Did Marissa Mayer Screw Up?

May 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer has violated one of my key rules of corporate communications Q&A. She repeated the negative. In a big way.

In her Tumblr post about Yahoo! agreeing to buy Tumblr, she addressed the major concern of Tumblr users, Yahoo! followers and online analysts everywhere:

We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going.  We will operate Tumblr independently.  David Karp will remain CEO…

Mayer repeated the very negative assumption that Yahoo! would “screw up” the popular blogging platform, which of course is based on the company’s history of doing a bad job with prior acquisitions. For example, Yahoo! acquired Flickr in 2005 and has been widely criticized for its handling of the once-beloved photo-sharing site.

The reason I urge clients not to repeat the negative is simple: It makes it stick. If someone asks if your company’s performance is “awful,” you don’t want to answer by saying it was not awful. Why? Because you’ll end up being quoted in a news story with something like, “Our performance was not awful,” said John Smith, CEO of Sad Corp. This sounds defensive and reiterates the charge, whether fair or unfair. Better to state this another way without the loaded term.

So, what do we make of Mayer’s decision to repeat the negative? It did have exactly the result I suggest. The Reuters headline, which showed up prominently on Google News:

Yahoo buying Tumblr for $1.1 billion, vows not to screw it up

I’m unwilling to write off Mayer’s decision so quickly, however. Mayer is, according to everything I’ve seen and read, a very smart woman. So, did she err? Or was her strategy deeper?

In some cases, the negative is so widely believed that it’s accepted as fact. The sense that Yahoo! is a company that simply cannot find its way and is a place where acquisitions routinely go to die is so pervasive that it’s hard to believe repeating the negative could cause any more damage. Which creates an interesting possibility.

What if by violating this rule and repeating the negative, Mayer did something so shocking that it really captured people’s attention? Rarely do CEOs do this and Mayer has already proven herself to be a bold leader. Just, witness the Yahoo! work-from-home scandal.

So, perhaps Mayer’s declaration that Yahoo! would not screw up Tumblr will have the desired result: demonstrating that the new CEO is aware of the problem and is addressing it.

Of course, the pressure is now on Mayer to make good on her promise and assure the Tumblr acquisition is a success. If she can, then her bold communications approach will have been validated and she will have set Yahoo! up nicely to approach other entrepreneurs. She also will have taken a big step toward raising her own stock as a turnaround CEO.

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Great Presenters are Made, Not Born

March 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

There has always been this belief that great communicators — writers, actors or presenters of any sort — are simply born with their outrageous skills. That the right words simply jump from their lips with no effort. That their work is hardly work at all.

In truth, communicating well is a skill that takes training, practice and hard work. The better you get, the more effortless it seems to the audience. But it only seems effortless.

Any businessperson preparing for an investor meeting, roadshow, board presentation, speech, media interview or internal event needs to understand that the skills required to be a compelling presenter must be learned before they can be deployed. To think that presenting your company’s story is as simple as reading a set of slides is completely erroneous. In fact, I guarantee that if you try to simply read each slide to your audience, all you’ll succeed in doing is developing yet another cure for insomnia.

With this in mind, I thought I’d provide some thoughts on just how great presenters are made.

