If you watch people get asked this question, you can see them sigh heavily before they attempt to sift through the salient highlights of their entire life. What the interviewee wants to say is, “Are you kidding? I’m 40 years old, how’d I get here? Read my bio.” Instead, if they’re polite, they’ll regurge the key moments that earned them their authority. Either way, it’s painful.

Amen. Also, having conducted and given a fair amount of interviews in the past several years, I wanted to expand on how the interviewee can also take steps to ensure that the outcome of the interview is one both parties are proud of:

Media Training 101

1. First, clear your mind – 5-10 minutes before your interview take some time to be still. Turn off your phone, shut down your laptop and just sit. Think about the interview, who it’s with, what you want to say and how you want to feel when you say it. Review your notes, tune into your inner Boss and get centered.

2. Treat every interview like it’s “The Big One” -  no matter what your dream interview is (tea with Anna Wintour, couch time with Oprah), each interview is a dream opportunity. Someone is interested enough in what you do to want to talk about it with you and tell other people. That’s a big deal. You don’t have to accept every opportunity that comes your way (make sure the outlet is a fit for your brand and demographic), but once you have, give it all you’ve got.

3 . Break the ice - you may be nervous, but so might be the person interviewing you. After all, you’re the big star! Begin things with a big enthusiastic smile/handshake/first paragraph.  Take a moment to praise a recent article they wrote, send a sincere compliment or ask their opinion on something. 

4. Off the record is not on the table – it can be tempting to relax into treating the interview like being out with the girls. Many journalists will get a bit chummy as a tactic to unearth the dirt you would normally only reveal on a third glass of wine. But this isn’t chit chat. It’s a professional interview, and I guarantee that what will end up staring back at you in full-on bold pull-quote will be the one thing  you never thought would make into the final piece. Personality? Yes. Passion? All you got. Perspective? Bring it.. Putting on your husband’s deodorant by accident and telling your interviewer that is why you smell like a pine forest? Not this time.

5. Get comfortable with your key points - One of the things PR folks are great at is helping to synthesize multiple aspects of a person or brand into nice sound-bites. They cannot however, bring your personality to the party. If you have PR help great, have them craft some key messages and then think about how might comfortably say them. If you are flying solo – write down 3-5 bullet points that you want anyone who reads the article to know about you and your business. Each time the interviewer asks a question, look for opportunities to tie what you are saying into your key messages. For practice, read a Q&AA interview with a competitor or inspiration and imagine yourself answering the question.Have friends ask seemingly random questions and practice gracefully leading the conversation back to your brand.

6. Nobody likes a robot - Don’t hold so fast to your key messages that you just end up sounding awkward.  if the interview goes in a different direction and you feel up for and excited by the new direction, give it a bit of attention. Sometimes the most interesting answers come from unexpected questions. Be willing to answer the call. And then, gently move things back into the realm what you came to do.

7. This is not a game show - your interviewer is not looking for one-word answers. Maybe it’s a poorly phrased question. So what. Use it as an opportunity to elegantly communicate one of your key points.

8. Pause. To Think – Many of us ramble when nervous. We talk around and over the answer we want until we, in the process, figure out exactly how we feel or what we think about the question. Instead, just stop. pause. and think. It won’t take your brain very long to go through the above steps, and the result will be way less umm, and uhhh, and well, and much more succinct. And powerful.

9. Say no (thank you) - If an journalist asks you a question and you are uncomfortable with answering (asking you to speculate for example), let them know you aren’t comfortable and won’t comment. Moving on.

10. Don’t ask to review the story – remember that boss you had who was a total micro-manager and had to review everything? And would give you a ton of (usually bad) unsolicited feedback and basically made you feel like she had no faith in your capabilities? Yeah. Don’t do that to the person with control over the publish button.

 **Image Source**

Any recent Hollywood event can be the catalyst for a PR frenzy– if a celebrity is wearing it, rest assured that anything framed as similar has clear pitch potential, and, if positioned correctly, will sell remarkably well. Now that award season is upon us, take heed of the following tips to be sure you are pitching appropriately.

