TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

6 Feb 2012 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:25

TJ Walker explains how to improve media-interview skills through repeated practice and feedback: conduct mock interviews, review recorded tapes to identify mistakes, repeat interviews with conscious correction, and eventually build muscle memory so delivery becomes natural. He emphasizes that this process cannot be achieved in a single 1.5-hour session and compares early awkwardness to a novice driver.

Chapters

So what's the process for getting better at dealing with the media? Can you just come in, listen to an hour and a half presentation leave and be ready? It's not like that. There are a few painstaking steps that have to be taken. For starters, you got to do an interview together. And you're going to make all sorts of mistakes you're not even aware of. You're going to look at the tape and you think, oh, my God, did I really say that? It's painful, but it has to happen. We'll review it, we'll do another one. This time you'll make almost as many mistakes, but you'll be aware of it. You'll be consciously aware of the mistakes you're making. We'll review it, figure out what to do. We'll do another interview. This time you start to really get a lot better. You're doing a lot of things right. Your message is coming out right. Sound bites are good, but it's awkward. There's so much going on in your memory, you feel awkward. It's kind of like when you're 15 and a half. You're taking your driver's ed test and you're thinking, oh, my God, I don't want to mess up. Look at the rear view mirror. Right hand on the stick shift, left hand over here, left foot on the clutch. You can do it, but it's very awkward. We review that, we look at the tape, then you do another one. We do another interview together. Now it's starting to come together. You're starting to do things without having to consciously think. You're building muscle memory. It all comes together, then you'll be prepared. But you can't do that in an hour and a half. It takes more time, but it's time well spent.