Ep. 289 BE UNFORGETTABLE IN THE MEDIA WITH PILAR ORTIZ

Hey, Darren. How you doing, buddy? What?

I'm doing well. I'm doing well. I realize when you're on stage, it's one thing, but when you're in the media, you gotta look at things a little bit differently.

Yeah. And that's why I'm so thrilled to have one of my friends and one of my associates join us today. But listen, I want to jump right in. Let's just have our intro, and I'll get a chance to let people meet the wonderful, the amazing, the delightful Pilar Ortiz. Let's do this. Darren.

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the Unforgettable Presentations podcasts with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown. Mark Brown.

Your life tells a story, and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time. Stage time. Stage time.

Ready for some powerful presentation, Ahas. Let's dive right in.

Hey, Darren. I had a chance the last several rounds of the NSA Florida Academy. I get to be a judge, and I got to work with our guest today, Pilado Ortiz. Her resume is amazing. She's done broadcasting. She coaches speakers. She's got an international flavor to her and a lovely Spanish accent, and she is a master of media. So help me welcome today my friend, Pilar Ortiz. Hello, Pilar.

Hello, Mark. Hello, Darren. Happy to be here. And thank you for that introduction. That has been fun to be judge and coach with you.

Yeah, it has been fun, and we get to do it again next in May, I believe. But right now, I'm thrilled to have you as our guest. You know, Darren and I serve a community of speakers that's really global. They're all over the world, and some of them, you know, they write books and they want to go on media, and they're accustomed to presenting live on stage, but sometimes the camera's there and they're not quite sure what to do. And you watch yourself. I'm guilty of this. And you notice you're fidgeting or your body movement is awkward, and you've spent a lot of time in the studio and out of the studio as a presenter and broadcaster. And I'm hoping you can share with us some ideas as a speaker as well that might help our guests and our community become better on media. Would that be okay with you?

Absolutely. Happy to do it.

So here's a scenario. You know, I'm first time I'm going to Be on media. I'm used to giving talks at a local community center. I'm pushing my book. And I get a chance to be interviewed. And Darren has been interviewed before. I know he's been done before, but I get a chance to do maybe eight minutes on a morning talk show, and I've never done it before, and I'm nervous. Do I look at you, the interviewer, what tips would you give? First of all, for somebody, says Pilar, I don't know what to do. Help me. What would you say?

The first one that I will say is, if you have that opportunity, say yes. Because the first thing that people, I think, fail in doing is thinking too much. No, I don't have the experience. I don't know how it's going to look. I don't. So that's the first thing. Say yes even before you think about it. Start preparing for that opportunity. That will be number two. Because a lot of times we don't say yes right away because we haven't had the practice, we haven't been coached, we haven't done it right. And in the moment, usually with media, is like right now, are you available this afternoon or tomorrow morning? Maybe a week maybe. So it's a little too late to get that practice. So those two things beforehand. And let's say you said yes and the interview is going to come up tomorrow and it's in the station. Let's say it's not virtual like we are doing today. We are going to share a little bit of the difference between both. But you go to this TV station, they have the lights. The producers just think that you are going to have a conversation. I think when you overthink the process, you start being very conscious about it. You forget your topic. You want to say too much, you want to say too little. So if you engage with that conversation with active listening, we are in a good track. What does that mean? You pay attention to the question and you answer the question. What I see that people do a lot is they want to add more and more and more. That's a mistake. You just stop. The reporter, the anchor will ask you another question. So if you are nervous, keep it short. That's like number one rule. You keep it short. The person is going to ask you another question, then you build a little bit more, and then you build a little bit more. Speaking short is what we call sound bites, right? Sound bite allows the audience, if it's a live show, to understand what we are saying. Like right now, even I am giving a longer Answer I'm giving it as a nugget in sound bites instead of just putting all together. And if it's something that is being pre recorded and people are going to edit that, maybe you are going to edit this podcast you edited already. It's going to be easier to cut the pieces of the interview. So those are some few to start with that is going to make it easier for you, easier for the interviewer and more important easier for the audience to understand what you are saying.

