To answer any podcast question without dodging, give a short answer that deals with the question, tie a bow on it, then move to one of your three messages. A short answer earns the right to take control. Practice with a five to seven minute mock interview full of tough, mean and easy questions.
You answer any podcast question without dodging by giving a short answer first, and then moving to your messages. I call it the answer system, not the question system, because we have little control over the questions. We do have control over where we want to go, and the goal is to get there authentically, without dodging and without looking like a jerk.
Is this just spin?
No. Spin, as consultants often sell it to politicians, is trying to deceive people, steer them somewhere else or even lie. Someone will debate me on this, but that is not what I teach. I teach how to get from the question you were asked to the answer you wish to give, without dodging the question. That matters on a podcast, where you may get a question you do not know, a question that is tough or mean, or an easy one that sends your brain through everything you know.
Why is bridging too vague?
Most media trainers teach bridging: go from where you are to where you want to be. When I left television and started my practice, I thought you cannot be more vague than that. I live in the New York area, and it is like saying "how do you get from New York to New Jersey?" and hearing "step one, you go from New York to New Jersey." It is not specific enough.
And people do not do it well. They dodge. The host says "tell me about your company and why there have been issues this year," and the guest says "well, last year we had a profit of..." No, no, no, you did not tell us about the issue. When you dodge a question you get many follow-ups. I wrote more about this in bridging doesn't tell you what to say.
What is the main formula?
- Get the question.
- Give a short answer that lets you tie a bow on it. You have dealt with the question.
- Move to your three messages. Now you have control and can take it wherever you want. That is always where you want to move.
Here is how it sounds. Suppose a host says "Jess, isn't it true that last year your business took people's money and did not give them what they wanted? How dare you." My short answer can simply be "no." And then I get to follow it with anything I want, ideally my three messages. For example, I can talk about the positive feedback clients keep giving and how they end up with more confidence. That is the benefits column of my grid.
A company in a negative situation might say "we definitely did not perform our best last year, but this year we have made a big change. We brought in consultants who have changed the business for the people we help, and here is how." There the short answer deals with it, and the second half goes where the company wants to be. No fight, and no worry.
For the grid that your messages come from, see what to say on a podcast as a guest. For a fuller look at the techniques that handle awkward questions, see how to handle tough podcast questions. And do not repeat the loaded wording: don't repeat the negative in an interview.
How do you practice answering questions?
You must actually practice. Make it a full interview, at least five, six or seven minutes. It is not enough to read the techniques.
- Write out questions. Include tough ones, mean ones, and easy ones that might trip you up, because there are so many places you could go.
- Print the handout with the answer system and look at it. Ask yourself: if I get many questions at once, what will I do? What if I get something I do not know?
- Hand the list to your partner so they can quiz you and put you in the hot seat. If you are working on the "I don't know" technique, they can ask something they know you do not know. If you are working on staying on message, they can purposely ask about something you love to talk about, so you practice a short answer and moving on.
- Go a little longer than feels natural so you can see the practice working.
- Play it back. You may be clunky at first. That is okay. Notice what you would do differently, such as "I repeated the negative." Then do it again. It helps to practice more than once.
If nobody is available, write the questions on paper and post them next to the camera. Look to the side as if the host were there, read the question, pause, then answer it. It works just the same. The one difference with a partner is that you can say "the gloves are off, be as mean as you want." They probably will be, and it is an exercise, so have fun with it. This is where you make mistakes. Not out in front of the world. Make them, be done with them, and put your best stuff in front of everybody else.
What should you do next?
Learn the situational techniques for specific questions in how to handle tough podcast questions, and read how to answer tough media interview questions for the media interview version.