The Ultimate Media Interview Checklist for Startups

1/3/2018

From luxurious retreats, to expensive market research analysis, entrepreneurs have many resources to help them become seasoned thought leaders, but as they say, startups ain’t got time for that.

If you only have fifteen minutes before your interview with a TV show, radio show, podcast, or other media engagement, here are nine things you need to know right now:

1. Check Your Facts: Run a quick Google news search on the topic you’ll be discussing. Make sure nothing has changed in the last few hours/days. (In the tech space it’s entirely possible).

2. Know About the Show: Know the show’s name. Google it. Learn the host’s name. Know where the show airs. Keep this in mind during the interview.

3. Know Your Segment Length: Know how long you’re on for and make the time. If the interview is 30 minute long, don’t rush it to try and leave at 25. Be respectful.

4. Know the Format: If it’s “live,” then the audience can year you as you speak. If it’s “live to tape,” then they record and use everything, just at a later time. If it’s “edited” then they’ll shoot more than they can use and edit it down to the time they need.

5. Look in the Mirror: If the interview is in any kind of video format, check your teeth, your hair, your buttons, your fly. Make sure nothing is out of place. If you’re wearing jewelry, keep it small and to a minimum. Less is more.

6. Drink Some Water: Don’t down a bottle, but hydrate before you get out there.

7. Relax but Keep the Excitement: It’s a fine line to walk, but you want to sound “natural” as you talk. Avoid talking too fast or too slow.

8. Listen to the Host: During the interview, really listen to the host and try and answer their questions as best you can. You’re having a real conversation and hosts are representing the kinds of questions their audience will have for you.

9. Turn Your Cell Phone COMPLETELY OFF: Vibrate won’t cut it. Literally, any data your cell phone sends or receives during a recording or broadcast will mess with the audio equipment/signal and it will ruin your interview. You have to put your cell phone in airplane mode or turn it off.

About Jacobson Communication

Jacobson Communication specializes in public relations and creative services for growing niche brands, including startups, theme parks, musicians, authors, nonprofits, and more. From audience awareness to brand development, and positive social change, you'll be surprised what better communications can do for your brand.

REACH OUT

A Word About Generative AI in Regards to
Comms and Creativity

One of the values I bring to my clients is my ability to grasp the "big picture" and align it with the public's current moods, thought patterns, and needs. I believe my specific brain, my heart, my experience, and my personal methodology are what separates me from those who rely on what generative AI feeds them.

I do not use generative AI, nor do I generally endorse its use for writing and creation in public relations, the music industry, or art. To all my fellow comms and creatives out there; stay human!

You can learn more about my thoughts on generative AI here:

The Jacobson Governing Principles for Ethical Uses of AI

Land Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement to the southern Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish Indigenous Peoples whose land I live and work on.

This land also includes the traditional land and waterways of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People of past and present. It is with honor and gratitude to the land itself, the plants, animals, and the Duwamish Tribe that I practice my work.

This land is also on and adjacent to the traditional homelands and waterways of the Puyallup Tribe. The Puyallup people have lived on and stewarded these lands since the beginning of time and continue to do so today. I recognize that this land acknowledgement is one small step toward true allyship, and I commit to uplifting the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous people of this land and beyond.

To learn more about the Puyallup Tribal Language program, visit:
https://www.puyalluptriballanguage.org

Personal Statement

It is my hope that we all deepen our understanding, awareness, and relationship to where we live in the world, and that we, individually and as a group, do our part to heal the wounds caused by genocide, enslavement, displacement, and other such atrocities, many of which have been intentionally carried forward into our present day and built into modern systems of power. Here is a list of books that might help you on your way to decolonizing the mind.

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