Interview your interviewer
If you happen to get an interview with any media source, get all the details as quickly as possible. Notice, that I said get all the details not give all the details. You will know much more about which details to give and which details you have time for if you ask some important questions up front. One thing you want to find out is how long the interview will last. If you are being interviewed on the radio and you spend the first four minutes telling an amusing story, you will want that time back if after the story you find that you ha only one minute left. On the other hand, you will want to tell a story and warm up the audience if you are going to be talking to them for 40 minutes.
Besides finding out how long the interview will last, you should also find out about the target audience of the program or column. Knowing your audience is important and nobody will know them better than a reporter paid to cover for them.