And I think people don't get the fact that they have to be much more succinct in media. It's one thing doing an hour podcast or something like that where they want you to talk and expand, but when you are on a three minute segment, that means if you're going to do even three or four answers, they've got to be 30, 40 seconds. And I think we, we need to make that adjustment in our head or think through because you don't have the time and the interviewer may up having to cut you off. We want to look like a pro. So we want to answer quickly and succinctly and almost think in bullet points now.

And that comes with practice. And that's a very good point. When we say two or three minute interview, we are not kidding, right? It's that amount of time or less. And even people with experience that are like us, it's like oh my gosh, this is just quick. So. So we have to have the clarity of our message. One thing that I always coach on is you know what you are going to talk about. You have a new book, you have a presentation, regardless of the question, have that clarity of one or two or three as you mentioned, Darren, bullet points that are going to take you straight to the point. That's it. Here is my answer. And they go to the next one. Instead of building a lot of story around it. And people talk too much as speakers tend to talk talk too much.

Now, two things here. Pilar, you just mentioned a really powerful point. You said instead of building a story around it. And here's what I've discovered. Many of us as presenters get into story mode almost automatically. So what you're saying is it's a different mindset, a shift of thinking, not story mode. Get to the point. Really bullet points. And I want to go back to something you said. The second point you said, you said first, say yes. Second, prepare. And in terms of preparation, can we drill down a little bit on how we can really prepare ourselves before we get to that studio? Is it a mindset? Do we review our content? Do we make sure to pull out two or three points knowing we only have between three and seven minutes? How do we prepare for that interview?

Specifically, it's a little bit of everything. You just mentioned mindset. And yes, if I keep repeating myself, no, I will never be able to do an interview that is so difficult. I'm so scared. Of course you are right, that's not going to happen. And this is coming from someone that telling a little bit of the story behind it. I worked for over 20 years on broadcasting and television as an anchor, news director, reporter. But I was very scared of the cameras at the very beginning. It wasn't natural to me. It was a change of mindset very early in my career that if I'm going to be working on tv I better change this. And I learned to do it. So here it is possible to learn about it. Mindset first, second, as speakers, if we are talking about speakers, but any professional that could be listening or watching to this podcast because unforgettable presentations are all over any industry, regardless of the industry, on television, in the media, people need to know a little bit of what you know. They don't need to know everything. If I'm going to share here everything about it, it's better to read a book, it's better to watch a 20 hour course or hire us as coaches. The interview is just a quick getting to know you, getting some tips. So how do I prepare? Think about your content and take it. I always say, like nuggets, take it into pieces. What is what I really want for people to understand. If I'm talking about speaking on tv, mindset, body language, message, and that's it. I don't have to go to 10 other things. Practice makes us better. How do I practice if I'm not on TV now? These days it's easier than ever. We all have a phone, we can practice. And doing a 12 minute video. I used to practice all the time thinking as a reporter. I call it thinking as a reporter. What is what I want to say when it's going to be where did it happen? Depending on what it is. So how do you practice? You have a topic and you say it out loud. Let's say how to make an unforgettable presentation. Think in three things. Your content, your body language or the structure of the message. And that's it. Instead of the 10 that you might put on a book, but saying it out loud, it makes a big difference because one thing is to think about it. Another thing is to say it and like, okay, no, that word doesn't work. Let me say it again. As we do that, we are going to be more ready.

And you mentioned, twice, you mentioned three points. Is something, is there something magical about having just three or three quick bullets?

We know that, right? Yes, yes, yes. It is proven that it's easier for us to structure our message and it's easier for the audience, for the viewer, for the listener to remember what we just said. I always say, even people say like, I am not ready, I'm not prepared. We know our content. Why is that? We are not prepared because we have too much information. But let's say we get an award and we are sitting in the room and they call our name. We didn't have a speech ready because we didn't know we were going to win. In the moment that you get up from that table and you are walking to the stage to get your award, you can be thinking, okay, I'm going to say thank you to my team, I'm going to say something to my family and I'm going to say what is inspiring me to the future. Those two three things. And it could be another three things. But as you are walking, you have the 1, 2, 3 ready for you to go. And don't think, oh, that's not wrong. I really didn't want to say anything about the future. I wanted to say, how did I get here? That's a perfect. Another one. It doesn't matter which ones you pick as long as you have it in your mind right away. Same on television, same on media. That's why it required the practice of just doing it. I used to do it when I was driving and I will see something in the corner, a family crossing the street. And I will say it as a reporter. This family is wearing this and they are crossing such a street and they will make it there before the light changes. Best practicing it. Very short.

