Guest guest Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 Hi , thanks for this insightful advice. It sounds like we'd all do well to be prepared with a 15 second sound bite for then opportunity arises again. L On Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 3:00 PM, paulplusemily <paulplusemily@...>wrote: > This morning on the and Emmer show, they were discussing raw milk. > Our movement didn't really score any points even though we had the > opportunity. > > Here is some advice that I hope will help us if we get the opportunity > again. > > 1. Identify yourself. Briefly explain why your opinion matters without > overstating your credentials. Usually, the host is specifically asking for > personal experiences, but the irony is that without some credentials to > back it up, your personal experience is easily dismissed. Make sure your > credentials match the discussion. For example, as a grass based dairy > farmer, my opinion might matter to the raw milk debate, but to gain > relevance in this post, that is inappropriate. For the purpose of this > post, what would be relevant is that I have testified multiple times in > front of the Public Utilities Commission and state senate and house energy > and ag committees as well as many private meetings with legislators and > have learned the hard way how to speak to a biased or indifferent audience. > When you explain your credentials, be honest, but be aware of how to > positively spin. In my opinion, a stay-at-home mom that reads a lot is the > most credible expert out there, but my opinion does not matter; only the > host's opinion matters. Perhaps a better set of credentials would be " an > activist working on raw milk legislation " Being the mother of beautiful > children doesn't hurt, but it might not be enough on it's own. Once > again--not my opinion. Be careful not to overstate credentials, however, > because the host is most likely very good at sniffing out charlatans and > will have fun discrediting you if he believes you fall into that category. > > 2. Gain repoire. Speak at the same pace as the host. The listeners have > most likely been listening for some time already, are probably regular > listeners of the program, and have gotten into a sort of rhythm. Changing > the pace of the conversation will most likely cause a subconscious negative > reaction with the listener. If you naturally speak faster, slow it down; if > you cannot speed up your pace without hemming and hawing, just make sure > that you speak very directly and get to your point more quickly. Make every > word count. The host's job is to keep listeners engaged. Help him do that. > Understand his sense of humor. If you cannot play along, at least > acknowledge when he is making a joke in some way. > > 3. Make your point. If you cannot make your point in 15 seconds, you are > probably not going to at all. Know what you want to say before you call in. > Avoid tangents. They slow down the conversation and lose people. Be able to > immediately state your sources of information, and remember that the > internet is a tool, not a source. For example, if you want to make a point > about e-coli 0157-h7 and want to reference the Cornell study, mention the > study first, and then explain how to find it on eatwild.com > Be honest about the limitations of your memory. If the conversation > calls for information that you cannot reference immediately, explain that > you do not have the source in front of you, but promise to follow up with > an e-mail--and do it! > > 4. Don't overstay your welcome. You want the host to be asking you to stay > on the line instead of you trying not to get cut off. You want to make your > case as compelling as possible and have the host ask you follow-up > questions. Remember, the host's job is to make good radio, not to make your > case for you. We have to be careful here, because all of us have a thousand > things swimming in our heads while we have these conversations, and if we > dump too much information at once, there will be information overload and > our original point will get lost. In my opinion, the only appropriate place > for going off on a tangent is in response to maybe the third follow-up > question or later, but only if you can show how the tangent is directly > relevant, and have a very good reference to the source of information. With > practice, you can lead the host in the direction you want him to go and he > will love you because the segment will then be engaging, entertaining and > informative. > Don't ever argue. The host argues for a living and is in control of > all the buttons. You will never win. Ultimately, the goal should be to wrap > it up right before the host begins to look for a way to get rid of you. > This will keep the host's mind on your points even as he fields other > people's calls. > > This all takes practice. I have to admit that I do not listen to > and Emmer, and I was in no way prepared to follow my own advice this > morning when I tuned in half way through, so I did not call in. Which leads > to my final nugget: if you are not prepared, don't try to force it. > Sometimes saying nothing at all is of more value than saying something > badly. > > Thank you for this opportunity to rant. > > Reese > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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