Tag Archive for: confidence

How to Handle Unexpected Questions in a Media Interview

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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Doing media interviews is an exercise in accepting the unknown. You need to accept that as much as you prepare, you won’t be able to predict every single thing that happens.

The best way to prepare for media interviews is to decide beforehand how you’re going to handle unexpected questions. This is half a mental game (how will you respond with grace?) and half about preparing for the kinds of pushback you’re likely to encounter. 

Because while your goal is to put yourself out there and share your message with your audience, that doesn’t mean everyone will respond to your content the same way.

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How to Keep Momentum Going After Your Book Launch

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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If you’ve always wanted to be an author, your book launch will be one of the most exciting stages of the publishing process. Getting recognized for your work and connecting with your readers is so rewarding. 

When you’re launching a new book, all of your strategy is focused around your book –the newness of it and the content. But what happens when the launch wraps and your new book is no longer new?

This is the stage when I meet many of my media-training clients. They’ve had a successful launch and they want to keep the momentum going. 

I shared some of my best tips for authors dealing with this in my Writer’s Digest column. 

These are the same strategies I’ve used myself for years as an author of two books, Listful Thinking and Listful Living!

1. It’s not (just) about the book anymore.

When you’re in the book launch phase, you’re really invested in the book itself. That’s only natural. It should be the focus of attention at this point! But once your book is a few months old, you have to shift your focus and start to consider how your book can support you as an author and expert — not how you can support your book!

This does not mean you shouldn’t talk about your book. Of course you should! You just need to find new ways of framing and contextualizing how you talk about your book. The attention needs to be on how your knowledge (and by extension, your book) can solve problems or shift people’s mindsets. This is something I talk you through in my free resource, 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. 

2. Keep in touch. 

The relationships you build with journalists, reporters, and producers are some of the best resources for you as you consider your post-launch strategy. Thank you notes (paper ones — yep!) go a long way in demonstrating your appreciation.

These really do make an impact on fostering positive relationships between you and members of the media! You can then leverage those relationships to pitch again from a new angle. 

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3. Open yourself up. 

You might be wondering what exactly you should pitch — how can you use your book as a jumping-off point that inspires the next stage of your media strategy?

Well, here’s a little secret: everything you talk about doesn’t have to be in the book.

In fact, it can actually be counterproductive to limit yourself to only things you covered in your book. You are an expert on a topic that includes what you talk about in your book. You can absolutely pitch on related areas within your expertise that didn’t fit into your book — and you should! This is essential to any sustainable media strategy. 

For even more tips on how to keep media momentum going, you can check out my column in Writer’s Digest. 

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BONUS FREEBIE: I have a resource for you that will help you prepare to talk with media and audiences. It’s the 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. You can grab the fiction and nonfiction lists here.

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Preparing to Speak on a Panel

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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Panels are a great way to promote your book or expertise and connect with professionals in your industry or your audience. But it can be tricky to know how to start preparing for a panel, especially if the topic is not exactly in line with your usual talking points.

I’ve spoken on many panels as a media expert, author, and LinkedIn Learning Instructor.

And they’re always a rewarding experience because I do a set of things to get ready every time.

Here’s my list of things I do to prepare for a panel.

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Use Video to Grow Your Audience with TikTok

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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As you know, I’m a former television producer so I love video. I’ve been talking about it for years and people are finally catching on and understanding what a powerful tool it can be. And one of the most powerful (and newer) video driven social media apps is Tik Tok.

I have to admit I’m mostly a TikTok stalker. I have not created one thing on it. (Yet! My guest has inspired me to get started.)

I brought expert TikTok-er, author and speaker, Selena Rezvani, on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to teach us how to grow your audience with TikTok. She has nearly 200,000 followers.

Here are Selena’s top five tips for getting started on TikTok.

(Don’t worry, none of the tips are about dancing!)

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Media Training 101

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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When I was a senior health producer at Fox News, I booked guest experts all the time.

But I couldn’t book them all and often they suffered from not being able to articulate what they know in a succinct and compelling way. So it’s part of why I do what I do today as a media trainer and video coach – to help as many people as possible do this well.

To become a go-to media expert, you need to be able to speak in soundbites. To do this I created what I call “The Accordion Method” – I use it myself and teach it to all my media-training clients.

Here are three points of “The Accordion Method“.

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Being Prepared for Pushback

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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Be authentic and put yourself out there. Share your expertise. Just be your authentic self and people will respond to your message.

That’s good advice. But that doesn’t mean everyone will respond to your content.

It’s hard enough to ignore trolls on the internet, but sometimes you’ll face skeptical anchors on live tv as well. So it’s important to be prepared.

