Part two: Rocking Interviews
Thinking outside the Can.
That’s me, thinking outside the can.
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2018.
One of my wild passions led me to earn a degree in journalism and communication. In part because I am also an avid reader of music interviews and Rockumentaries. I wanted the inside scoop! So, now, I know how important a good interview is. The right connections to an artist and their art can create a lifelong fanbase.
Interviews are a great way to connect with diehard fans and to reach new audiences!
For a performer whose first language is not English, it can be especially tricky to reach English-speaking audiences in the west.
One of the reasons for this is something that you, the artist, cannot control… the audience.
Did you know?
“ 75% of Americans have no second language. [also] Three-quarters of Americans speak only their mother tongue, with no second language. ”
+ Add that language statistic to the amount of revenue the music industry generates …
According to the Recording Industry Association of America
REVENUE STATISTICS Joshua P. Friedlander | Senior Vice President, Research and Economics, RIAA In the first half of 2020, U.S. recorded music revenues grew 5.6% to $5.7 billion at retail value, continuing the positive growth trends of recent years. Streaming music grew to 85% of the market by value, compared with 80% the prior year. At wholesale value, revenues grew 5.1% to $3.7 billion.
What do the numbers mean?
We have to face the facts. When you add it all up, An English-dominate entertainment industry is the power that fuels an artists career anywhere outside of their home country and native language.
The language barrier is a real wall that can shut some artists out and keeps some audiences shut-in.
-unknown photographer. I want to help the world’s non-English speaking performers break down those walls!
It is just as much for the sake of audiences as it is for performers and perhaps the very soul of humanity, that we start connecting to each other as one global audience before a world stage.
So , what do you need to know?
First, An interview is only as good as the person asking the questions.
It is true! A really good interviewer will have done their research and ask you questions that are relevant to your specific body of work, your origin story, any newsworthy moments in your history, current events, and projects, and will finish an interview by asking what is next for you.
I can help you prepare answers for these types of questions as well as drill you in practice interviews so that you learn the many ways these types of questions can be asked. You will understand what is being asked and feel confident to answer in English and be understood.
You will be able to tell if the interviewer is going to provide you with a productive interview because they will have done their homework. However, Generic or ‘canned’ interview questions happen much more than they should. In an age of information with the world literally, at our fingertips in the palm of our hands, there is really no excuse for an unprepared interviewer but it does happen.
Do You Want to know a trade secret?
If the persons interviewing you are any good, they WILL purposefully, ask you random questions in order to avoid ‘canned’ or pre-determined answers to interview questions.
They will ask you some really strange things, sometimes to try to make you laugh, to set you at ease, or to confuse you. They will often do this with a silly question such as “ if you/your music was an ice cream flavor what would you/it be? It may seem strange and irrelevant but understand it is on purpose and usually about getting you off balance, and out of providing them ‘canned’ answers.
Here are some of the silliest or weirdest questions that this entertainment blog suggests that interviewers ask celebrities. NO JOKE! YOU can read the full article here.
How many pairs of shoes do you own?
If I gave you an elephant where would you hide it?
If you were a tree, what would you be?
How would you answer?
It is questions like these that can confuse both the interviewee and the interviewer when the humor of these questions does not translate, not only linguistically but culturally. The culture gap can leave the entertainer wondering if they heard or understood the question correctly and what the point of the question was? It can also make them wonder whether or not the interviewer is drunk!
This is just one example of the tricks to the trade of interviewing that can make the process even more difficult to be understood. I can help you prepare for such nuances and navigate interviews with ease so that you can maximize your airtime in person, and in print.
There really is only one way to be sure that you reach your English-speaking audiences. If you want to be successful to western standards in the west, then you must gain some mastery of the English language to promote your art and yourself.
Stay tuned for part three. I will address the 5 W’s; answering the who, what, where, when, and why of interviews.