Don’t waste an editor’s time (by sending something that looks nothing like the celebrity look)

There’s an art to pitching celebrity-inspired looks – you don’t want to be grasping at straws (i.e. choosing any remotely similar necklace, dress, or clutch) and filling up an editor’s inbox with long-shots. Pitch pieces that do in fact look strikingly similar or at least share a common motif. Also, make sure that you only connect pieces to those  “buzz-worthy” celebs that align with your brand.

Do make it easy for an editor to say yes (by doing your homework)

Fashion editors sift through hundreds of pieces of jewelry a week, on top of an inbox full of product images. Reduce their stress and grab their attention by sending emails that clearly show the similarity of a celebrity’s look to the designer’s pieces. Provide detailed product description, pricing and direct links to the items. Have hi-res, low-res, editorial and products shot against a white background at the ready. Never send enormous files via email without an editor’s ok.

Do consider pricing carefully (everyone loves a red carpet “look for less”)

While it may sound obvious, make sure your designer prices items significantly lower than the celebrity worn original. Otherwise, why would an editor consider your product over the exact celeb-endorsed product? If need be, consider a short-term price reduction in order to make full use of the award season trend – after all, the right PR story could drive significant sales to cover the margin.

Our client Roberta Chiarella matched Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, Julie Bowen, Stacy Keibler and Charlize Theron with a spectacularly similar jewelry look. This led to a collaboration with US Weekly on a Today Show segment, print feature and giveaway. Now that’s some PR-worthy bling!

Image credit: Credit: Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com; Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Jason Merritt/Getty Images

From Style to Strategy: An Exploratory Investigation of Public Relations Practice in the Fashion Industry

Over the past several years I have received numerous requests from students and academics interested in the thesis I wrote back in 2006 at San Diego State University – so I have decided to make it available to download!

Executive Summary

The purpose of the study was to contribute to the body of knowledge in public relations, which until this time had not explicitly looked at fashion public relations, despite the popularity of this specialty among public relations students and young professionals. As such, qualitative, exploratory research involving public relations practitioners was needed to develop a general understanding of the roles and responsibilities of public relations practitioners within this public relations specialty area. In addition, several other academic disciplines have successfully explored how the social, cultural, and political nuances of fashion relate back to scholastic inquiry. It is time to consider fashion public relations as a potential launching pad for a renewed feminist critique of public relations theory and practice.

The fashion industry and public relations have distinct similarities. Both have struggled for professional recognition, too often criticized and overlooked for being superficial or unnecessary. Importantly, each field has attracted a female majority to the industry. While significant effort has been made to cultivate research and theory that exposes the inequitable treatment of female public relations practitioners within the profession less attention has focused on how feminist values integrate into public relations practice and theory. Unfortunately, feminist scholarship in public relations has decreased compared to the past two decades.

Understanding public relations as a multifarious field extends previous feminist public relations research into new territory. Rife with possibilities for a more detailed and expansive approach, this new phase encourages researchers to explore the various influences of public relations theories and practices with regard to female practitioners and publics across industries. By encouraging and producing new themes for research that are in keeping with current industry and cultural trends, and also in keeping with the career goals of public relations students, this study of fashion public relations will help to ensure the continuation of feminist research in public relations.

Key findings from in-depth interviews with fashion public relations practitioners suggest that fashion public relations is a dynamic, fast-paced profession. Fashion public relations agencies engage in strategic communication and perform a variety of tasks, from media pitching to organizing fashion shows, based on individual client needs. Practitioners spend the majority of their time working with media, either pitching story ideas to editors, or working to fulfill editor requests.  Most participants consider themselves feminists and acknowledge that while fashion can be fun and empowering for many women, it can often be hard to work in an industry that places so much emphasis on beauty and celebrities.

Available as a PDF download, 106 pages, $19

Image source