Secrets to Becoming a Great Presenter

  • Start with good material. This is sometimes out of your control, as I noted in my last post about presenting bad slides well, but in a perfect world you’ll have a slideshow to present that has the right number of captivating, easy-to-present slides. It’s not enough that the story itself is good, like a presentation about financial results that exceeded expectations, The materials you actually use have to be good. Imagine going into battle with a rifle that misfires. It really doesn’t matter how good a shot you are, does it?
  • Learn proper technique. A set of skills exists that you simply must know to present well. There’s nothing so illustrative as watching a video of your presentation practice with someone who knows what they’re doing. Little things like body language, pacing, the use of props and even how you are dressed can impact the overall feel of the presentation. Everything matters when you’re in front of an audience. You need to know your technique cold.
  • Practice with proper technique. It’s often been said that practice makes perfect. Not true. Practice only makes things permanent, as an old friend once told me. In order to be perfect, you have to practice the proper technique. This means that presenters should practice by rigorously applying the skills they’ve learned to their own materials until the performance is smooth and natural. And don’t stop with the slides. Rehearse the Q&A, too.
  • Recognize you’re on stage. This is one remarkably easy mistake to make. When you’re in front of a large audience, it’s obvious that you should have your game face on. But what about sitting in your own conference room on an earnings call? Or in front of your own management team? Or board of directors? Or your own employees in a conference room you’ve used 100 times before? When you’re presenting your story to an audience, any audience, you’re on stage. Period.
  • Learn to watch your audience. How are you doing? Your audience can tell you, if you’re paying attention. Great presenters know they’re not speaking in a vacuum. If your audience is looking down at their iPhones, Galaxy S3s and Blackberrys, you need to do something. They’re bored. If they look puzzled, you’ve lost them. Figure out what you just explained and do it again in simpler terms. If you’re trying to be provocative or funny, watch to see if it’s working. You need to know.
  • Get feedback. The last thing most people want after a presentation is honest feedback. Because our egos are wrapped up in our presentations, we just want to hear how well we’ve done. Even if we haven’t. My recommendation is to have someone in the audience who will tell you honestly what worked, and what did not. You need this information to improve for the next time. If you spoke too fast or shuffled nervously on stage, you absolutely need to know. The truth can hurt but it will also make you better.
  • Look for opportunities to present. The more you do, the better you will get. This is absolutely a universal truth when it comes to presentations. You don’t need formal invitations to major events in order to present. You can work on your technique when running your team’s weekly meeting or when talking to clients about new ideas. If the opportunity arises to do a lesser conference or a media interview that’s not terribly important, jump at it. Consider it training and prepare as you would for when all the marbles are on the table.

Having read this far, I’m fairly certain you’ll have one of two thoughts. The first is, wow, these are great tips. I can apply some of these. The second is, wow, this sounds interesting but I really don’t have time to do it.

To the second, let me simply says this. For senior executives and entrepreneurs, presentation skills are terribly important. They can represent the difference between success and failure, between getting that investment or having to shut down. How you present adds a critical, personal element to the business case you are trying to make. The slides may have all the right details, but how you present them will either build confidence or erode it.

Investors don’t put their money behind slides, they put them behind people. Turn yourself into a great presenter and success will surely follow.

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How to Present Bad Slides Well

February 7, 2013 — 3 Comments

It happens all the time. You’re given a set of PowerPoint slides to present, whether for a roadshow, investor day, board meeting, management presentation or something similar. You are not given the opportunity to edit them. You must present them as they are.

And they’re bad.

You could sit and sulk. But the reality is this: It is your responsibility to find a way to pull off a great presentation even if you have slides that are awful. Sometimes, they’re all bad. Most often, however, there are just a few slides in the presentation that are a problem. Either way, you’ve got to make the best of it.

The good news is there’s always a solution. With this in mind, I’m going to review the key issues that make slides bad and address how to solve each particular problem.

6 Ways Your Slides Can Be Bad

  • Too much information. This is the most common problem I see with slides. The author, either striving to be complete or uncomfortable editing out information, gives you a slide that has far too much data. This makes the slide: 1) unfocused and 2) impossible to present in the time allotted. The solution in this situation is you must be selective, deciding which information in the slide will be presented and what will be ignored. There’s no requirement that you must hit every point on a slide. So don’t. Pick the most important points and present them. Your audience will see the rest and your emphasis will guide their thinking.
  • Busy, busy, busy. This issue is similar to the one above but not identical. In this case, the slide’s design is poor with too much on the page to draw the viewer’s eye clearly to the relevant information. The solution is to guide your audience through the dense woods. You could simply point to the particular line or graphic you are talking about using an electronic or physical pointer. Or, you could guide the audience verbally. For example, something like: “Let me draw your attention to the graphic on the upper right of the slide titled ‘Revenue up 300%’.”
  • Throwaway headlines. As a former reporter, this one drives me nuts. Journalists know the critical role headlines play in drawing readers into a story and distilling the key point of an entire article in a handful of words. But this is hard to do, for slides as well as news stories. As a result, many slides simply have summary headlines. A slide about a company’s 200% increase in earnings over the prior period might have a headline that just says, “Financial Results.” This isn’t the story. The solution is to figure out what the story is for each slide, regardless of the headline, and focus on that verbally.
  • Poorly positioned elements. People tend to read slides as they read their native language. In this part of the world it’s top to bottom, left to right. Therefore, the order in which you present information on a slide ought to reflect this. Start at the top left, move to the right, then to the bottom left, then the bottom right. Sometimes, however, slides will be created where the key information is not at the top left. This can be challenging, so you have to make a decision. Can you get away with presenting the slide top to bottom, left to right, despite where the information is located? Or do you need to guide viewers, either physically or verbally, outside of the natural order? The answer depends upon the specific slideshow. But know that if you need to guide them outside the natural order, it will be confusing for the audience so take your time and be very specific.
  • Wrong slide order. This is the most difficult problem to overcome. Sometimes, slides will not be in the optimal order for your presentation. If you can’t reorder them, you’ll need to find a way to present them in the order you find them. Jumping backward and forward is simply too disruptive to allow. The answer in this case is being very aware of ordering problems and making sure you present enough information on each slide to properly set up the next slide. Don’t be afraid to bring in information not on the current slide if you need it to set up the next one. It’s on you as the presenter to make the slides work in the order in which they come up.
  • More slides than time. Another common problem, this one is easy to solve. Typically, you should budget about 2 minutes to present each slide. So, if you have 30 minutes, that’s about 15 slides. Ever get 30-plus slides for a 30 minute presentation? The solution is to skip some of the slides entirely or simply touch upon them for a very short time. If you try, instead, to do each slide in 1 minute or less, you’ll just present every slide badly. Therefore, you must spend some time in advance figuring out which slides are critical so you can spend an appropriate amount of time presenting these.