And you said think like a reporter. You've done that for many, many years. We have somebody here who's been trying to market themselves and they get this call, hey, can you be in studio at 8 o' clock tomorrow morning? Want to do an interview in the morning show with you? They don't think as a reporter in the moment. They're thinking, oh my gosh, they want to talk to me. I did not know I'm ready. Are there any particular reporter like mindset or thoughts we can begin to develop as habits even now? So that when the time comes, we'll Be ready.

I think the basic questions always help. What is what I want to share. Where is this event going to happen? When is going to happen? Why am I doing it? So, four basic questions that allow us to think about it. As a reporter, we get to the places when I used to be reporting the news without knowing anything. We don't know anything. We got there, something happened, and we are sent there. I remember when I first covered the death of Pablo Escobar. I was 24 years old. I didn't cover that type of news in a very violent time in Colombian history. But I gathered the information I needed in order to do it. What happened? When did it happen? Who? Why? So when we. We don't know what we are going to face, but we have the basics. Imagine we know our topics. So this is the trick. Organizing it in a way that less is more. That's it. That is going to be easier for you, is going to be easier for them. And that takes practice. It's about anything. I love having the scissors available. Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. That's enough. That's it.

And you mentioned four questions. The what, the where, the when, and the what. Why?

Why?

Okay, I guess the who is you, because you're the one who's going to be interviewed there. And I know in some cases individuals will make the marketing effort to get that time in the studio with an interviewer to market their materials. And I did some media training many, many years ago when I was talking in schools. And one of the points that was made to me, and I hope you can explain this to our audience, was whatever you do, find a way to get on message. The circumstance was an interviewer may ask a question and they may be have an interest in my hair or my Jamaican accent. But I was told, you're in that studio, you want to make sure to get one particular message out. Is there a technique for getting on message even when the interviewer takes you in a different direction?

Absolutely, yes. And that comes with that practice and the clarity of what do I want to say when we are looking for that interview? Let's say they didn't call us to say, oh, would you be able to talk about this? But we sent some information and we want to be interviewed about it. What questions are we ready to answer? It's not the way the old school press release is the new way of press release. Create a story for the news. Create a story for the program. So give them the story. What is what you want to talk about? Oh, I'm going to Say something about immigrants, women in the United States, professional immigrant women. So that's why am I going to talk about it and what type of questions I'm going to answer. So that's the beginning of it. In the middle of the interview, they ask you some other things, but they don't go to that one that you wanted. Regardless of the question, a little bit of the politician style, but just a little bit. Regardless of the question, answer very short and sweet to the question and find your way to get to the point or to the message that you want to convey. Because a lot of times that doesn't happen because we were nervous, we were asking specifically that person asked me that one thing. And there are so many people that are very structured in their way of thinking that they only answer, for example, give me one idea and they said, this is my one idea and that's it. You can elaborate a little bit. So what do you want to say? If you have that clear before the interview, you are not going to have regrets. Because the worst is that you finish the interview and you come and say, I, I should have said this. I didn't mention this. That's the worst feeling. So I think when you have that clear ahead of time is going to be successful.

Now, how do you feel about giving the interviewer questions? Like they may or may not use them, But I was always told have a list of questions to give them to make their job easier. What's your take on that?

