Radio with Penguins
A few months ago, I had my first ever radio interviews on 1010 CFRB in Toronto and 800 CJAD in Montreal. Yes, I know I have a face for radio.
We were promoting a new online ticketing partnership with Anheuser Busch theme parks (i.e. SeaWorld) hence we shared the studio with penguins!
Candidly, I was nervous as each show was an hour long and also battling a brutal cold. Not the best combo when you are a 'radio-virgin' as one of the announcers put it ever so mildly.
As I was figuring out how to prepare prior to my debut, I remembered my old man worked in broadcasting so I asked for his advice. Below are the 'Eight is Enough' pointers he gave me.
Perhaps they may may be of help if you're ever on television, radio or a podcast.
(1) Make sure you have a clear objective of what you're speaking about. It is not sufficient to simply say "I want to promote my website". The objective must be more clear.
(2) Have a list of the strengths of your business clearly written down. In other words, a list of benefits you could quickly spell out without any difficulty.
(3) Be aware of improvements that need to be done vis-a-vis your business. Especially if people call in to tell you about them. What are your faults?
(4) Be aware of the general statistics about the users in your industry. You want to inform people about trends and current issues so you come off as a subject matter expert. When you are on the radio or a podcast, you can easily refer to your notes.
(5) If you do not know the answer to a question a caller is asking, do not attempt a snow job. Otherwise you could be buried under an avalanche. Tell them you do not know. Never lie.
(6) Get colleagues to grill you on the subject as a trial run. Especially on the weak points. Sometimes people do not think about the weaknesses of their product or business. This is an important exercise before going on air.
(7) When a caller asks a question, hear them out first. Better to have a pen and paper and write the question down. You will also have the host of the show doing traffic control. He/she will give you the signal to answer. Compose your thoughts before answering.
(8) Avoid answering on the defensive or negative. Even if the question is designed to illicit a negative response try to answer in a positive way.
And yes, the interviews went quite well. Except for the small dab of penguin-poop that ended up on my jacket sleeve. No wonder the little bugger looks so content...
