Practice your dismount

The gymnasts at the Olympics have performed some extraordinary routines, and it's quite beyond me to judge how well they are performing. However, along with you, there's one part of the routine that I can make an assessment of, and that's the dismount. It's clear that their landing has to be as solid as possible, without a step forward or back, and especially without falling over. 



The end of a media interview is a bit like that. It's something that everyone listening and watching can take a view on. If you're hesitant, or mix up your words, people will notice, and form an opinion accordingly. No matter how well you perform in the rest of the interview, if you mess up the ending, much of the impact will be lost. 

Practice of course is the key. You need to have an exit line that you can deliver powerfully without hesitation. You may have only a few seconds, so your message needs to be short and punchy. It also needs to resonate with the audience, so should be a repetition of the main point of the interview.

Land your dismount well, and the interview will be a success.