Television's "Not-Live" Options

 A psychologist friend called one afternoon for a quick-fix. "I know you do media training," he said. "Channel Eleven is on its way over here to interview me about 'the mind of the terrorist.' Give me your five-minute course." I'm not sure what he was expecting, but I do know he was surprised by what he got. "Repeat yourself," I said. "Say what?" "You know the question (the reporter had asked it on the phone) and you know your answer. So repeat yourself." Later, when I happened to bump into the reporter, I asked how the interview had gone. "Great," he said. "He gave me the same answer three times; one 24 seconds, one 20 seconds and one 17 seconds." "And which one did you use?" I asked. "You know the answer to that one." Of course I did. One of the primary reasons why reporters are happy when you repeat yourself is that there's a very good chance that, in the process, you'll say it more succinctly than you did on take-one. Fact: Ninety-nine percent of television interviews are "not live." And, since they're recorded for playback later, "Repeat Yourself" is one of your two "Not Live Options."   The Repeat-Yourself option is especially useful when a reporter calls asking for a quick quote for a story she's working on. She tells you the subject, probably even the question she wants you to answer. But, guess what. Once she arrives with her camera crew -- once the interview begins -- she'll ask you several other questions that are tangential to the first. In this case, she has no thought to trip you up, but the simple fact that she's come all the way to your office with her heavy equipment makes a one-answer interview highly unlikely. You deliver yourself of the perfect answer - vivid, brief and colloquial - and she'll ask another question, guaranteed. What to do? If you can think of a better way to say essentially the same thing, go for it. If you don't, Not-Live-Option # 1 will work wonders. Not Live Option # 2: PAUSE Stop, pause,think. Okay, so the camera and the reporter are staring at you and the tape is rolling. Still, you don't have to answer one millisecond after the question is asked. You can stop, take a deep breath, and actually think before you answer. As a reporter, I've interviewed people who paused for so long I thought they hadn't heard the question and asked it again. Have you ever seen a pause of five, ten or twenty seconds on a television news program? Probably not, but it's not because they don't happen. Television stations/networks just won't take the time for that kind of a pause unless you're rolling your eyes or crying or both. If you use your "not-live options," - if you repeat yourself and if you pause - you'll find it removes a lot of the tension that often surrounds a television interview.