Media Girls are often the voices for our council: sharing how being a Girl Scout has affected them, what activities they’ve done in Girl Scouts, and why Girl Scouts is important.
Telling the Girl Scout story is important, and we want to make it as easy as possible to get it “out there.” For that to happen, Media Girls need to be clear, concise and compelling spokespeople.
Take a look at the Inside Scoop on Interviews poster and think of an example of what doing each of the “scoops” might look like.
Get Your Story Straight — frame out your story with key points, milestones, challenges, and achievements. Remember, you can use the Pixar Formula to ensure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Know Where Your Story Will Go — know where your interview will go and who might see it. Knowing the outlet’s tone and audience will help you frame your story in a way that fits with the outlet’s overall approach and speaks to its main audience while staying true to who they are. For example, you don’t want to talk about a STEM experiment to a journalist who wants to hear about your cookie business.
Google the Journalist — look up the journalist to see what they know about Girl Scouts. Knowing this will help you figure out how much explanation you need to give. Remember: no matter how much background the reporter has in Girl Scouting, you want to avoid using Girl Scout jargon or lingo. The reporter may not have time to define words for your audience.
Index the Context — you want to have a good understanding of the angle the reporter is using. We can use this information to think about our stories in the bigger picture of the article/segment.
Ask What They’ll Ask — knowing what questions we’ll be asked in advance can help us plan and practice what we’re going to say. Just remember that even though a reporter provides questions in advance, they may not stick to them, so be prepared to answer other questions, too.
And always remember if you can bridge back to your Girl Scout experience when they ask you something you may not know the answer to. You can always say something like “That’s a great question, what I can tell you about Girl Scouts is we always leave a place better than when we found it!”
Stay Calm and Storytell On — sometimes when we’re being interviewed, it can be scary and sometimes we even get stage fright! That anxiety and make us lose our train of thought or make our voices sound shaky or insecure. Some things that can help you not feel so nervous are to be prepared, take deep breaths, dress comfortably (unless told to wear something specific, like your uniform), and pretend you’re talking to a friend or a grown up you trust.
Here's a poster of all the tips listed above.
Use these questions for your interview submission below.