I’ve been on both sides of this. Both as an expert and as a journalist. Both sides are doing their job – seeing both sides of the story

I’ll admit I was even a bit thrown off when this happened to me during a recent interview on WPIX in New York. I was talking about how to have a four-day work week and the anchor just wasn’t buying it.

He said, “How much of this is fantasy land?”

Here are three ways to get through someone questioning your expertise.

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Looking Good on Camera at Any Age

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want to do more videos and get attention? So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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We’ve all done way more Zoom calls in 2020 than ever before. I’m all about the power of video, but there is one downside that we need to address. 

Lots of people are feeling especially critical of their appearances from seeing themselves on camera all day, every day. Professionals have dubbed this trend “Zoom dysmorphia,” and it’s sweeping the nation.

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Three Ways to Boost Speaking Confidence

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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Have you ever felt like what you have to say isn’t valued? Well, it’s probably happened to everyone. Linda Ugelow, confidence coach and author of the upcoming book “Delight in the Limelight,” knows that this is the root of why people feel uncomfortable with public speaking and appearing on camera.

Getting to the heart of the issue and tackling it is Linda’s M.O. as an author, coach, and speaker. She appeared on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to share her journey to finding her voice and explain how others can change their relationship with publicly sharing their ideas. 

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How to Get the Media Attention You Deserve

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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Annie Scranton, founder of Pace PR, knows a thing or two about the media. She and I met as producers at Fox News Channel, but she’s also worked at MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, HLN, and even Good Morning America!

With all that insider knowledge, Annie can predict what the future holds when it comes to getting on TV as an expert. She knows what it takes for people to get their message out there, because she helps people do that very thing every day.

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Shooting Compelling Video 101

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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We’ve all gotten used to living our lives on video over the past year. And video is here to stay, so if you want to grow your business or connect with your audience, this is a medium you need to master.

I spoke with videographer and producer Kristian Golick on my live-streaming show “Inside Scoop” about common questions about doing video — and how you can become a pro.

Why video?

As a former TV producer, I’ve been spreading the word about video for years. Kristian and I talked about one element of creating video that  is key: It creates a connection between you and the viewer. Just like we all feel like we know our favorite TV reporters or movie stars, your audience can get to know you through your videos.

Kristian knows from personal experience how powerful this connection can be. Kristian has been a videographer for years, creating videos from business as well as wedding films. But he never got in front of the camera himself until 2018, when he created a short video to address a common question among his clients about raw footage and what to do with it.

When he sent it to his clients, they expressed how much it helped them get to know him as a person. In fact, the feedback from that video was so positive he closed $10,000 in business and he’s continued to create video content ever since!

What content should I be creating?

Kristian says that his first video taught him an important lesson about content. Think about the questions that you get most often, then create videos addressing those. 

Should I do live or pre-recorded videos?

While there are pros and cons to both live and pre-recorded videos, Kristian and I both say that live videos can save you time (and energy) once you get the hang of them. Live videos help you get over perfectionism, too. Plus, they keep you accountable, since if you said you’re going live at a certain time, you’ve got to stick to it! Of course, you can always re-use your recorded live content. 

That’s what I do with my live-streaming show Inside Scoop. Kristian and I did this interview and now as you can see I’m using the content now in a different way – as a blog post. 

What set-up should I use?

Kristian says you don’t have to spend a lot of money to create a set-up that will make your videos look professional. He uses a light from Amazon that cost about $100, and placed it above him and angled down. He also taped a piece of wax paper to soften the light. The placement of the light is key to avoiding glare on his glasses, Kristian explained. (Make sure you check out the video we did together here so you can see his explanation.) 

Don’t worry about creating a set-up that looks too polished — you don’t want people to think your videos are ads, after all!

What should my background be?

Like me, Kristian is not a fan of Zoom backgrounds. He either makes sure to have a clean, neat real background, or he uses a green screen if he needs to replace his backdrop. The green screen is key, Kristian said, because it ensures the background is consistent and doesn’t cut off your ear or hands, which often happens with Zoom backgrounds. 

Where should I post my videos?

Kristian has two suggestions. The first is that you should post where you already have the most audience engagement. If that’s Instagram, go for Instagram. If that’s Facebook, post there.

Kristian’s second suggestion is that you should match your content to the platform. Tutorial-type videos, for example, work best on YouTube. But if you want to do shorter videos, try Instagram Stories. 

How often should I post?

Consistency is key. If you do Instagram stories, try a short video every day. For YouTube, post once a week. When people know to expect content from you, they’ll be more likely to tune in and get to know you. (That’s why I host Inside Scoop every week!).

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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