SMART TIPS FOR E-MAIL INTERVIEWS
E-mail has quickly become the way of our world. When it comes to job interviews and media interviews, e-mail gives you the chance to take your time responding and to craft the words you wish to say. So, why spend fifteen minutes chatting on the phone when you can just send a quick email that only takes a minute or two and saves your precious time? There are plenty of reasons, but perhaps the most important is that e-mails do almost nothing to build relationships and as Ragan's media relations report recently pointed out, "e-mail interviews can lead to mistakes".
E-mail interviews do not provide any interaction between two people. When you talk to someone in person or over the phone, they can hear the inflection in your voice, excitement and enthusiasm as well as your emotional connection to a topic. If someone is energetic and dynamic, that is often lost during e-mail communications. A joke or off the cuff comment that might be funny in person could be completely misunderstood in a simple one line e-mail.
Furthermore, if you conduct an interview by e-mail, there is no chance to be spontaneous. Often the questions are scripted which does not allow the interviewee to ask questions of the reporter, so it is difficult to make the reporter see things differently and to affect the story in a greater way. Because reporters are not always experts in the specific industry or product they are writing about, they do not always ask questions that get to the heart of the issue.
Here are some additional tips:
Don't write a book. The reporter is writing the story, not you. Come up with three-to-five good points (think of them as tips or nuggets) that mean something to that reporter's audience. Back those points up with relevant examples, stories, statistics, analogies or visual images that bring the message to life.
- If you are enthusiastic about what you are saying, let that come through in your e-mail. Use high-energy words. Use adjectives and descriptions.
- Keep it simple. Too much information will confuse reporters and cloud your message.
- Make sure you know who is asking for an interview and who the person works for. You need to understand what reporters hope to accomplish and who makes up their audience. Is it a national or an international audience? This is important because examples and phrases that resonate here at home might mean something entirely different or not mean anything at all when translated into a different language. Therefore, it is also important not to abbreviate, use jargon or industry acronyms.
- Finally, make sure your e-mail includes who you are; Include a short background paragraph, your contact information with phone number and Web site URL.
It is important however to judge every situation on an individual basis. If you decide an e-mail interview is appropriate, remember there are some positives. First, you will have an instant record of what you said in case you are questioned. You also don't have to worry about blurting out something you wish you hadn't said. With e-mail, you can simply go back through the script and delete that part before hitting send.
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