So if you are being interviewed and giving the reporter or the interviewer the questions, I have a specific opinion about that and it goes both ways. If I recommend someone to give the interviewer questions, I wouldn't say these are questions. Let me explain. I will say this is what I as an expert in such and such topic can address, can answer to help your audience. Why is the mindset so important? What are the most important tips to work on tv? So you are not giving the report because it is could be taken in a different way. Like this person is giving me questions. You don't want to do that. And the other way around, when people ask the interviewer for the questions, hi, do you mind send me the questions? I don't like it. For a good interviewer is going to have questions on the go. You didn't send me a question for the podcast, I didn't ask for the questions. We know the topic and we go along. So in that sense, when they ask me for questions, I'm like, trust the process. You are an expert on your topic and this is what we are going to be talking. I think when that happens, people want to control the situation instead of trusting the process in the only moment that I think the questions are very helpful is in a panel situation because there are three guests and you want to make sure this one has one story. But on media, I will say tell the interviewer what you can tell their audience instead of specific questions. And the questions are right there, but you are giving the answers instead of the questions. That will be what I will suggest.

I'm not sure if it's the right question to ask you, Pilar, but I'm seeing our listeners and viewers thinking, okay, I want to get on a particular program. In your experience, is there any particular type of material that the presenter or potential guest should send to producers in advance that may give them a reason to choose them for the program? I hope I asked the question correctly. What would be helpful for us to send ahead of time to get selected?

I think when I was in the media doing, producing newscasts, I got to use a lot of, oh, here is my book. Would you interview me? Like one of a hundred. Thank you, thank you. But when you do the homework and you know this is a program for unforgettable presentations, they need this. This goes to men or women or children, and you have something that, you know, it could be helpful, you present it again as a news story, even with a title. That will be my suggestion. How to overcome. Whatever. How to do parenting in the modern times. 10 ideas to have a better time with your family. And there are low budgets. Whatever. It is your expertise. You create the news, you make it newsworthy so it becomes about the audience and not you. Even if it's your book or you won an award. Like, for example, I won the Tampa Hispanic Woman of the Year. How did I do that Release focusing in the successes of immigrant women in the United States. What did I have to overcome? How did it happen? What advice I would have for other women? So they interviewed me from three or four local stations because the topic during the Hispanic Heritage Month was something they needed and they found that he was going to offer something to the others. Piladortis won an award. Who cares? You know, not who cares, but you know what I mean? It's not newsworthy.

It's who cares?

Who cares?

What's in it for me?

Yeah, what is there for me?

Exactly what you just shared, though, Pilar, made me think, because I wonder, and our listeners and viewers think about this. Is your area of expertise particularly valid at a certain time of Year, is it for a season? Is it for an event? If you are focusing on African American history, is Black History Month a time for you to share your expertise? And pillar, you said show how your expertise can help the audience. Don't make it about you. I have this, I'm an expert, I can do this. But I would love to share what I've learned to help the audience. And if you can be aware of the timing, it could really be newsworthy. It could be the absolutely right time for you to go to media outlets and share your expertise. I never thought of that before. So I got one really cool nugget from you, Pilar, and that. Thank you very much. Thank you.

My pleasure. My pleasure. And now with social media, it has changed because now these days, if you need an expert, you go maybe on one social media outlet or another one and you find people. But even with that opportunity, I think when you think in seasons, during the year, it could be fall, it could be summer, it could be taxes, whatever season, depending on the industry. It could be also being available for the reporters, like telling them, these are the two or three things that I know. Put me in your contact list in case you are not asking for anything today. But hey, I'm an expert in, I don't know, flights, whatever it is, taxes, security, taxes, a coach. And when that opportunity comes, they would appreciate that they have someone right there in their list. We usually don't think about it, but building those relationships ahead of time when you don't even need to be in the media or you don't want to be in the media is very important. And then they just call you. Usually it's for right now. So being available is part of the deal. But now these days it's easier because they will do it online too. It's no longer that you have to go there.

I'm glad you said that because here we are, we're recording this in March and I'm thinking tax season. And if I were a tax expert and made my local media aware, I could help our constituents, your listeners, your viewers, with three tips for tax season, for argument's sake, and they become basically, you said, make yourself a resource to the media to serve the community. That's brilliant. Thank you so much, Pilar. I like that a lot.

