Comments on: 4 Steps to Flubbing an Interview

By: Lee Stephen

Lee Stephen — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 06:09:19 +0000

That’s awesome – that’s exactly the kind of experience I think we all feel like we’d have. 🙂

Interviews can be rough stuff! I don’t get a chance to do them all too often, but there’s always that butterfly feeling of, “is this gonna be weird?” that starts surfacing once crunch time gets close. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned as I’ve done what have been mostly fan-related interviews is this: people tune into interviews, but they don’t want to hear an interview. What they’re looking for is a conversation. One that could just as easily be taking place around a kitchen table. Chemistry is so, so important, as is an overall sense of informality. You’ve got to have fun with it, even if things don’t go perfectly.

But I love your story, and I would have totally done the same thing under that kind of pressure. Kudos to you for sharing your lessons learned. 🙂

By: Lori Leigh

Lori Leigh — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:30:33 +0000

Roflol!!! Thanks, cousin. I needed a good laugh today! ;). I don’t know if you remember this but in college I interviewed to be a camp counselor at kanakuk. At the time I was broke up from a guy I liked at the time and when they asked me my favorite verse, (even though I knew they would probably ask and I had prepared several) the only one I could think of was Proverbs 26:11….. As a dog returns to it’s vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Yep. That is the verse I chose to impress upon them that they should let me be a counselor for a bunch of young girls!!! Needless to say, I didn’t get the job.

By: Jenna C.

Jenna C. — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 02:00:06 +0000

Wow…that sounds a lot like I would be in an interview =P I seem to freeze up every time someone asks me about the story I’m writing, and stuff like that…Thanks for the tips!!

By: Stephanie Landsem

Stephanie Landsem — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 05:10:51 +0000

Thanks, Regina. The thought of interviews makes me freeze up. Now I’m even more nervous. 🙂

By: Sarah Sundin

Sarah Sundin — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 01:46:43 +0000

Oh, Regina! I love this! Thank you for your honesty, transparency, and ability to poke fun at yourself.

And I relate.

I always flub up the “favorite books” question. Is saying “All of Jane Austen’s books” too obvious? Should I showcase something Deep and Literary? Should I name all my friends’ books (which I do love) to promote them? What will my friends think if I leave them OUT? They’ll hate me forever. It’s SUCH a loaded question.

And my biggest flaw – rather than the one-word answers, I give the novel-length answer. I could see poor Dianne’s eyes glazing over….

By: James R. Callan

James R. Callan — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 22:22:52 +0000

Great blog and great advice. Too many writers make those mistakes. Every writer (at least somewhat new writers) should copy those four items and paste them over their computer or perhaps phone if they do phone interviews. Thanks.

By: Anne Mateer

Anne Mateer — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 20:59:47 +0000

You are a hoot! Your interview didn’t go nearly as badly as you thought it did, although I did have to stifle a laugh at that verse! 🙂 And bless you for thinking mine went well. Ha! I couldn’t even remember what I’d said when I finished. Going to listen now and see how goofy it was! Thanks for the link. I never could find it.

By: Terri Weldon

Terri Weldon — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 19:20:24 +0000

Oh Regina, I just can’t see you flubbing anything. I’m sure Diane saw the woman of grace and beauty your friends and readers see. The favorite verse question always panics me. I think it is so often dependent upon where we are in our life at the moment. I’d probably be reduced to a two word verse, “Jesus wept.”

By: Katy Lee

Katy Lee — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 19:17:59 +0000

Thanks, Regina for allowing us to learn from your blunders! 🙂 But I will say, you learned some important lessons from them. Thanks for sharing!

By: Melissa Jagears

Melissa Jagears — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 18:43:38 +0000

Ah! Thanks for the tips. I don’t have a “favorite” Bible verse, so if I were asked that I’d probably say “I don’t have one.” And then what kind of criminal Christian author would I be?! And I don’t like memorizing one verse, I like memorizing a section for context, so I’m sure they wouldn’t want to listen to that….and the numerous times I would flub up under pressure!

And of course, this post made me want to listen to the interview. 🙂 It was fun to listen to, knowing exactly where you were nervous and why. Made me smile. Made me not want to give one, ha!