Job Interview Tip: Anticipate

When teaching the art of impromptu speech, one key point always surprises both media training clients and public speaking students: Anticipate. The idea of anticipating an impromptu speech, after all, seems like an oxymoron.

To stress my point, I use a job interview scenario. Something most everyone can relate to and a skill at which we all wish to excel. Follow these simple tips and you’ll do just that.

Make a List
While there is a current HR trend towards unique interview questions, I still believe that most interviewees can guess about 80% of the questions they will be asked. Pull out a pen and paper and start thinking.

Craft Your Answers
You know that list you just made? Review it and map out your answers. Think them through and couch them in terms that will resonate with your audience (the interviewer). Trust me; nothing feels better than being asked an interview question that you already know the answer to. A positive byproduct of this is that you will exude confidence, which makes you an even more appealing candidate.

Speak Up
Don’t simple think through your answers, speak through them. Practice your delivery out loud several times and listen to how you sound. This extra step will go a long way toward improving your interview image.

Mind the Gap
Early in his working life, a friend of mine decided to follow his heart’s desire to be an actor. For 18 months, he lived off his savings, took classes, went to auditions and even landed a few roles. Still, he realized the actor’s life was not for him and returned to the corporate world. I admire him for following his dream, but I can’t forgive the fact that he didn’t anticipate that he would be asked about the one and a half years “missing” from his resume. Instead of stumbling through an apologetic reply, some preparation could spin this gap into a self-enhancing journey that makes him a better person today.

Remember, the next time you think you will be asked to speak impromptu, the preparation is in the anticipation.

Boost Your Pitching Success Rate

Play-off baseball is here and once again we are reminded that even the best hitters in the game fail seven out of 10 times. When it comes to pitching stories, what is your batting average? More important, will your client call you a superstar if you connect one-third of the time?

One way to boost your average is to have a better relationship with the people you are pitching. One way to get that better relationship is to talk to them even when you are not selling.

No one thinks of the person that calls them only when they need a favor as a friend. That’s not a relationship; it’s a one-way street. But the person that calls just to say “hi,” even when they don’t want anything in return, well…that’s a relationship.

Here are a few tips to help you increase your average.

Notice Their Work
Read stories by the people you are pitching, especially the ones that aren’t yours. When you see one you like, call the reporter and tell them so. You’ll be surprised how shocked they’ll be that you have no ulterior motive for calling.

Keep it Brief
Follow the first tip, but, just as if you were pitching, be considerate of the reporter’s deadlines and time restrictions.

Stay Upbeat
Having a relationship doesn’t mean that you’ll place every story you pitch. Take rejection well. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

PR is all about relationships and calling people even when you are not selling is a great way to start. It won’t happen overnight, but as the poet Josiah Gilbert Holland wrote, “That which grows slowly, endures.”

Four Keys to Promo Success

Yesterday, the New York Yankees were eliminated from play-off baseball. Their biggest loss of the season, however, came two days ago when a series of public relations errors led to a mangled Mariano Rivera Bobblehead Night.

The plan was to give the coveted promotional items to the first 18,000 fans through the gate. The 18,000 fans were there. The gates were there. The only thing missing was the bobbleheads. Delayed by transportation issues, they didn’t arrive until the third inning.

When distribution finally began, lines grew long and tempers grew short. Angry fans took to social media and lambasted the Bombers. Repeatedly. Yesterday, the Yankees announced that fans that can prove they attended Tuesday’s game will get free tickets to a 2014 game. The scenario brings attention to four rules that will help your promotions run smoother.

Have a Plan
Perhaps the most obvious step of any good PR tactic is also the most ignored. Flying by the seat of your pants very rarely works. You never know where you’ll land and once you do, you’ll probably have no pants. And that makes you look silly. Almost as silly as not arranging to have your 18,000 promotional give-a-ways arrive at your location BEFORE the day of your event.

Have a Plan B
How ironic that a team that unexpectedly lost their starting third baseman, shortstop, first baseman, leftfielder, centerfielder, catcher and several pitchers did not have a back-up plan for a promotion. Say it isn’t so!

Be Other-Based
When things go wrong, don’t think about yourself, think about those people most impacted by the situation. Then ask yourself, “How would they like to be treated?” Then do it. This isn’t rocket science. Hint: Keeping the gates locked so fans can’t come in is not being other-based.

Run, Don’t Walk (apologies to Robinson Cano)
Everyone knows “too little, too late” is no good. But guess what? “Just enough, too late” isn’t much better. Every tactic needs to have a mini crisis audit and a back-up plan (see above). List everything that can go wrong, and then figure out what you will do if it happens. The time to prepare for disaster is before things go south. This is why ships carry lifeboats instead of lumber and saws.

So remember, plan and plan some more, put yourself in their shoes, and be proactive. Mariano Rivera Bobblehead Night could have been a great promotion. Instead, it just left people shaking their heads.

One and Done

You could always count on certain things in high school typing class (this predates those fancy word processors). Sticky keys, broken ribbons and two spaces after every period. Now they are all just about obsolete.

Farhad Manjoo writes in Slate that all the major style guides have come to the conclusion that when spaces are concerned, it’s one and done.

Read the full story here.