Project energy and enthusiasm

One of the biggest concerns or challenges that I hear from Optimist Club members is that they have trouble getting noticed by the news. Without going into details in this post about what would make an Optimist Club project newsworthy, I'd like to share a recent television interview scored by the Optimist Club of Lafayette, Louisiana. Its spokesperson was invited to share the details about the Optimist Club's haunted hayride during the morning show.

My concern on watching this interview was that the newscaster was more enthusiastic than the spokesperson. The spokesperson got the details of the event out there, but  she didn't give any of the positive emotions that one would want to feel about going to a community event.

Some tips for giving interviews:

• Be prepared. 
• Be ready with a soundbite - Succinctly state two or three key points that you want everyone to know.
• Be enthusiastic about what you are promoting. Project energy. Smile.
• If it is a serious story, share the gravity of the situation with the proper inflection of your voice. 

Engaging with the audience is an important element of public speaking whether one be in-person or on-camera, and every spokesperson gets better with experience. Kudos to the Optimist Club of Lafayette, Louisiana for making news.