I think a lot of presenters, experts, speakers, authors miss the importance of this. This is like free advertisement for you. So just like what Mark had said and what you had said is we got to gear it to, to help your audience, to help your audience. I can Help your audience, do this, avoid that, get out of this situation. So that's number one. Number two, Mark, what you just said, if you know my speaker friend, cyber expert Mack Jackson here in Vegas, I see him on TV on the news every couple of weeks. And the reason my opinion, and this is my question, if you could talk to the importance of building the relationship with the, let's say the producer of the new show because they want someone who understands to speak in sound bites, who can talk to the camera, who is comfortable with the camera. If they find somebody they like, they're going to keep coming back to you when that topic comes back up. So it's not just that one time, it's how well you do and how much they like you and how much you serve their audience that they're more likely to put you in their Rolodex. Your thoughts on that?

Absolutely. And the energy that you bring and the clarity with your message, if it's someone boring and it's long and it's like they are not going to call you back even if they need it, they will look for somebody else, somewhere, place else. And that's why being ready when we are not even needing to be ready is so important. Becoming the authority, the expert. So one industry, one topic could be 10 different things. A lot of times we know what we know, but they don't. So making it easier, hey, if in case of this happened, if it's cybersecurity, it could be identity theft, it could be credit cards scam, the new latest, whatever they are sending via text message. So we give them the scenarios and that's building that relationship, giving them. A lot of times there are down times in the news or in the programs that they have to fill the time and they don't have more ideas and you come with something very specific that's very helpful. So I think the bottom line is to build that relationship thinking a little more than only you. It's because I'm going to be on TV and it's going to serve me when you do it the other way around. They will call you more, you will be recognized more and then you can use your clips in your social media and it becomes that circle. Right.

And quick reminder too, the producer is the person who in our world we would say the event planner, they're the decision maker, it's the producer. So make no mistake, the anchor person or the person interviewing you, they have some say but they're not the producer. But Mark. I remember my comedy mentor, Vinnie. He would be on the news quite a bit. And he had told me, he said because he's a comedian and he's on there to promote his comedy show and he would always make it his goal to make the anchor person or the interviewer laugh. Laugh like forget everybody else. If I can make them laugh, that is going to show value for what he's promoting. So for us, we need to make that connection with that anchor. And what I'd suggest, even though, Pilar, you're the expert here, but from my experience, I would also recommend get to know the person who's interviewing you ahead of time. What do they like? Do they have a cat? Do they have a dog? Do they always brag about their spouse? So if you can show you did your homework, you're more likely to be invited back. Your thoughts?

Absolutely. I agree. And by watching them a lot of times, if you know their style, they are fun, they are funny, they are very serious. You can watch a couple of programs, you can watch it with a different set of eyes, not as a regular audience person watching your TV show, but playing the role of being interviewed so you are paying attention, what type of questions, how they are connecting with the person. And that is going to be very helpful. Absolutely. Yes, I agree with that. Knowing them, knowing something about them in advance is going to be very helpful for us.

Pilar, you said that you've been a producer yourself, right? I think it was. And you said at times you can abuse light, so to speak. But we, the public don't know that. Are we supposed to. Would you even consider finding out what's a slow news day? How would we even know that there is a slow news day? I mean, I want to be on me, but I don't know what to do. How would I know?

It depends what it is. But usually vacation time, for example, it could be a slow when you see like the same news are going to repeat. So it's Thanksgiving week, it's a lot of flying or traveling by car and then people cooking. But usually everyone is on vacation. You don't want to put the most effort. They rep supporters are from vacation. Even December could be a slow season. Summary could be a slow season. So depending on where you are in the country and depending on the show, if we are talking hard news or soft or talk shows. But I think it's easier to understand that like everything in life, it has the periods of time. So that's something else. Maybe something that you sent or a conversation that you had at the beginning of the year, maybe four or five months later that they didn't call you, it doesn't mean they don't need it. Maybe because they are receiving too much. They just don't remember. We think that people are thinking about us all the time and we get surprised, like, oh, what?

They're not.

You are a coach. Oh, my gosh, I forgot. So be aware of being, saying it all the time. It doesn't matter. People don't remember because people don't think of us all the time. They're like, hey, whenever you need something Spanish, remember that. Whenever you need these, remember. And that opens doors all the time. What happened? What did you remember? I saw both of you like, ah.

