Publication: Tayo Solagbade’s Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Page (PSIP) Newsletter

Date: Monday 4th March 2013

No: 79

Title: What If a TV Reporter Requests To Interview YOU Live?

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [234-803-302-1263]

Blog URL: http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/blog

Archive (For E-mail only version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (For Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

Hi,

Please find below the latest issue of my weekly Public Speaking Ideas page for 2013. 

No. 79: You’ve Been Invited to Speak on TV

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NB: If you ever find yourself wondering what else I’ve written, some days after you’ve read THIS Speaking Ideas newsletter I send out on a Monday, here’s what you can do to find out: Point your browser to www.sdacademy.org to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule

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“Can we ask you a few questions?“. What if the foregoing question was suddenly directed at you at a formal public event, by a TV reporter holding a microphone, followed closely by a colleague with a camera?

A live interview (on an important subject in your area of expertise), right on the spot. No opportunity to collect your thoughts. No prior warning. It can happen to anyone – including YOU.

I know this because it’s happened to me – more than once.

It pays to know your subject. But it pays even better, to know how to speak in a way that attracts powerful opportunities for zero cost media exposure, like the one mentioned above. I share my personal insights on this theme, in this week’s issue of my public speaking ideas newsletter.

It Can Happen to You (A Real Life Example)

I love listening to the radio. Compared to television, I find it gives me more value for my time. Both media have always been useful for getting the word out about almost anything or indeed anyone. Only their rates can be prohibitive for most small businesses or solo entrepreneurs.

That does not however stop us from listening to, or watching them. And it certainly does not mean we cannot get useful exposure on either medium for FREE.

Have you ever considered that? Instead of listening and watching others on those media, YOU could be the one others listen to and watch!

It could happen anytime, in one of a number of ways.

For instance, a journalist could pick on you after an event you attended, in which you’d made useful contributions as a member of the audience.

That’s one way in which it’s happened to me.

She was from a national TV network. Their branded equipment made that obvious – even before she introduced herself. I’d seen them moving around taking pictures and recording since before the start of the event – at the popular MUSON (Musical Society of Nigeria) centre on Lagos Island.

The event was an anniversary lecture. The guest speaker had discussed reasons why Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria often struggled to succeed, and how they could make better progress.

He was eminently qualified, boasting an impressive resume that revealed he’d worked over 2 decades in private and public service supporting businesses with financial services. And he did a great job with his talk.

This subject was however one that I felt (and still feel) strongly about. So much so that I’ve written many articles about it. So, as I listened to the speaker, I readily identified specific action steps MSMEs were not taking, that I felt could boost their progress faster, if adopted.

Like I’ve always said in this newsletter, when you have an opinion that’s based on your convictions about an issue, do NOT keep it to yourself. And don’t wait to become the guest speaker at a formal event to say it either. Sometimes, voicing it from the audience stand can be just as effective. And it’s always better than saying nothing. What’s more it could get you invited to say more!

For me, especially based on my experiences from years operating as an entrepreneur in the same environment, I knew more MSMEs needed to stop waiting on the government or other bodies to solve this problem for them.

My long standing opinion has always been that we (Nigeria – and possibly Africa – based business owners and decision makers) collaborate and cooperate too little. Instead we compete needlessly when it would mutually benefit us to form alliances.

When the guest speaker called for questions from the audience, I wasted no time in raising my hand.

I spoke for just about one minute. Only 60 seconds.

But what I said during that short interval – and HOW I said it – derived from the passion I had for the subject. And I really wanted those listening to use the insights I offered to use. It was not an ego trip for me.

To get my message across, I illustrated with examples of my experiences in relating with other MSMEs owners as clients and associates. The real life examples (not surprisingly – at least for me anyway) resonated strongly with many in the audience.

So, after we closed I had a few people walk over to commend me, ask what I did etc. I believe the impact I made may have been one of the factors that made the reporter seek me out for that interview.

TV/Radio Presenters Who Speak Poorly?

That young lady was quite impressive in the way she went about it all. Her questions were intelligent and delivered in an articulate manner.

And that struck me as not so common these days. I mean out here in this part of the world. The quality of speaking one hears on radio/TV (and the writing in print publications) is not confidence inspiring.

There was a time when I listened to presenters on TV and radio out here, to learn new words, how to pronounce those I already knew – and even how to speak well. People like John Momoh (owner of the award winning Channels TV), in his days as a news presenter made listening to the news quite pleasurable – for me.

Not surprisingly, his TV station today stands out from others because the training given his presenters makes them deliver to a similar standard when they come on air.

Sadly, too many others seem to have stumbled into TV/radio presenting. It would not be so bad however, if they took action to improve themselves. Instead, these individuals routinely come on air to display a disappointing lack of fluency, and an appallingly limited vocabulary.

 

For example, apart from periodic incoherence, a good number punish listeners by “hmm-ing, ehm-ing and aah-ing” at random. Such distractive speech mannerisms make listening less pleasurable for any audience. (For many with this problem, investing in Public Speaking Training could be a wise move.)

And that’s why whenever I’ve identified a presenter with such limitations, I routinely tune to a different station (or turn off the radio/TV), when s/he comes on air.

The above digression was done to show that regardless of the highlighted fallen (or falling) standards, developing speaking proficiency is still a wise thing to do. Especially if you anticipate speaking on radio/TV, either as the interviewer or the interviewee.

Presenters May Have Time To Redeem Themselves: You May NOT!

But it’s not just journalists who need to hone their speaking skills. Those who have to be their “guests” – even for short interviews – will also find public speaking expertise helpful.

Many people who present TV and radio programs do so on a regular basis. So, for those who work hard to improve on the shortcomings I highlighted above, there’s a chance they’ll eventually overcome them, and make more useful impact on their listeners.

When YOU are approached for an interview by a reporter, YOU may NOT reasonably expect to get another chance. I don’t mean a situation in which you’re in your car or on the street, and someone asks you what you think about a trending topic.

Instead, I refer to a case where your expert opinion on a serious topic is sought by knowledgeable journalists who may feature it in a report to be aired on TV/radio: An excellent opportunity to achieve valuable name recognition, and more.

You can make make the most of it, or blow it. To do the former, you need to be prepared.

I assume you are a master of your subject. If you’re not, that’s the first problem you need to address – FAST. Once that is done, your public speaking proficiency will determine how well you do with a sudden “interview” opportunity (You could get quoted, and possibly invited for longer sessions).

Public Speaking mastery implies knowing how to manage fear, anxiety, and thinking on your feet, to competently address a formal audience, your area of expertise.

Are you comfortable doing that yet?

If you are, I propose you learn to do it even better.

If you’re not, I suggest you seriously consider getting public speaking training today!

Need More Details of How to Make The Above Ideas Work for YOUR Company?

If you need more specific details of how to make use of the ideas I’ve shared in this newsletter, call me on 234-803-302-1263 or email tayo at tksola dot com.

Alternatively, send me a message using this request form (with “Re: What If YOU Get Invited to Speak on Radio/TV?” in the subject line).

Have a lovely week!

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: 234-803-302-1263

http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com

Tayo Solagbade is a Performance Improvement Specialist & multipreneur. He works with individuals/businesses who want to achieve highly profitable outcomes, and also with parents who want to raise real-world competent children.

Tayo earns multiple streams of income providing clients with performance improvement training/coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems, freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Self-Development Nuggets™ blog, and Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter (which he publishes to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

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Comments?

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