media training

I'm still in recovery from a six hour (!) media training workshop yesterday. I used to think that the average interview was pretty much like a conversation, but with perhaps a few more formal rules, some risk, some pitfalls. Now I know better. It's like a carefully orchestrated chess game where you have a second or two to make your move rather than a few minutes. I told the instructor that as an academic, I was more accustomed to having a day, a week, or even sometimes a year to come up with an answer to a question, rather than a second or two. I will need to think differently about all of this.

Other things I learned:

1. The camera adds 50 pounds. Er, or maybe it's the years of beer and nachos.

2. My hair is far too long. I look a bit like Sitting Bull from the side.

3. When you see people on television who look as though they're shouting, it's because they're shouting, which seems to be the normal dynamic range of a tv voice. I have a fairly small voice. This will take some work.

4. The objective of an interview is to look for openings to insert "messages" which are tightly orchestrated, planned, and well rehearsed sets of two sentences, each of which has fewer than sixteen words. People say they know this is true.

Happily, my expectation is that any media coverage my book might get will likely be print or possibly radio. That somehow seems easier. They won't see me squirm and sweat.

Whatever happens, I'm glad I went through this well in advance of my book release date. There may still be time to save myself.