It'S interesting because what came to mind, Pilar, is the idea of, I would love to stay top of mind, but I don't want to be a pain in the neck, you know, if I'd love to be on a particular show, it's up to me then to kind of find a balance by watching trends. I guess if it's a talk show or a morning news magazine program in a local market, and I live in Macon, Georgia, I don't really watch the morning talk show, but maybe I should if I want to get on media here and I may see patterns if I'm really seriously pursuing that market. Now, not everyone watching or listening is going to do that, but if you were to consider, just check the market, see what's happening, find out what trends and patterns exist and establish that relationship and just kind of check in every once in a while. So he's. Oh, you know, you're right. Darren Lacroix is a guy I can talk to about the dream. Let's bring him in if we can get him next week. And I hadn't thought about that aspect of it. But now again, Pilar, again, you're making me think about ways to get in the media where I had never thought of before. And I'm really, really pleased. I have so many notes right now. I have to go to a second page because I took all these notes on what you said and I'm going to compile these and see if Darren has any further questions to ask about this.

Darren, I'm going to give you one more, please. I'm going to give you one more. That is very good. I use it all the time because I retired from the newscast 15 years ago. 15 years. I have had my own consulting as a coach, as a speaker. I'm no longer in the news, however, I'm a guest in the news all often. I used to have a weekly segment. And I realized that 15 years ago I knew some people, but that people change. So five years ago, last year, last week, I met some other people that are a lot younger, new generation, building that relationships again. And here is the tip. I give them resources different than myself. I become that person that, hey, just contact me whenever you need. Anyone I might need, I might have that contact. If I meet someone or I know someone and I have that story that I already know, that could be good. I make the connection, hey, I don't know if this will be good for you, but this person is doing this. It's not about me, but I'm helping them. So when you refer someone, you are creating that connection that Darren was saying before in very organic way, like really helping them to find a good doctor, a good lawyer, a good something. And most of the time you are not going to do this every week. You are not going to become, you know what, no, it has to really be organic a couple of times a year because, you know, that could be a story. We know what could be newsworthy for real. So that's also very helpful. When I introduce someone and they are in the news or in the show and I'm not even there, but later on they call me, I'm on top of mind there.

Be a resource and refer other experts. Brilliant. Brilliant, Darren.

Mark, as Patricia Fripp would say, it's our responsibility to stay top of mind. It's not their job. It's not their job. So as Mark puts together his notes, Pilar, what would you say? This is our big question. What would you say over coffee to somebody who came to you and they're a speaker, they know their expertise, they come to you and they say, pilar, I just got a call. They want me on the News tomorrow at 8am what do I do? What advice would you give them?

I would say, why you didn't call me when you first first heard the podcast right away, so this will be more ready. No, no kidding. I will say trusting yourself and hiring, hire yourself as the person you want to be on tv. I'm going to tell you a personal story. I was the co host of Voices of Experience, the podcast of the National Speakers association for a year. When I got the call that I had been chosen to do that job, my confidence went to the floor like, no, I can't. Are you kidding me? I was in broadcasting for over 20 years in Spanish. I am bilingual. I know. I have learned English. I have this accent because I learned English at the age of 30. My first reaction was no. And then I thought, and this is the tip that I will say to the person. If you are about to say no and you are thinking, what about if I a year or in this case, if tomorrow I'm watching the news and if somebody else, another expert doing the news because I couldn't and another person doing the podcast because I was going to say no, hire yourself as the person you want to be there. Work on that and jump. I did. I hired a coach to work on my accent. Not to get rid of it, that's kind of impossible. But to make sure they were hearing and understanding my wording. So at that person that is getting that call, I would say, sit down, get your three points. Practice in front of the mirror. Have a casual conversation. Don't think that the camera. This is where the biggest mistake is. The camera doesn't have the energy of the audience. So we tend to think too much in that little light. Connect with the person that you want to inspire or to change and just go for it. Practice for today and be ready tomorrow. Breathe. Just like speaking unforgettable presentations and be short. Be very to the point. That would be what I would say.

