The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)

If you’re being interviewe­d, be yourself

With election day looming, we’ve been subjected to a frenzy of political interviews over the past six weeks.

There is definitely a skill to being interviewe­d; some people are naturally good at it, but for others it’s something which needs practise. It is an art and, whether you love election campaigns or hate them, we get a rare opportunit­y to compare and contrast various performanc­es side by side… In short, to do what we all love to do most: be an armchair critic.

When I started out in broadcasti­ng, I was definitely bad at being interviewe­d. Journalist­s don’t just ask the questions – often they are despatched to breaking news events and must sum up the situation with little time to gather their thoughts beforehand. This was terrifying for me.

Firstly, I needed to mask my Birmingham accent, which was not on the list of acceptable accents in those days (and barely features in broadcasti­ng even now). Then, I had to hit the pre-agreed key points without tripping over my words or losing my train of thought. And, if I was really lucky, there’d be a couple of yobs behind me mooning at the camera.

But the more I did it, agonising as it was, the easier it got. Kind-hearted veteran broadcaste­rs gave me lots of great advice, and I also secretly observed what worked and what didn’t whilst interviewi­ng thousands of other people over the years.

I can tell you what doesn’t work. Being rude to the interviewe­r is never a good plan – like the candidate on Radio 4’s PM programme who told the mild-mannered Evan Davis he really shouldn’t interrupt her because listeners wanted to hear her, not him. It’s a mistake which I see others regularly repeat; telling a presenter that their question is “ridiculous” rarely reflects well on the person being interviewe­d. Laughing it off and giving a clear, calm explanatio­n works much better.

Then there was the candidate who didn’t show up for his interview on BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland at all because he was at the Euros in Germany. Instead, he put forward his election agent, who fumbled his way through the answers, at one point appearing to read off his candidate’s CV. The lesson here is that if you don’t step forward yourself, the media will find someone else to fill the gap, and you will have no control over the result.

Then there are those candidates who you fundamenta­lly disagree with, but you can’t help admiring their style. I’m sure you can think of some examples. The old mantra is “people like people”, and in politics this means people vote for personalit­ies they like. They rarely vote for individual­s who have good policies but who can’t communicat­e them.

Ironically, it’s on election night, after the votes are cast and there’s nothing more they can do, when all politician­s will do their best interviews. The pressure is off, they’re exhausted, and we see their true personalit­ies. They’ll express emotion, spar with the interviewe­r and make a quip or two. Some of us may reflect that we’d have changed our vote if only we’d seen this side of them sooner.

So, there is the lesson, folks. If you ever find yourself being asked for an interview, go for it – and remember that the most important thing is to be yourself. Speak from the heart, and remember that the interviewe­r already has the viewer’s trust, whilst you need to win it. If you get across a third of what you meant to say, you’ve done well.

I could give you lots more of the tips the best broadcaste­rs gave me. For example, the brain remembers things in threes, so only ever have three points to make; remember – to – speak – really – slowly, because we all gabble when we’re under pressure; and never wear linen (“the presenter’s enemy”, according to Jackie Bird). But, ultimately, it all boils down to be likeable, gain trust, be yourself.

After leaving the broadcasti­ng world several years ago, I was interviewe­d recently for a business podcast. It was awful. I could feel myself waffling, and at one point totally forgot the question.

I was dreading listening back to it, especially as I knew I’d be expected to share it with my contacts. How embarrassi­ng, to spout all this advice and then totally cock it up, making myself look stupid.

Eventually, I plucked up the courage to listen. Well, it was fine. In fact, to my amazement, I was really pleased with it. How did I pull that out of the bag?

After all those years of broadcasti­ng, I guess my self-doubt was a classic case of imposter syndrome – the same emotion many people feel when being interviewe­d.

So, my final tip is to feel the fear and do it anyway; don’t let someone else get those career-enhancing opportunit­ies. Then, always listen back and learn. But the chances are, it won’t be nearly as bad as you remember.

Being rude to the interviewe­r is never a good plan