In yesterday’s post, I offered 7 tips for prepping for TV and radio talk show appearances. Creating top-notch soundbites is one of the most important interview-prep techniques.
News flash!
If you’re an author, the viewers/listeners don’t care about the plot/content of your book. They care about being entertained. They care about learning something they can use.

Slant your soundbites towards a news / controversy / entertainment angle. If you’re a fiction author, deliver soundbites related to your book’s theme. Your soundbites must be:

1. Brief
2. Anecdotal
3. Entertaining (they elicit an emotional reaction in the listener/viewer)
4. Practical (they offer something the viewer/listener can use)

1. Brief. Nervous energy inflicts many of us with diarrhea of the mouth. Keep your responses short and pointed.

2. Anecdotal. Avoid saying, “In my book…” This puts the focus on you and your book’s content. Keep the focus on the listener/viewer and on issues of interest to them.

If the host asks about something specific from your book (which they almost always do), it’s fine to respond with an anecdote from your book. For example, the host of the show I was on remarked, “In your book, The Adoption Decision, you mention that your family is involved in an open adoption. Are you ever fearful that your son will like his birth family better than you and want to go live with them?”

This question wasn’t on the list my publicist submitted to the show, so I responded off-the-cuff. I explained how my son and his birth mom are planning his annual “birthday bash, ice cream dash, mall madness get-together.” My anecdote was current, relevant to the question, and showed (rather than told) of my experience with and comfort level with open adoption. As I told the story, I mentally planned my response to the controversial issue the host introduced with his question: fear of openness in adoption.

3. Entertaining. I added humor to my response, saying, “My son’s 16. Of course he’d rather go live with his birth mom than with my husband and me.” Anyone who parents a teenager can relate to a teen who complains that they’d rather live with someone who’s more fun than Mom and Dad.

4. Practical. I followed up my anecdote by addressing the underlying issue: adoptive parents are often fearful about openness in adoption. To assuage fears, I offered a couple of tips for how adoptive and birth family members can negotiate relationships in open adoption.

My entire response (which was my lengthiest—and completely unrehearsed—soundbite) took less than a minute.

As you plan your soundbites, entertain the viewers through storytelling. People connect emotionally with stories and they’ll remember you better if you tell stories well. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll go out and buy your book.

Tags: HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, interview prep, Media Interviews, radio interviews, soundbites, TV interviews