I didn’t post yesterday because I spent most of the afternoon trying not to think about being interviewed on television the following morning.
I don’t have a clip to link to yet, but I will have one. They’ll be sending me a DVD and Howard will excerpt my segment from it and post it for me.
It was fascinating to be an observer in the studio. I got to see how the cameras worked and how the scenery was shifted around for the various segments of show.
Everyone was very friendly. It had a small-town feeling, which I’d expect from a local talk show. A more widely broadcast show would have been higher stress for everyone involved. I spent most of the morning just following a co-host as he clued me in to where I needed to be and what to expect.
Then suddenly it was my turn. Someone called out “30 Seconds!” some one else dashed up to me with a mike. I had to thread it up my shirt and clip it into place. I was in my seat with only seconds to spare before Julie started talking.
I only had 7 minutes on camera. It feels like it went lightning fast. I forgot to mention the stores in Salt Lake who are carrying my book. I feel bad about that. It was kind of surreal. The front of my brain was completely engaged with answering questions and trying to make sure that the most important information was covered. The back of my brain was thinking “should I look at the camera? But I’m not sure where to look. What do I do with my hands. Ack. That gesture felt awkward. Maybe my hands should be in my lap. Oh that was a good segue into where to buy books, but I think I should save that information for last. My hair is tickling my arm, but I don’t think I should touch my face or hair on camera…” And then it was over.
I haven’t watched the segment yet, even though I have the video my neighbor made. I’m afraid to watch it. I’m afraid that when I do, I’ll see all the ways I could have managed the interview better. I’ll want to be able to word things differently. I’ll see all my little ticks and habits that everyone has without realizing it. I’ll be able to hear all the places that I put in pointless space holder words like “um.” Right now the only feedback I have is Howard and my neighbors telling me I was great. I’m afraid to face the mistakes. But I’m going to. I don’t know if I’ll ever do another live television interview, but if I do, I want to have learned from this one.
The guest co-host for today’s show, Dr. Paul, has a weekly podcast. He invited me to be a guest on the podcast tomorrow. This is a much lower stress appearance for me. I’ll have more time to make sure the important information is covered, and I won’t have to worry about how I look, just how I sound. After the podcast goes live, I’ll have a link for that as well.
For now I’m changing back into my mommy clothes and I’m going to curl up on a couch to watch Blues Clues with Patch.
Speaking skills
Now that you’re a famous author – doing media interviews and all 🙂 – you might consider joining Toastmasters. It’s a club for helping people learning to speak and lead better. One of the really good things is getting immediate feedback on how to speak better and to minimize “ums” and “ahs”.
http://www.toastmasters.org/
There are three in the Provo area:
http://www.toastmasters.org/websiteApps/searchresults.asp?ZipCodeProximity=84604
It’s a safe environment to try new speaking skills and to improve existing ones. It’s also very welcoming for visitors; you don’t have to say a word as a visitor if you don’t want to, but most clubs will let you do a bit even without being a member.
Let me get my criticism out of the way first…
When the segment first started, you looked like you were about to be shot, (gun not camera) but that passed quickly enough and you looked much more relaxed. Second, you not only failed to mention the bookstores, you said your husband was a blogger, not even mentioning his wonderful comic. Shame! ;>
Now for the praise, You did a great job and I enjoyed the story of how the book came about greatly, especially the parts about your daughter getting to watch it come together and in the end, hold a print copy in her hands.
I look forward to your next, even better, appearance.
All I can think of when I read this is: “Cool cool cool! My sister did a television interview!”
Looking forward to seeing the clips 🙂
Congrats on doing this. Besides the feedback from Howard and your neighbors, I’d think that being invited to speak on Dr. Paul’s podcast means that he also thought that you were a good and interesting guest.
Re: Speaking skills
Toastmasters sounds like the debate club that I did in high school. I used to be in competitions for impromptu speaking. Thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out.
I agree with you that for the first 15 seconds I looked alarmed. I was alarmed. I’d been rushed into that seat with no time to settle myself into what would happen next.
The decision not to mention Howard’s comic was a conscious one. I only had 7 minutes of camera time and all of those minutes needed to be focused on the Hold on to Your Horses project. I was speaking to an audience where the words “online comic” would have required a minute of explanation. That minute would have meant a minute less of talking about Hold Horses. If I’d had more time, I would have brought up Schlock Mercenary, but only if the conversation had led that way. Similarly, when Howard makes appearances to talk about Schlock Mercenary, he only occasionally mentions my picture book, and then only if the conversation heads that way. Part of being a good interviewee is not hijacking the interview and taking it in a direction that surprises the host.
I do feel bad about the bookstores though. That was part of the information that I intended to get across, but we ran out of time before I could give it.
Since Dr. Paul invited me to be on his podcast before the television interview, I’m not sure it can be used as evidence that I did a good job. However it can be used as evidence that the story around Hold Horses is one that catches people’s interest.
We’ll get a clip up as soon as we can figure out how to get it from video tape to computer. Or when they send us the DVD. It’ll probably be a few weeks.
Sorry, I misread your post. I’m still happy that you had that opportunity.
It is online now
http://www.kjzz.com/video/30094869.html
You looked a bit stunned during the first minute or so, but after that you seemed to forget about the cameras and have an interesting conversation. While you might notice how you could have been more polished, I didn’t notice anything special. Nice job!
As for not mentioning the stores – the website where it can be viewed mentions them, so that’s at least partly covered.
Good luck with future sales,
Uri David
Re: It is online now
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll have to put up an announcement that the video is now available.