useful to remember as journalists when we have to interview someone we find intimidating.)

2. Be clear what your role is

In the context of an interview, both you and the journalist have two very clear roles: