I was dreaming. I was eating Carnitas. They were very good Carnitas. The waitress was about to bring me another heaping plate of deliciously fatty, artery-clogging Carnitas when I heard tom-toms. The drums had a driving beat that if you weren't dreaming; the sound would make you want to murder someone to make them stop. You might even devise a hideous homicidal act in your head that, though you would never carry it out, would make you feel immensely better (I need therapy).
I wasn't dreaming anymore.
At 9:00 am, the two teenage boys across the alley were washing the family's car. They pulled the car out into the middle of the alley so its rear was only, COUNT THEM, inches from our bedroom window. They had the windows rolled up so they could, with much loud merriment and raucous gaiety, wash the car. They also had the car's radio turned up so high I am sure everyone within 4 miles could sing along. The song was something like "Aztec Music Hit Parade To Make a Human Sacrifice By" or "Sharpen Those Obsidian Knives, We're Going To War" or something similar. The music was, and I am sure you get it, so primitively pounding that it even made my wife turn to me in the bed and say, "Are you sure we can't kill them for this?" To which I responded, "No. But, this makes me want to go out and at the very least kill a pig and sacrifice it to appease a Vengeful God."
Mexicans have got to be genetically different from Gringos. I mean that in the nicest sort of way.
The only possible way of explaining the obsession with the volume at which they can tolerate music has got to be in their genetic makeup. It has just got to be so.
I've written about this before. You are walking down the narrow, built-for-burros streets in Guanajuato when you happen upon a small boutique or store that is just opening or having a sale. In either case, the Mexicans always think they have to find absolutely the largest amplifying speakers on the face of the earth--and they do--to announce their sale or store opening with music so loud, coming out of speakers the size of mini-SUV's, you can repel tank fire with the sound waves. And, here is the deal: If you wanted to walk into their store, you couldn't! The music creates a force field of Starship Enterprise magnitude. You would simply bounce off the invisible sonic shield that fills the doorway. At the very least, you would get a cacophony-induced brain tumor trying to get into the store.
When I say, "speakers the size of a small car," I am not joking. The only other time in my life I've ever seen amplifiers of this size was in Dallas, Texas, at an outdoor concert. These, of course, were used to saturate a concert field the size of the Orange Bowl, but I have seen these size speakers in small Mexican Barrios that have got the be the direct cause of building collapses.
Many years ago there was house here that fell off a mountain. Now, I don't have any proof, and it was officially blamed on the rainy season, but did anyone, I want to know, check out the loudspeakers in the Barrio to see if they all had the volume on "Kill Setting?"
That's all I am saying!
Television interviews are, by far, the trickiest of all press encounters but they can also be the most rewarding in terms of your public relations efforts. Welcome the opportunity to appear on TV, and be prepared. By remembering a few rules and practicing, anyone can look and sound big on the little screen.
Generally there are three types of television interviews.
Recorded: Your interview will be aired in its entirety or will be cut up into smaller sound bites for part of a larger story. Recording ' and editing later -- enables the reporter to ask the same question over again if he stumbles over his words. You can do the same with your answer. The best thing to remember here is that if you start an answer and flub it after a couple of words, simply stop and start over. If they are just going to use a sound bite, the reporter is not likely to air your mistake.
Live in studio: You are being interviewed in a setting in which you are with other people in the room and can interact with them as if it were just a normal conversation. This is probably the most comfortable of the three formats.
Live on location: You are alone in a studio facing nothing but a camera because you are in a remote location, away from the main studio where the interviewer is located. You can hear, but not see the interviewer. Look straight into the camera the entire time (but don't glare), just as though it were an interviewer. If you look away, you'll seem distracted and aloof. Keep looking at the camera until the technician in the studio says you are off the air.
With some exceptions, there is little room for asking in-depth questions that require in-depth answers. So how do you get your story right? Make sure the reporter is well briefed on the subject. TV reporters often have to cover a wide range of topics. The better informed they are, the better questions they will ask and the better the interview will go. You don't want a reporter asking, "So, what does your business do?" Better to get a question like, "After 20 years in the business, what trends do you see for the next year or so?" Schedule a background phone call before the interview, if possible, to cover all of the basic information with the reporter.
Here are some rules to remember when doing a television interview:
· Before you do a broadcast interview, make sure you have all of the details. Who is doing the interview? Will it be a panel interview on a particular topic or will your executive have the camera and/or mic to himself? Know the show format and the names of other guests who will be on before you.
· Memorize your message points. Don't look at your notes. Repeat messages two or three times naturally during the conversation so the interviewer can choose the best versions of sound bites.
· Sit slightly forward in an upright, non-swivel chair with arms.
· Men: Wear dark suits with off-white or blue shirts. Avoid "busy" ties. Sit on the bottom of your suit jacket so the shoulders do not ride up. · Men: Don't refuse makeup. A little powder on the forehead will keep you from looking like a lighthouse. Bring an electric shaver to erase your five o'clock shadow. Wear socks that go up to your calf so your ankles don't show.
· Women: Avoid large, shiny, dangling, or otherwise distracting jewelry. Avoid "busy" clothing patterns. Colors are fine.
· Be visual. Do the interview at your place of business, if appropriate. Even better, if you have a factory floor, a control room, or some other kind of high visual, use that as the backdrop. · Bring a prop—your product or some other object to illustrate your point.
· Talk directly to the interviewer. The camera and microphone will find you. Maintain eye contact.
· Gesture with your hands where appropriate.
· Be personable and open. Smile when appropriate.
Television interviews generally are as much about style as substance, so HOW you look is important. More than 90% of communication is nonverbal, so the way you carry yourself, the way you dress, your gestures, and your facial expressions are critically important. Unless you are a bank loan officer or a DMV clerk, the human face is capable of about 10,000 distinct expressions. There's an old adage that television adds 10 pounds to anyone's appearance. I think it really depends on how many jelly doughnuts you eat in the green room before the broadcast. Maybe the camera does give you a slightly wider appearance, but how you look depends more on your posture, your face, your gestures, and the way in which you dress.
Hit your messages, remember your appearance, be engaged in the interview and you'll be great! Good luck.
Both Douglas Bower & Robert Deigh are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Robert Deigh has sinced written about articles on various topics from Life Insurance Annuity, Email Advertising and Humour. Robert Deigh is the author of the new PR book,"How Come No One Knows About Us?"(WBusinessBooks). For a free full chapter, "16 Ways to Come Up With Story Ideas That Will Attract Press," contact rdeigh1@aol.com. Robert Deigh's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.