How To Prepare For Media Interviews

The moment a crown is placed on your beautiful head… all eyes are on you. Everyone will look to you and be genuinely interested in your life. It sounds really glamorous, right? Well it is, I can’t lie, but it is also a lot of work. You are not just representing yourself… but also the pageant, your family, your platform, Go Red for Women, the staff, and all the other contestants. Media interviews are thrust upon you and you must always be ready! It’s an exciting responsibility.

Today I want to share with you tips on on how to prepare for media interviews!

Know Your Talking Points

It’s important to know what your goal is for the interview. By gathering your talking points before the engagement, you’ll know how to lead the conversation and get your point across. Usually two or three is a good amount for a media interview. As Miss International, I usually request these from our main office. If you’re a state titleholder, your director may have guidance on key talking points or initiatives they’d like you to share. Whenever you’re speaking about International Pageants, I suggest sharing the key point that we are a platform based pageant.

Know Your Audience

The morning after I was crowned Miss International… I had a media interview! The first 24 hours really are a whirl wind. I would be speaking on a local news station specifically about the pageant and all the excitement from the previous night. In my interview I talked about how much I loved Jacksonville and how thankful Internationals was for the incredible experience. I also shared how large the organization is and the representatives’ impact on the world.

Know Your Role

I recently returned from a PR Trip to Charleston, West Virginia. It was absolutely amazing. The state has been so welcoming of our pageant and we are blessed to call Charleston home for the next three years! During my time there, I was focused on promoting the pageant and West Virginia tourism. If it came up, I was comfortable sharing my platform or what I am able to do… but it truly wasn’t about me. I was on a mission and I truly loved getting to serve the state and Internationals. If you are blessed to book a media interview, remember who you are there for and what your role is. Are you promoting the pageant? The state? Tourism? A designer? Specifying this will help you make decisions on wardrobe as well. Since I was there for the state of West Virginia, I decided to wear my favorite blue work dress that was appropriate to be around government officials. My wardrobe was modest because of the professional environment I was immersed in. I would look out of place walking around the capitol wearing a cocktail dress and talking to the media. I was there for the state and I wanted each part of how I presented myself to represent that.

International ladies are always stand outs and with these tips… you will nail your next media interview!

Redefining Beauty Worldwide,

Amanda Moreno
Miss International 2016