Okay, say hypothetically somebody called you today and said that a friend of theirs was making a programme for Sky and wanted to feature people like you (barmen) in the programme and you would have to meet them this week for an interview?
Would you agree and see it as a great opportunity to see yourself on TV or think it was the worst thing that could ever happen to you?
First of all ask yourself why they are interested in
you. What makes them think that
you are somehow special or newsworthy? What are they looking for?
It?s perfectly acceptable to ask them in advance what questions are going to be asked of you. You would be surprised at how few people bother to do this. Most are oblivious to the fact that journalists
always have an angle. Always try to set out the ground rules
before the interview and be prepared for those rules to be disregarded no more than three questions into the interview.
Consider carefully what, if anything,
you might want to say and give even more careful thought to how you intend to say it. Know in advance what
you want to achieve and what points
you want to get across. It?s just as important to know exactly what it is you
don?t want to say and to be prepared for seemingly innocent questions which lead you onto dodgy ground. The best way to handle this is to have a few well rehearsed non sequiturs to toss straight back before leading the interview in a direction of your own choosing.
The single most important thing to remember is that 99% of the time whatever you say will be misrepresented. What works best is to tell them to f**k off when they make their initial approach.
