You're likely to feel tension when you're being in an interview and ask questions that's completely natural. There's a part of you that feel like oh my gosh, I hope I get just right hope I don't mess up. You feel tension when you feel tension puts pressure on you, your brain doesn't work is effectively as clearly as quickly as it does when you're in a completely relaxed situation. So I want to give you some tips to make your life even easier. For starters, sometimes a reporter will ask you two, three, maybe four questions in a row. Now, it could be the tough adversarial journalist on TV badgering you, but more likely it's a reporter just kind of thinking, is it this or is it this or what do you think about that?
They're not trying to intimidate you. They're just thinking out loud. And they'll ask you three, four questions in a row. Don't try to be the smart college professor. So let me take your fourth question first and your third question second. Don't Answer the most interesting question first, don't answer the most challenging question first.
Instead, listen carefully to all the questions and then strategically pick the one question. That's the easiest for you to get back to one of your message points, you have to really think, listen strategically, and focus on what your real goal is. Your goal is to get the messages you care about the messages you prepared that you really gave thought to in our last section, to get it out of your mouth, during the interview and into the final story. So you have to really develop an ear for the questions that will help you get there. And if a reporter asked you three or four questions, that's great. The normal human reaction is to feel intimidated.
Oh, what if I miss this one? I better get all this pressure. No. You need to think of it as a great choice. be lazy, pick the easiest question that helps you get to your message point one of your message points as quickly as possible. Don't feel obligated to then go back and answer all the others.
If you answered one question, no one can accuse, you have dodging questions now. You're not telling the reporter I refuse to answer the other questions. That's not what it's about. The reporter is more than able to go back and re ask those questions. But quite often, you'll answer the question that helps you get to your message point. And then you have good messages which you should have if you did your due diligence.
You've put out so many more interesting ideas. The reporters now asking follow up questions about your message. That's exactly where you want to be. The real rule again, answer the one question that's easiest for you. That allows you to get to one of your message points.