There are certainly other problems you can run into with your slides, but these are the ones I see all the time in my training seminars. And, as I’ve noted, they can all be overcome. The key to all these challenges is to spend enough time preparing that you can identify the problems and come up with solutions.

A well-presented slide show can be compelling and provide a great deal of information. Present your slides well and you’ll be rewarded with a truly captivated audience.

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If Lance Armstrong Were a Corporation

January 16, 2013 — 1 Comment

The swirl of attention around Lance Armstrong’s upcoming interview with Oprah is approaching a frenzy, with word already leaking about the content of the interview.

In short, he admits it.

Oprah’s couch has traditionally started the road to redemption for celebrities who have failed to live up to the public’s expectations. And an apology, which is apparently forthcoming, is almost always necessary to the process.

This, of course, got me to thinking. If Lance Armstrong were instead Lance Armstrong, Inc., a Delaware corporation, he’d have additional tools at his disposal for the reputation-saving campaign he is embarking upon. So, let’s explore just how the crisis communications plan would be different for Lance the corporation vs. Lance the celebrity.

What Lance the Corporation Might Do

  • Re-branding. This is a tried and true technique for companies and other organizations that have been ensnared in scandal: Change your name. It’s been used by tobacco companies, airlines, and many others that want to get away from the past. Lance could pick something modern sounding, maybe with its roots in classical Greek. Of course, he’d then have the challenge of investing to build up the new brand. But companies do this all the time.
  • New management. Oftentimes, when a corporation makes a mistake, the executives responsible have to fall on their swords. This has the public value of cutting ties to the errors of the past and letting the company move forward with reset expectations. The problem is, Lance would have a hard time finding someone to fire, as it’s really a CEO-level issue. If he could fire himself, that might help.
  • Divestiture.  When a business line becomes so toxic that it threatens the entire corporation’s reputation, sometimes the best thing to do is divest it and move on with the remaining businesses. We saw something like this recently with Cerberus’ decision to sell a gun manufacturer in its portfolio. If Lance could find a way to remove his cycling self from the rest of his being, that might just do the trick. The advantage of this approach is there’s no need to re-brand.
  • Address liabilities. From an accounting perspective, Lance the corporation would want to move quickly to address all outstanding liabilities. He’d need to take a charge against earnings in the proper amount and then reach an agreement with regulators that calls for a cash payment but stipulates that he “neither confirm nor deny any wrongdoing.” Celebrities generally need to admit their mistakes for the public to forgive them. Companies do not.
  • Lay out steps.  Lastly, when a corporation goofs, it’s important for shareholders and the public to know that it will not make the same mistake twice. Thus, it lays out a plan to address its shortcomings and puts a high-profile person or team in charge. Sometimes, it’s even necessary to add independent directors to the board to assure the company will take the proper steps. Lance could actually do something like this if he stays involved in the sport of cycling.

Of course, it’s fun to speculate on this sort of thing, but in the end it’s going to be necessary for Lance to execute his communications plan, whatever it is. This will begin with how he handles the Oprah interview.

