This week in my "science graduate student skills for success" course we're talking about getting interviewed by journalists about your research.
Scientists and science communicators who have been interviewed a lot, what top tips do you have for beginners?
How do you prepare for an interview? š§Ŗ
Figure out before the interview even happens what is going to be the detail of your work you donāt want them to get wrong. TELL THEM āThis is the detail I donāt want you to get wrongā and why. If youāre lucky, they might listen to you.
Separate note: talk to the interviewer like youāre talking to your spouseās friend who doesnāt really understand what you do for a living. If your parents are still alive, one of their friends is also a good mental target. My mother has usually not understood what I do for a living so I use her.
From the POV of someone who's been the interviewER -
Ask me what I plan to ask so you can prepare responses.
Know that if you specialize in something, I'm going to ask you to define your jargon for the audience.
And for the love of sound, don't be afraid to get that microphone close to your face.
1. Remember: You are being interviewed from the moment you begin speaking with the interviewer
2. Write down 2-3 key takeaways you want the audience to learn, focus on those
3. If it's not live, ask to restart or rephrase an answer as needed
4. Search the interviewer ahead of time (10-15 min skim of their prior work is enough) to check that they're legit and what kinds of stories they usually write (e.g., are they on the science beat? Just randomly got assigned? Have an angle that connects your work to their usual beat?)
And popular outlet reporters likely have an angle they're looking for confirmation on. That's normal and expected, but some research can help you craft answers that try to maximize knowledge through that lens.
I completely agree with the above and would only add:
4. If, halfway through a response, you realize thatās not where you want to go, stop abruptly. They canāt use phrases that donāt make sense.
5. Donāt repeat the q asked, unless they specifically ask you to; and then only if you agree w it.
1. Short answers. Let the interviewer ask for more if they want it.
2. Include the question in your answer so that your statement makes sense without the question.
Two tips not about the interview itself:
1. Respond to emails/calls/etc quickly. Journalists work on *much* tighter timelines than academics.
2. Don't say "I'm not the right person for this" without referring them to someone else or giving guidance, because you're still the best they came up with.
Think ahead how you'd sum up your research in just 1-2 sentences. It'll be vague and lacking almost all detail. But the key is to know what is the one thing, if nothing more, you want listeners/readers to take away.
That'll help guide all your other answers š
Itās like teaching. Start with your learning outcomes ā what do you want the interviewer to take away from the conversation ā and make sure your answers steer towards those goals.
When being interviewed on TV, avoid wearing close set stripes or very small dots (moire effect) and solid greens/blues.
If you must be interviewed in a costume (say full teddy Roosevelt) make sure your mother doesn't get a screen cap. š¬
Maybe that last one's just me?
There's also video of me singing baby shark on the local news floating around out there somewhere. PR is a hell of a job and the Internet is forever.
If I donāt know the person I always google them first.
I often ask to answer questions by email so I have more time to think/craft response and I have a record of what I said
Out of curiosity, why? I'm not a scientist but an historian. Nevertheless, aside from the "give me the questions in advance," this sounds like what I've learned from doing a lot of media.
I don't usually want the questions in advance but I strongly prefer to know the narrow-ish topics at issue.
Oh no it's more that an interviewer and a source have different priorities. I never wanna give questions in advance, I never want short answers, I don't want my sources to be over-prepared. I want a natural convo that happens organically. Often asides and difressions make for great content.
This is why one of my practices (for print journalists at least) is to always block off extra time on my calendar when possible in case they want to talk through any follow-ups or adjacent topics. Sometimes they get an idea for a future article talking about stuff that doesn't fit into the first.
Totally agree on not overprepared so that I sound artificial which is why I don't want the question in advance either. I'm curious if you do more TV reporting or print? I feel like I've usually had more pressure for concise answers from TV reporters and documentarians.
It's a good point though @whysharksmatter.bsky.social probably should differentiate between print/audio interviews because the reporters they talk to are gonna have very different expectations and needs.
OK. Yeah, I definitely see where you are coming from, then. I've done many more interviews for TV/documentary film than for print, so my default goes to those imperatives. This makes sense.
Prepare to talk about the context of your work, not just the specifics. Ask the journalist beforehand what role your comments will have in their coverage. Help the journalist understand how your work fits into what was done before and where you want to go, explain what the novelty is.
I used to have a short bullet point list of things I wanted to draw their attention to. But I'd also e-mail and ask if there were specific things they wanted to ask me. Sometimes they'd tell me! Fortunately my teacher training also gave me the ability to talk fluently and enthusiastically anyway,
so if they get an opportunity to teach or lecture, or have to explain their subject to a nonexpert, that will be super useful preparation (though too long term for an interview, I know).
1. Have 3 points you want to make and come back to one of those for each question.
2. Speak for a general audience, not other academics. Doesnāt mean simplify but rather stay focused and avoid going on tangents.
3. Know who the interviewer is. Google them, look at the other work.
Longtime interviewer here, albeit of Hollywood. The third point is a great one. That also goes for any good interviewer. Also, stay on point. Your personality can & should come through, but interviewers have a limited amount of time with you. Cut the rambling and curb the (long-winded) anecdotes.
Do a search for the journalist. This will help identify red flags if this is someone from a hostile outlet, but you will also get a sense of the depth/audience you need to prep for.
Write down the main points you want to get across
Say āI donāt knowā if you donāt know or the answer falls outside your expertise (and point to another expert who might know)
Consider asking for questions beforehand so you can best prepare
Follow up with links/resources/further reading after
On the defense side often asked scientists to list naive / misleading questions they get. We would work through answers and even if they didnāt come up they felt way more prepared.
My favorite was an exoplanet researcher who was sick of getting questions about alien contact.
On the proactive side: how does your research make you feel? Try to get to WHY scientists do research. Worried, fascinated, surprised, relieved because the work was so hard! Having a personal element is great.
Last basic ones: once youāve answered a question STOP. You donāt have to keep going and that can lead you off topic. If you donāt know an answer just say itās out of your area of expertise or that you can get back to them. Donāt speculate.
Be able to say why your research matters and to whom. What impact were you shooting for, and was that successful? Describe whatās at stake for you to do this workāgive it a personal edge. What you actually did should be 1/5 (or less) of what youāll tell them, tho it depends on the outlet.
If Iām interviewed I like to know questions because I have 5 domains I might be asked about and need to have the right schema opened up. Iām not crafting the perfect answer.
Ask what the fact checking policies are for their outlet.
Also, if youāre interviewing, assume itās the start of a longer term relationship. Donāt treat it like a burner interview. If you do it right, you can ask that person other things in the future. So donāt be a dick
Don't let the interview go to your head. You might be the best person they could find on short notice, or they might have targetted you because they want to advance a larger sensationalistic agenda/"hook" of the story that you might not be 100% okay with implicitly endorsing. Be humble. Be careful.
never say negative things about other people's research - even if it's "doesn't go far enough" - journos do not get complexity and you will look like a jerk in their write up
Many science journalists absolutely do understand complexity. Itās part of our job to. And getting an outside perspective on the research is crucial.
