Something I learned after many cases of being asked to rush down to studio for a live appearance to talk about some security event: Have your 30 sec response ready to go. The talking head newscaster is going to completely screw up the question. Ignore the question and say something smart. Otherwise you are playing into their hands and will say something as stupid as he/she did.
Another maybe-negative use of this strategy, as conveyed to me by a famous professor:
If you give a technical talk and afterwards someone asks a question you don't know how to answer, instead answer a similar question you can answer. Then the audience will think you just misunderstood the question, rather than thinking that you didn't know the answer. This strategy won't work if the questioner is persistent, but usually they aren't.
> This strategy won't work if the questioner is persistent, but usually they aren't.
I think it may only seem to work to the person answering the question. Having sat in on many talks, it's often noticeable when a person answers a different question vs genuinely misunderstanding.
In astronomy, at least, I'd rather admit I didn't know the answer than try to fake it by answering a different question.
> 5. Know which camera you are supposed to look into. There were a few of them and I wasn’t sure where to be looking.
Interesting. I have recently had talking-on-the-tv-news training, and they drummed into us that you should not ever look directly at the camera. Instead, you should look at the presenter, and address yourself to him/her. Above all, don't glance around the room, because it makes you look well dodgy.
What? Why is this posted here? (maybe for people hoping to promote their business on tv news? As a former reporter, i'd advise anybody hoping to do so against hoping to do so. it's a real shot in the dark as to whether youd get tv -- or newsprint -- time for your business. some news outlets have business segments or sections, but they can be really hard to get into too, especially for technology companies)
2. Plug, baby plug. Don’t assume that people will know what your website is or how to buy your product. In our case, they did not show the website address on screen so make sure to say it out loud.
And yet there is no link to the website, or the kickstarter project. Well there is a link. It was hard to find. It was in the first paragraph. I missed it. Goes to show that blue underlined links really do work the best.
Wish I would have had these pointers before my first appearance! Very helpful tips! It definitely helps if you're talking about something you're passionate about too!
Yes exactly. It’s the host’s job to talk to the audience. Unless you have something to specifically say to those watching, you’re better off focusing on the host and letting the director do their thing. It’s awkward when guests look at the camera but are responding to a question from the interviewer.