If one thing is clear, it is that the American public is very often willing to forgive. So he’s got a shot, even if he can’t rely on all the tools available to corporations.

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Farrell Kramer Communications Merges with MBS Value Partners

January 9, 2013 — 2 Comments

After 10 years as a stand-alone firm, Farrell Kramer Communications has found the perfect match.

Late last year, I began talking with MBS Value Partners, a leading investor relations and financial communications advisory firm in New York City, about merging our operations to create a combined firm with greater resources and a deeper bench than I could muster alone. On Jan. 1, we officially completed the merger and Farrell Kramer Communications is now a part of MBS Value Partners.

This is great news, particularly for our clients, who will now benefit from a firm that can accomplish even more. Farrell Kramer Communications had done some work together with MBS Value Partners in the past and I’d always been impressed with the MBS team. They are not only smart, skilled and extremely professional but they’re good people, which I value highly.

With the addition of Farrell Kramer Communications, MBS Value Partners will offer a broad suite of services ranging from financial communications, strategic communications and investor relations to podcasting, social media, publicity, media and presentation training.

Lynn Morgen, one of MBS’ founding partners, had the following kind words for us in today’s press release announcing the merger:

Farrell and his team have been doing top-level work with major and emerging companies and well-known brands for a decade, including some projects together with MBS. We are enthusiastic about the growth potential this merger brings to MBS as we move forward into 2013 and beyond.

In terms of logistics, client work has continued uninterrupted. I am now based out of MBS Value Partners’ New York City offices and Sharon Bially is working for MBS out of Boston.

Our Farrell Kramer Communications website will be replaced shortly at the farrellkramer.com URL with this blog, where I’ll continue to explore issues in public relations, media and technology. I will also continue to be active on social media, sharing my posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

If you want to reach me, please feel free to use this blog’s contact page. It will always be a great way to get in touch quickly and directly.

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Apple, Er… Google Fixes iPhone Maps

December 13, 2012 — 3 Comments

Apple, caring deeply about the satisfaction of its iPhone customers, rolled out a fix for its awful Maps application to wild acclaim from commentators, who praised it as the best in the market… Or, not.

Actually, the real news is Google rolled out a Google Maps app for the iPhone today that does everything Apple should have done, but didn’t.

The irony, of course, is it was Apple that wrecked its own Maps app by firing Google as its mapping provider and deciding it could develop a superior product. That product, of course, was badly flawed and resulted in a major PR black eye for Apple.

So Google, after being fired, has swooped back in to rescue those iPhone users who care about actually getting where they are going. Weird, but true.

The really good news is that following my “extensive” testing of the Google Maps app, I can report that it solves the Map apps problem. It does everything the old Maps app did — using Google data — and more. It even gives turn-by-turn directions. The critics are raving.

The New York Times’ David Pogue said:

Today, Google Maps for the iPhone has arrived. It’s free, fast and fantastic.

What’s left to say after that? Just go ahead, download it and forget the Maps app fiasco over occurred. Although, I’m sure it won’t be that easy for the folks who work at Apple.

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Is Facebook Still Fun?

December 3, 2012 — 2 Comments

I came across this post yesterday by a former Harvard student who looks back fondly on the days when “thefacebook” was thrilling and fun.

It’s hard to remember, now, but there was a time when Facebook was the most exciting thing on the Internet.

Implicit in this statement, of course, is the fact that it is no longer true. A fact that apparently resonated with the tech elite, since this post made it to the front page of Hacker News.

This all got me wondering: Is Facebook still fun?

Like so many things, it is evident that Facebook has become well trodden. For me, it’s moved past its utility as a personal social network and become a part of my business. After all, you can’t be in public relations today and not have Facebook play a role in your thinking.

Do I find interesting things to read on Facebook, clever images and attention-grabbing video? Yes. Do I enjoy keeping up with friends, colleagues and family on Facebook? Yes. Could I do these things as easily in another way? No.

So, clearly Facebook is still valuable. As a tool.

But is it fun?

Perhaps comparisons would shed some light.

  • My iPhone is fun. My landline is not.
  • Eating lunch out is fun. Eating a homemade sandwich is not.
  • Driving my Prius is fun. Driving a minivan is not.

No matter how many new features Facebook launches, it will never again be the new thing everyone is discovering. It’s been around long enough that it has also begun to lose the coolness it once had. For something to be cool it has to have some real or perceived exclusivity, and Facebook is used by such a massive number of people that such exclusivity is impossible.

