Appearing on a national television breakfast programme can be a nervous experience for even the most experienced of spokespeople.
After all, around 1.6 million of us tune in to watch it every morning.
So imagine how someone with no previous broadcast interview experience would feel.
Well, that was the situation for Edward Woodall, from the Association of Convenience Stores, last week.
ACS Head of Public Affairs Ed Woodall spoke to BBC Breakfast earlier about the impact of crime on the convenience sector. Our annual Crime Report will launch on 20th March in London. More details at https://t.co/t9IXK8gV9m pic.twitter.com/LieY0y5tRl
— ACS (@ACS_LocalShops) March 8, 2018
Just a couple of months after his latest media training course with us, he found himself in the BBC’s Manchester studios facing questions from presenter Sean Farrington about the impact of crime on the convenience store sector.
A few days later I put him through a less intimidating interview to find out how he got on.
How did you feel when you realised you were going to be appearing live on BBC Breakfast?
I was pretty nervous. I am not the normal spokesperson for the organisation, but it was my issue to lead on.
But I was also excited to have the chance to put my skills into practice. Although I had done a couple of print interviews before, this was my first broadcast interview.
How did you prepare for the interview?
The first thing I did was pick up my Media First book out of my cabinet drawer – I’m not just saying this – and then repeated the process we went through on the course.
I thought about who my audience was, what my key messages would be and focused on how I could make it human.
The statistics are quite dry in terms of how much shop thefts cost businesses, but actually the real story is about the impact it has on the people in the store or the person working behind the till.
It’s not about the money, it’s about those people and the impact it has on their lives. I wanted to show that shop theft is not victimless and highlight what we want the police to do.
Once I identified that, I thought about the examples that I could include.
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The TV studio environment can feel quite alien. How did you cope with that?
It is pretty alien and felt intimidating, but the people were all very friendly and I got to have a chat with the presenter before we started.
It felt a bit like being at the top of a rollercoaster when it is about to go over the edge and you have to make a decision about whether to enjoy it or scream all the way down. In the end I enjoyed it.
Did having a studio experience on your media training course help?
The most intimidating thing about being in a studio is that big camera lens just staring at you.
But having been in the Media First studio before in front of some cameras really helped me understand the environment I was walking into.
That helped put me at ease.
But it was all the stuff Media First taught me to do before you go into the room that really helped. Working out the message I wanted to get across, the examples I would use, and remembering to put emphasis on key words was crucial.
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How did your colleagues react to your interview?
Everyone here was really happy. And I also got some emails from members saying ‘I’ve seen you on the BBC and you described the situation exactly how we see it’. So I am pleased with the feedback I have received.
How do you think the interview would have gone if you had not had recent media training?
I think I would have got through it because I know the content well. But there is a difference between delivering the content and delivering it professionally and in the right format.
I genuinely think the training made a real difference in terms of my confidence in the studio and structuring my thoughts.
Would you do it again?
I might have to, given the positive feedback. It was a test for me but I think I passed and I will definitely be doing it again.
We'd love to hear about your media interviews. Please get in touch if you would like to share your experiences in this media training blog.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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