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August 29, 2011

It seemed surreal to have August 29 marked on my calendar as going to Channel 7 Midday News, Boise’s NBC affiliate. As the days dwindled down to that fateful Monday, I grew more and more nervous. I couldn’t believe that I was about to do my first television interview about my book!!
At 11:30 am my husband, who was responsible for getting me this interview, drove me to the studio.  The day was warm and sunny, wispy clouds against a powder blue sky, my favorite type of weather.  Traffic was moving smoothly and we were well on track to arrive at the designated time for my live interview.
I noticed the closer we were getting to our destination, my mouth muscles were tightening. Even as I chit-chatted with Chris, I found it an effort to speak.  This was a bad thing, considering I was on my way to do an interview—and it wasn’t going to be done by hand written notes!
I was a little surprised that I was having this harsh nervous reaction. I am a member of Toastmasters International and have done many speeches.  I’ve even achieved my Competent Communicator award. Butterflies in the pit of my stomach I’m used to, in fact I use them to my advantage. Why then was I reacting differently to this interview?   
I figured out the answer the minute we pulled up to the station—this was going to be my first TELEVISION interview. I was letting the thought of speaking in front of half of the Treasure Valley weigh too heavily on my mind. I needed to find a way to relax, to shift my focus.
Well, sitting in the waiting lobby was not going to help. Evidence of the live broadcast was all over the place.  Sitting on the couch was a gentleman who was going to be interviewed before me.  After a few minutes, the cameraman came out to the lobby and escorted him back to the studio. In a few minutes, there he was, live on channel 7 on the 62 inch flat screen TV.
Chris continued giving me a pep talk, encouraging me that I was going to do a fantastic job. After all, he is my #1 fan!  He was so sweet, and I so appreciated his efforts, but I had to admit, I was still nervous.
After a few minutes, the cameraman walked through the door and called my name.  I took a deep breath and rose to my feet. As we walked through the door and through the cubicles of the newsroom bullpen, I was very proud that my knees weren’t knocking.
Then, the moment of truth arrived—he opened the door and we walked through to the studio. They were on commercial break.
 The moment I arrived, the news anchor, Carolyn Holly, sitting at the anchor desk, graciously called over to me “Good afternoon! Welcome!”  The cameraman set me up at the interview desk and hooked up the microphone to me. For the next couple of minutes, Carolyn went over the questions she was going to ask me. This gave me time to prepare what I was going to say.
I was starting to get used to my surroundings—I counted there were only 5 people in the studio: Carolyn, Larry Gebert the meteorologist, the two cameramen and a chef who was getting ready for her set.   I watched as Carolyn read another news story and Larry gave the weather report. Then there was another commercial break.
Suddenly, the illusion of being in a room with only 5 people watching was shattered.  The two cameramen brought three cameras, spotlights and monitors in front of me. I had to remind myself to breathe.
Carolyn took her position across from me at the interview table. As if she could sense my tension, she asked a friendly question about my middle name. I found her extremely easy to talk to-- she is a professional through and through.
Another tactic formulated in my head—think of the interview as a conversation--forget there were television cameras and blazing lights. All I had to do was to look Carolyn in the eye and speak about my book from the heart.
And that’s what I did.



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