Facebook has become the social networking equivalent of the old AT&T, before it was broken up. It’s a virtual monopoly of online interaction. Ubiquitous, yes.  Fun, maybe not so much.

Of course, this raises an interesting issue. If Facebook is no longer the “it” network, what is? I don’t think there’s a clear winner. Which makes the whole question perplexing. If there’s nothing in the wings waiting to knock off Facebook, then its time is clearly not past.

So, maybe Facebook is still cool and fun. Perhaps it’s just fun for those fairly new to it. Can it be that Facebook has become old hat only to those of us who have been using it for a long time, like the Harvard alum who wrote the post I saw on Hacker News?

Maybe, just maybe, the problem with Facebook … is me.

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HuffPo, What’s With Your iPad App?

December 1, 2012 — Leave a comment

I really like the Huffington Post. I like the stories. Like the blogs. It’s a quick read of the day’s news. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Except for the HuffPo iPad app. It’s the pits, and has been for quite awhile.

Today, I opened it up to find it filled with old news. Pre-election stories! The section for popular news is devoid of content. And this type of thing happens a lot.

This all raises a question: How can an undisputed leader in online news have such an overwhelmingly bad iPad app? It’s not like nobody’s told them. The app has bad reviews and bad ratings on iTunes. Is it possible that nobody at HuffPo uses the app? If they do, how could they fail to notice this?

If you come across this post, HuffPo, please, please fix the app. I don’t want to bash. I just want to enjoy your content, on my iPad…

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6 Reasons to Love Your Public Relations Firm

August 22, 2012 — Leave a comment

Your public relations firm is a lot more than just a clip machine. If you think about your PR firm simply as an organization that pitches news and wins coverage, you’re missing a lot of what it has to offer.

Your PR firm works hard to understand your business inside and out so it can be there when you need it most. It’s prepared for the expected and the unexpected. It’s ready to roll in good times and bad. Success and crisis. Addressing positive stories and negative. Training, advising and pitching your business.

There are lots of reasons why you should love your public relations firm. Here are six big ones I’ve come up with.

Why You Should Love Your Public Relations Firm

  1. They’re people you can trust. In any organization, individuals have agendas. But your public relations firm is an outside entity. Your PR firm’s staff members function as your spokespeople and your strategic advisors. Their only goal is to maximize your exposure and reputation. You can trust them, run ideas by them and ask them about things you might not know. No question is too elementary. No confidence will be broken. They’re people you can turn to in a pinch.
  2. They’ll tell it to you straight. One of the most important services a PR firm can offer is telling you when you’re got it wrong. Oftentimes, people in your own organization won’t want to point out errors. However, the staff members at your PR firm have been hired to tell it like it is. If you want to respond to a negative story with a press release setting the record straight, your PR firm will tell you why this may be a bad idea. They’ll risk a little confrontation to make sure you get it right.
  3. They’ve seen it all before. When you hire a public relations firm, you’re hiring experience. Your firm’s publicists and strategists have been there before. This has tremendous value. When your company is under attack in the media, it may feel overwhelming to you and you may want to lash out. Your PR firm will offer dispassionate counsel. This is critical. Public relations professionals deal with these situations all the time and know how they resolve and how much time it can take. This perspective can lead to much better decisions.
  4. They understand social. We all know that we’ve got to be part of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the other social networks out there. However, some organizations and their marketing/PR folks just don’t have enough experience to be effective in this arena. Your public relations firm does. It can give you the lay of the social landscape, help devise effective social media strategies and make sure your traditional PR efforts complement your social media efforts. Working with social media is just the newest type of media relations, which has been the sweet spot of PR firms forever.
  5. They’re writing professionals. The written word is a challenge for some, an absolute nightmare for others. But for your PR firm, it’s a walk in the park. Public relations firms are experts with the written word. It is their chosen medium. Many PR folks — like myself — are former reporters, so their first love is writing. This can come in handy as your PR firm’s staff can help you with written communications in many forms. Whether you need help blogging, writing white papers and ebooks, or simply crafting internal communications, your PR firm can do it. Just ask.
  6. They’ve got your back. One big job of PR firms is to guard your reputation. In short, they look out for you and respond when the vultures circle. It’s nice to have someone to stand up for you when times get tough, but when it comes to the media it’s essential. Please note, the way your firm responds may not be the way you would think to fire back yourself. But referring to No. 3 above, remember your PR pros have seen it before. However they choose to proceed, know that your PR firm’s staff members are looking out for you.

