The Preparation

Once you have been approached and notified of the interview allocate yourself some extra time out of your normal routine so that you can concentrate on preparing for the interview.  Be realistic and know yourself, if you are the type of person who leaves things to the last minute then you may want to leave the whole day before the interview date open so you can prepare everything on this day.

Make sure you find out exactly what interview is going to be about. Ask as many questions as you can because this will help you prepare and plan effectively for the big day.

Remember - if you fail to plan then you plan to fail. Here is a list of questions that you should consider asking -

• What is the interview about
• The length of the interview
• What is the interview for
• Where is the interview going to published
• How many people are going to be interviewing
• Are the interview questions already available

Knowing these points in advance will help you alot because you can research the subject in more detail if needed and there maybe areas of the subject that you may already know about but you may just need to refresh yourself.

The length of the interview will help you with feeling comfortable throughout - what to wear, seating, eating etc.  The last thing you want is to feel really hungry half way through because you skipped breakfast!

Knowing what the interview is for and where it will be published in advance will help you decide what sort of answers you are going to give and what you are going to say.  For example, if the interview is for an industry specific magazine with a tech savvy audience then you can get away with using industry specific jargons and techie terms but if it was for a more mainstream and wide audience channel you need to be able to explain your subject to
people who may have little or no background knowledge.

You can also prepare yourself to be able to communicate effectively with multiple people at  the same time if you know in advance how many interviewers there are.  This will certainly portray a more professional image.

Finally, there's nothing better than knowing the questions in advance.  This will be extremely beneficial for obvious reasons and knowing the other mentioned points as well will help you plan for the perfect press interview.

The Interview

Always present a friendly manner in interviews no matter how arrogant or annoying the interviewer may be. Depending on the media, you should adjust your technique - radio interviews will require you to speak confidently and get your messages and answers across in a clear and consise manner.  If your interview is going to be filmed then you need to pay close attention to your body language as well your voice.  Use hand gestures and utililise body language to your advantage by stressing important points. Be sure to review yourself infront of a mirror before the interview.

Make sure you always have something to say, even with awkward subjects and questions.  Ensure that you do not say that you cannot comment on certain subjects.  This can sometimes look like you have something to hide or that your knowledge limited.

Provide examples of claims and points that you make.  Certain subjects can be left theoretical but it is always more professional to back up what you say with facts that people can understand.  Also take into account the interviewers point of view rather than just providing information of your own accord. A good interview is a good conversation with effective outcomes.