The day the Toronto Star article came out, I got contacted by a reporter with a Chinese newspaper that read that article and were interested in doing a follow up story. The article came out yesterday, which you can find here. It was more focused on myself compared to the Star article, and I thought it came out pretty well.

Given some of the controversy of the first article, I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts and reasons on why I decided to interview for this article, and my thoughts in general about interviewing. Before doing an interview, I think it’s always important to consider whether/how it can benefit you, how others will perceive it, and generally the implications of doing it. While you aren’t the one asking the questions, you are the one giving the answers – and you can choose which answers you want to give.

Clarification

Many people have seen the original article in the Star that I posted last time. As I mentioned in my last post, the whole monetary aspect wasn’t clear. For example, just yesterday I had a family friend who told me they read the article and thought I actually received $200,000 in the bank from scholarships, which as I explained, is way off from the truth.

And although this Chinese newspaper has nowhere near the circulation and audience that the Toronto Star does, I thought it would still be a good opportunity to clear up what I actually did receive in terms of scholarship money. I appreciate them being willing to do that with me. Hopefully, some of the people who read the Star article will read this one as well. Of course, there probably aren’t too many that will, but every little bit helps.

Promotion of Personal Interests

News is publicity. An interview is a good opportunity to publicize and provide exposure to things you have a vested interest in. Many of you know that SMARTS continues to be one of my most important projects, and we could always use the exposure. An interview like this was a good opportunity to mention that.

Sharing Ideas You Believe In

An interview is also a good opportunity to send a message you believe in and share it with others. An example of this is in the interview where I shared some of my views and thoughts on success and achieving goals – the same ideas I have written about here on this blog.

Some Interview Tips

I’d like to close this post by sharing some of the things I have learned throughout the few interviews I have done the past few years:

• Don’t say anything you don’t want to be published. The fact is that anything you say is fair game for the writer to use. If you’re worried about something being published, don’t say it!
• Realize that only parts of what you say will be used. What that means is, it is very easy for you to be quoted or written about out of context. Focus on saying things that will not be misinterpreted even if mentioned on their own.
• Speaking clearly and concisely. If you’re going to be quoted, you can’t be explaining long paragraphs. Make sure to speak in a way that makes it easier for you to be quoted, by focusing on spelling out the main ideas clearly and simply.
• Be upfront with the reporter about what you’re willing to talk about. You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t to. Clarify up front and at the beginning what you’re willing to speak about. Just give a “no comment” if there’s something you don’t want to discuss.

Anyways, that’s all for now. I hope you guys enjoy the article!