” Remember that the right word – the one instantly recognized and understood by your listener – is most often a simple word. ” ~ Larry King
The final installment of this three-part series is finally ready and I’m proud that The Headmaster of Headlines himself saw fit to call on me to write this post.
It’s been so good for me and I’ve gotten so many emails about it, that I just may go back to Brian for more homework assignments!
As my favorite boxing referee, Mills Lane, always said, ” Let’s get it on ! “
19 – Solicit opinions – don’t just state yours. Without a doubt I have an opinion about almost everything. Without a doubt, if all I do is give ‘em away, they won’t be worth much.
In an interview, it’s all about the guest, so keep your opinions to yourself, unless the guest calls on you to give yours.
The only time you might need to interject your opinion is if the one the guest gives is far and away too controversial for you to not point out just how different you feel about the topic.
In case you landed here from a search, here how you get to Part One and Part Two.
20 – The perfect volume of your words is hard to quantify. You don’t want to use too many words, but you don’t want to use so few that people think you’re not too bright, nor too interested.
I wish I could tell you how much to talk and how much to listen, but you’ll have to gauge it for yourself and change it every single time you interview someone.
21 – Be curious about everything. The best conversationalists are curious.
” That’s why they’re so good at listening and why they have broad horizons – they’re always learning something new. “ ~ Larry King
If you’re gonna excel at this skill, you’re gonna have to want to learn just for the sake of learning, which is why I love it.
22 – Show empathy. You absolutely must relate to what the other person is saying to get optimum results.
Even if you’re not genuinely interested, you need to be … if only for that short period of time.
Without empathy, the other person will never turn loose of all the nuggets of gold that they have hidden in their heart and mind.
23 – Show your sense of humor. ” When I’m giving a speech, one of my own cardinal rules is ‘ Never stay too serious too long. ” ~ Larry King
People don’t come to be lectured to, they come for entertainment. If you want to try to ramp it up to edutainmen, that’s fine, but stop short of lectures … unless you’re teaching at Columbia Law School.
The easier you smile and laugh, the easier it will be for the other person to smil and laugh. Simple, but entirely necessary.
24 – Don’t blow the show. Nothing’s worse than using tired old phrases, catch phrases, trendy talk and ill-fitting cliches.
Metaphors, which are like cliches, only better, add visual proof to the phrase your using. Cliches just add weight to the basket and make it harder to carry.
Avoid nothing words like ” Basically… “, ” Hopefully… “, ” Whatever… ” and their ilk. ” Umm… ” and ” Uhhhh… ” and starting an answer with ” I mean… ” are for athletes, not interviewers, so avoid those at all costs.
” Sprinkle enough of those around your converation and people will think you’re incapable of talking like the rest of us. “ ~ Larry King
25 – Break bad speech habits. First of all, you must, absolutely must, liten to yourself as the words come out of your mouth. Listen to replays of your interviews.
Even better is to have someone else review your talks and give you ideas of what to do to improve.
Get rid of the mistakes, little by little, and over time, you can break every bad habit of speech that you have at the start.
Remember, you’re at your worst when you begin and you can only get better over time.
Don’t let not being perfect stop your starting. Sloppy success is much better than perfect inaction.
26 – Time is money. Don’t waste the other person’s time talking about unimportant things.
If you do, they won’t come back, they won’t refer people to you and they’ll call your Mother and tell her you stink.
Well, maybe not, but you’re stature will be stunted and you’ll need a growth serum to get rid of the bad mojo they put on you.
Be professional in your approach and treat the other person with respect and dignity.
27 – If you aren’t at ease with the subject, your demeanor will suffer.
Regardless of your ability, remember this:
A) If you feel you’re not good at it, you can be.
B) If you feel you’re good at it, you can be better.
~ Larry King.
‘Nuff said.
In case you accidentally landed here, here’s how you accidentally find Part Two and Part One.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Mike,
Great series here. I am old enough to remember when Larry King was on the radio in Miami. These are all such salient points. I do weekly teleseminars on ebook writing and technology, and when I interview someone there is always the fine balance between sloppy success and perfect inaction. I heard you interview Jeff Herring a while back and your interviewing skills are excellent.
Coming from you Connie, that not only makes my day, it makes my week !
Conversely, I’ve listened to you and Jeff and I hear your comments during the Q&A on Teleseminar Secrets.
Great to have you visit – Please come back soon.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.