Certainly, there are other reasons to love your public relations firm. Please let me know if you have more I should add to the list.

My main point, however, is to urge you to think of your public relations firm in the broadest possible terms. It can provide you with a great deal of value in areas you may not have considered.

In FKCBlog, Public Relations ,
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7 Tips for Great Audio Interviews

August 14, 2012 — Leave a comment

When most people think of PR interviews, newspapers and TV jump to mind. Audio interviews, conducted by radio stations and podcasters, are often an afterthought.

However, these interviews can be valuable for two big reasons. First, radio remains quite popular, boasting large, engaged audiences. Podcasts, too, can have sizable followings in their subject areas. Second, audio interviews are often made available as MP3 downloads, which means you can place them on your website, share them on social media and blogs, and email links to your customers and prospects.

With such value to be had from audio interviews, it makes sense to do them right. Here are some tips for pulling off great audio interviews.

7 Tips for Great Audio Interviews

  • Maximize sound quality. I know this sounds like the station or podcaster’s job, but there are lots of things you can do to maximize the audio quality of your own interviews. Make sure you’re in a quiet room, windows and doors shut and mobile phone off. If you’re doing a telephone interview, use the corded handset to your phone, not a speakerphone and not a wireless handset. Do not use a mobile phone for your interview. If you are doing a Skype interview, shut down all unnecessary programs on your computer. The better the sound quality, the better you’ll come across.
  • Be prepared. Just because your interview is going to be a conversation doesn’t mean you can do it off the cuff. You should prepare for an audio interview as thoroughly as you would for a newspaper or TV interview. The good news is since it’s audio, you can have your notes right in front of you and nobody will know. So, create good talking points and practice a few times before the interview. You can even get on the phone and rehearse with a colleague or your publicist until you feel ready.
  • Don’t be too prepared. You may think I’m crazy but hear me out. Lots of people try to script out their audio interviews — and this usually fails badly. It’s hard to read from a script and make it sound like a conversation. And if the host throws in a question you’re not expecting, you can get flustered. It’s better to use talking points, at mentioned above, so you can just scan the bullet points to keep you on track. If you’re familiar with the material from your preparation, you should be able to stay on message just fine.
  • Keep it steady. This idea is terribly important. You want to keep a steady, fairly slow, relaxed vocal pace as you go through your interview. When people are nervous they tend to speak far too quickly. When listeners hear someone speaking too quickly, they assume the person is nervous, which is always a negative. This is something to work on when you practice. Keep your pace relaxed. Don’t rush to get done. Sound like you’re enjoying the interview and have all the time in the world. This will give your interview a confident feel that will help win over listeners.
  • Refer back to previous points. This speaks to a big difference between audio interviews and print. Audio is 100% linear. There’s no looking back at the prior paragraph if the listener loses his or her place. So, if you’re going to make a point that relates to something you said 5 minutes earlier, understand that the listener may not recall your reference. Better to refer back to the previous point explicitly. For example: “You’ll recall at the beginning of the interview I mentioned the sky is blue. Since our product evokes the sense of flight, we’ve chosen a blue color palette for our latest generation…”
  • Counting always helps. I’m sure you’ve heard this construction before. “There are three points I want to make about our newest product. One…” This approach is perfect for audio interviews. It helps listeners keep track of what you’re telling them and it gives them a sense for how long this part of the conversation will run. Remember, since audio is linear, anything that will help listeners follow along is of great value. Make sure, however, that if you say you’re going to make four points, you don’t stop at three without some explanation. Otherwise, you’ll create confusion and undo your good work.
  • Use examples. This is a good idea with any interview, but it is particularly useful with audio. When you use examples in describing a situation, product or service, you are bringing an idea to life, giving it flesh and blood. Audio is a very intimate media format to begin with — after all, you are hearing real voices and picking up real emotion — so examples are particularly powerful. For example: “Our new product is very popular with young adults. There’s a great story about one college student in Maryland who bought it for three of his friends and…”

Audio interviews are much easier than you think. As a podcaster, I’ve conducted many, many interviews and coached lots of folks through them. Everyone has the capacity to pull off a great audio interview. Just follow the tips above and you’ll be on your way to becoming an audio star.

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