At Wi-Fi NOW we love working with video – it’s just a great medium for getting word out about all the exciting things happening in Wi-Fi across the world. But how do you get the most out of your Wi-Fi NOW TV appearance? Here’s our quick guide to making it big on television:
Get revved up with positive energy: Being on TV is bit like doing stand-up presentations: It’s 80% form and 20% content. People will immediately tune into your energi so keep your mind and body language positive and dynamic! Before you get on camera you may want to get up and loosen your body, think of something funny, and shout something exciting into the mirror. I sometimes do that. Anything that works to keep you relaxed & high energy.
Keep your messages simple: Long, complicated technical (or other) arguments are hard to digest. Boil your message down to 2-3 strong statements that you can come back to several times during the interview, if you want. You may want to practice the wording on your ‘zingers’ a few times to make sure they sound right when spoken out loud. Word matter, as they say. Also make sure you speak clearly, slowly, and loud enough for people to understand.
Keep your answers short: Two-three minutes is fine but 5-8 minute answers are too long for a dynamic interview. You want to give the interviewer a reasonable chance at asking follow-up questions on some of the things you mention. You may want to do a little relaxed practice beforehand by responding to the interview questions out loud in your office or wherever. I don’t recommend rehearsing the exact speak – for this you need to be an actor. And it’s not necessary anyway.
Getting the setup right: It’s not hard to do a remote TV interview but you have to make a little bit of effort in getting the setup right. First of all, you need lighting on your person, either from a natural source (a window for example) or electric light. The best way is to have the light pointing at you at an angle. Your head needs to be a little above center in the picture – so you need to adjust your webcam or laptop to get that effect. You may need to put a few books under the laptop. The camera should be about level with your face – looking down or up at someone is not often becoming.
Finally: Smile and look straight into the camera. You don’t have to smile all the time of course, but it really lightens the mood and makes people want to watch & listen.
Also: If you have a great story you’d like to share with us drop me a line at [email protected].