Earlier you said practice. One thing I would recommend is find out how long your segment. Is it two or three minutes? Is it four minutes? That's a long time on the news. Is it 90 seconds? So find out how long it is and have a friend interview. Just do over zoom or over coffee and literally time it and see if you can get your points in in that amount of time. And I think you'll have a real dramatic realization. I need to be tighter. I need to be more concise so you can practice. Have somebody else ask you the questions, give them some questions to ask you and then time it and see how it goes. I think you'd be surprised.

And even yourself, like, okay, how would you do. How would you do this? And you interview yourself and having the time will help, but it's also tricky. It's a good tool, but it goes so fast that people get into the. They don't know what a minute is. We know what a minute is. We know what a two minutes is. So it is helpful. But be ready to answer short answer in 18 second sound bites, even if you are answering a little longer. But that's great. Yeah, that's a great tip too. Interview yourself.

Mark took notes before we get to that. Pilar, how would anybody find you? Where would they reach out to? Are you on certain platforms, a website LinkedIn.

Yeah, my name is my website Pilartizing. LinkedIn. Pilartis and Pilar all coach as you see it here on Instagram. So yeah, I use my, my name, Pilar Ortiz. O R T I Z and I would love to connect to all of you in the audience. I'm always sharing tips, Spanish or English, but now with a lot of tools we can translate them. So nice. Thank you very much.

Oh, thank you. No, Pilar, before I give my recap, a bonus question out of left field, they'd say in baseball, in terms of being on camera, are there certain. Sorry, fashion question. Are there certain colors to avoid when you're on camera being interviewed? What's too loud? What's too dark? Like, do you. Why wear white? Do I not wear white? I've heard so many thoughts about that. It occurred to me when Darren was speaking. I didn't ask you that question based upon your experience.

Yes. Avoid things that are going to vibrate like stripes. Like if you're wearing a tie or a shirt with a lot of little lines or dots, avoid that type of clothing. Right now I'm using a visual background and I can see my earrings are going and coming, for example. So because we are using virtual clothes that fit you, the biggest mistake is people want to look skinnier and they wear tighter clothes that make them look worse. Because in the moment you start interview, you forget to put that belly in and you are going to look terrible that the thing doesn't really fit. So that's the number one more than the colors, usually red and white, because the colors change. Wear something that makes you comfortable, that makes you feel good. Because if you are wearing something that doesn't make feel good, it's not going to work. You are thinking, oh my God, I should have wear something else.

You mean I shouldn't just wear black?

Eye contact. This is not wearing. But wear your smile. This is not an outfit, but wear your smile. Wear your smiley eyes, eye contact. This is where we are communicating with that lens. And if you are being interviewed with someone, talk to that person. Talk to the camera. It's like a three way. So that's not the clothing but you can wear the smile.

Someone said wear black, it makes you look slimmer. I'll take Pilar. I'll take your advice about that one. What have you shared today with wisdom? First of all, given the opportunity, say yes, prepare yourself, but don't overthink it. Have a conversation when you're being interviewed and practice active listening to know what the interviewer is talking about. Always be concise and give short answers and just answer the question that you are asked. Try to speak in sound bites and make it very easy for the audience and for producers to edit if they have to. Being succinct is key and clarity is also key. Be ready to shift your mindset. I'm not giving a long speech now, I'm giving nuggets of wisdom. You can't tell the audience everything you know, so choose three key points and share them. Practice out loud so you can hear what you sound like and dress modestly. Wear clothes that fit you. Be ready to think on your feet and think like a reporter. The what, the where, the when and the why. When you stay organized, less will be more. And to reach out to the station or to the media outlet. Create a story for the interviewer and be clear on how your your expertise can serve their audience. Make yourself and your topic newsworthy. Be your resource. They'll call again and again and most of all be willing to refer other experts and that way they'll refer you as well. And don't forget we're close. That flatter, not flatten. I made that up. Thank you so much Pilar for your help today. A pleasure. Darren, you can bring us home.

Thanks again for being here. Please reach out to Pilar Ortiz O R T I Z and see what else you can learn from from her years and years in the media on network tv. Thank you for being here and for everyone else. Please join us for Game Changers in April. Would love to see you in person or online in Vegas. Go to stagetime live.com See you next week.

See you next week.

Thank you. Bye bye.

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