Mastering the interview: Tips from journos (from the archives)

Do you freeze at the thought of doing an interview with the media? Here are a few tips on how to conduct yourself like a pro when a microphone is shoved up your nostril.

Are you one of the throng who have had an interview with a journalist and felt apprehensive afterwards? You obsess that the reporter focused on the wrong things; that you sweated profusely; stumbled over your words, and generally made a mess of things?

The good news is that your assessment is usually an over-sensitive criticism of your own performance.

Still unconvinced? Then remember that we live in a TLDR-society (too long didn’t read), where a goldfish statistically has a longer attention span than humans. Apparently, goldfish are willing to engage for nine seconds while humans are held captive for a mere seven. Chances are your “big moment” will be remembered as a topic, rather than what you actually said. So getting the facts across is key. 

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina