With just one week to go to my ITV Wales interview  recalling my memories as an on-screen reporter covering the story of serial murderer Peter Moore, who killed four men in as many months, I wanted to refresh myself on the do’s and don’ts  of appearing on TV. Many of our clients have done storming interviews and looked confident and competent, as a result of the following advice:          

In the studio

• Dress appropriately – plain colours, no fussy patterns, avoid jewellery.
• Arrive early to get used to the surroundings.
• Meet the interviewer beforehand, if possible.
• Ask about the line of questioning. What’s the first question?
• Ask to see the ‘link’ or ‘cue’. Is it accurate?
• If you meet opponents before the show, don’t tell them what you’re going to say.
• If you’re offered make-up, take it.
• Remote studios – establish telephone or sound contact, listen hard, look straight at the camera, assume you’re on camera at all times, don’t leave until you’re told it’s ok.

On location

• On the phone beforehand, ask what practical things the crew needs for the shoot. Car parking? Help in carrying equipment? Access to a lift? Loan of a trolley? Mains electricity? How big a room do they need?  How many people will be coming? Do they need passes to enter your premises?
• Ask how long it will take.
• Talk to the reporter as soon as he/she arrives. Do you both see the story the same way? Does he/she require background information?
• Have your own ideas – the more unusual or creative the better – on where you’d like to be filmed.
• What’s behind you? You can easily look silly or unprofessional if you are filmed against an unsuitable background.

During the interview

• Sit comfortably.
• Be friendly.
• Be courteous, even if the interviewer is rude.
• Be serious. Smiling can be misunderstood.
• Don’t fidget.
• Relax – you might even enjoy it!

As we all appear 10lbs heavier on screen than we are in real life, can any of you guys give me some tips on how to look at svelte as possible, in light of the fact that the camera is unforgiving?

Things are hotting up following my last post on my forthcoming interview about a story I covered on serial killer Peter Moore when working for ITV Wales.

Having ‘crossed the divide’ from poacher to gamekeeper after 13 years as an on-screen TV reporter and radio news producer for organisations including Sky News, BBC Radio London where I worked with up and coming stars including the new Terry Wogan and have interviewed stars and politicians including Richard Attenborough, Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, and John Major  - it will be a surreal experience being on the other side of the microphone.

Having conducted media training sessions for private and public sector organisations since launching Quest, I now need to ensure that I practice what I preach to MDs, CEOs, and senior officials across Police Authorities, Chambers of Commerce and Local Authorities.

A priority will be to review our top tips for TV interviews and how to dress for the part. I will be on location in Denbigh and will then be linking up with a former journalist who also covered the horrendous and gruesome roll out of the Peter Moore story.       

But first and foremost, the key thing I need to remember with TV is that appearance is everything and that:

55% of overall impression is based on the way you look

38% down to your delivery

7% is what you say

So this weekend’s quest is to get a hair cut and go shopping – tough I know, but hopefully I’ll struggle through it!

I am invited to many things in my role as MD of Quest PR – but this week I received a definite one-off. I was contacted by one of my former employers ITV Wales where I was an on-screen reporter, to appear on a series called ‘I was there’ to be aired this November.

The series features interviews with former reporters who reflect on events as they unfolded on major stories they covered. My claim to fame includes a gruesome case of serial killer Peter Moore who murdered and mutilated four men in 1995.

My first encounter with Moore, who was apparently fixated on Jason Voorhies from the Friday 13th movies, took place in the most innocuous surroundings of a local cinema which he had opened along the North Wales coast in a bid to bring family entertainment to the fore with popular favourites such as Mary Poppins and the Tom and Jerry cartoons. My cameraman and I went to interview him for a feature for the flagship evening news programme, feeling instinctively that something was not quite right.

Just months later I was covering Moore’s gruesome murders – in particular victim number 3, Keith Randles, a 49 year old traffic safety manager who was stabbed as he slept in his caravan at roadworks on the A5 in Anglesley in November 1995.

Just writing about this now brings back a flood of memories about the brutality of the scene and the suffering of his victims and their families. At his trial it was claimed that Moore attached more than 50 other men in what the judge described as “20 years of terror”. Justice was served and Moore was jailed for life in 1996. He received four life sentences and the Home Secretary recommended he should never be released.

Just thinking about the horror of these murders makes me question if my forthcoming ITV Wales invitation is one I should have passed down?

pic: Puamelia