Any words of wisdom for a tv neophyte?

[onetoughcookie]

Perhaps I should post this in the appropriate Food Media forum, but I thought I'd start here.

I'm going to do a cookie demo this upcoming week on Good Morning America. I'm bringing a lot of product with me, and I'll be doing the demo with the anchors of that show. It's exciting, and obviously, I want it to go well. I've spoken with the producer, and I've got my marching instructions, but if anyone has some good advice for me, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

I'm also going to do GMA's Satellite Radio show, but that's all talk, no action, so to speak.

[JeanneCake]

Congratulations!

Is this your first TV spot? Can you go in ahead of time and look around? When I've been on "talk shows" - the local cable company productions, nothing close to the big time!!! it took a few minutes to get used to where to look - where NOT to look, the lights, etc. Plus add some nervous energy, and ...

[chefpeon]

Hey! Love your site! (although it's really really slow to load)....love your cookies too!!!

Decorating your cakes with decorated cookies is a great idea!

Of course I look at all of it and being the seasoned baker that I am, the first thing that

comes to mind is the words "labor intensive". I'm no stranger to it, believe me.

Do you get orders for hundreds of dozens of cookies at a time? If so, how do you handle it?

About the TV thing......embrace the moment! I'd say the best advice I'd have is to keep it

simple, since they have a lot of time restraints on those shows. I have seen so many food

people try to do less than simple demos, and they almost never get all the way through it

because of the small amount of time allotted for their segment. Not to mention all the talking

the host does that sucks up your time.

I nearly made it to TV Land but got axed at the last minute. I may have another opportunity

in the future, but who knows......in the meantime, I've still got dough to make!

[russ parsons]

i've done a bit, and will probably be doing a bit more in the next couple of months with the new book.

1) over-prepare: have everything ready and at different stages; run through the recipes several times the day before; if they give you a minute, try to do a dry run on set to make sure where your marks are.

2) forget about teaching. you've got 3 1/2 minutes (give or take) to sell your personality and that's what folks are watching tv for. remember that you already know so much that you will end up being instructive without being conscious of it.

3) that said, try to come up with 2 or 3 great tips, the kinds of things that will make a more experienced cook nod their heads. keep these simple: one sentence each.

4) stay in the moment: it's really tempting to set a script and try to follow it. that's really boring. know what the main points you want to get across are and then wing it; pretend the hosts are your best friends and just talk to them. don't be afraid to be spontaneous, but do keep your outbursts short and to the point.

5) have fun with it. doing GMA is the kind of thing you'll be bringing up at cocktail parties for years.

[K8memphis]

OneToughie, I'm so happy for you what a great opportunity!!!

I have no tv experience what with having the perfect face for radio...bu-ut how nervous are yah gonna be? There's this stuff at the health food store that's a spray and it calms you down a touch. I can ask one of my televised cake-buddies what it was if you have an interest. One was on a local news show the other was on a competiton on food tv...I can ask 'em. In fact I just came from the health food store and saw it at the check out too but I don't know the name of it.

And I'm very excited for you!! I hope you get the spot!!!

[Chris Amirault]

A verbose creature by nature, I've only done TV a couple of times locally and my school was featured in a documentary, the experience of which leads me to the following piece of advice, learned the hard way via both embarrassment and editing:

speak in brief sentences.

[onetoughcookie]

Thank you all so very much for your wonderful words. Here's the deal: I have

4.5 minutes to do my demo. I've spoken with the producer many times. I'm preparing

a lot of product for the demo, as well as for propping the table. I will have rehearsal time, too,

before we actually do the demo. I, too, am verbose by nature, and I've been told I'm bossy.

I'm trying to remind myself I'm not teaching them to be my assistants, or interns, so I (a)

don't have to be so exacting and (b) if it's not perfect I have to laugh it off!

I'm also being taped for Good Morning America's satellite radio show, so that will be an extra

rehearsal time, too.

Set your DVRs and TiVo's...I'm on Wed., April 4 in the last half hour of the show.

Thank you all so much! I love EGullet!

[K8memphis]

Set your DVRs and TiVo's...I'm on Wed., April 4 in the last half hour of the show. 

Thank you all so much!  I love EGullet!

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For sure!!!

[purplewiz]

When you're standing still, STAND STILL.

Many people, when they're nervous, think they're standing still when they're really shifting their weight from foot to foot, weaving back and forth, and it doesn't play well on camera. A friend of mine just did an on-camera interview and between his weaving and the camera moving, I was getting seasick.

My rule of thumb for public speaking is that if you don't feel like your feet and legs are anchored in concrete, you're moving too much. (You're not in concrete and you don't look like it, but it FEELS like it.)

Marcia.

(edited to add: the other tip I was given was that if you don't feel like you're talking through molasses, you're talking too fast. I'm guilty of both of these, by the way.)

Edited April 1, 2007 by purplewiz (log)

[onetoughcookie]

When you're standing still, STAND STILL.

Many people, when they're nervous, think they're standing still when they're really shifting their weight from foot to foot, weaving back and forth, and it doesn't play well on camera. A friend of mine just did an on-camera interview and between his weaving and the camera moving, I was getting seasick.

My rule of thumb for public speaking is that if you don't feel like your feet and legs are anchored in concrete, you're moving too much. (You're not in concrete and you don't look like it, but it FEELS like it.)

Marcia.

(edited to add: the other tip I was given was that if you don't feel like you're talking through molasses, you're talking too fast. I'm guilty of both of these, by the way.)

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Great advice....we did a little practice tape at home...the first time I definitely moved too much and

spoke much too quickly! Thank you, Marcia.

[David Ross]

Good Luck to you and what a great, great opportunity!

I've done shows on PBS, taped, but most of my experience has been on live TV like you'll be doing on Good Morning America-albeit mine has been on a much, much smaller stage-the ABC affiliates in Seattle, Portland and Spokane. I think I've done about 30 live segments.

If you get a chance, ask the producers how much time you'll have. I have found that to be a key. I usually have about a 30 second intro, then we break for commercial. Then we come back and I'm with one of the local news anchors in the 'kitchen'-the same setup as you'll have. On my segments we only have 4 minutes. Yikes.

I practice what I want to say the day before so that I get in all my key points within the time frame-sort of a dress rehearsal for timing. But don't write a script or talk as if what you are saying is scripted-it will come out unnatural to the audience. Just be yourself-don't worry about being instructive, the audience wants that. They want to relate to you first, then see what you are doing is of interest so they'll go to the Good Morning America website, and your website, to check out your products.

You are right, have a display of the finished cookes. People want to visualize what the end product will look like. Keep the set-or your work surface, in the set kitchen, as clean as possible without a lot of clutter. It looks good to you and me, but the camera picks up things as cluttered if there is too much stuff to display.

Another hint, I put everything in glass dishes-the eggs, the flour, the sugar, the butter. You'd think it would reflect off the camera, but my producers prefer all little glass dishes of the ingredients so the camera can 'look through' and see the butter.

Finally, and sorry for rambling on, constant dialog is really important. Offer tips on the background of the recipe, the ingredients, the preparation, the baking, constant dialog. Engage the anchor in helping and the dialog. Any pauses in conversation on live tv are like a death wish, the viewers have their clickers in hand and will use them after after a few seconds if they get bored with a lack of dialog.

You are so fortunate. You've obviously got a great product to offer and you have wowed the producer's to even get a cooking segment on GMA. Good Job and Good Luck.

[onetoughcookie]

Thank you so much for your great insight!

I know I'm getting 4 minutes and 30 seconds to do this demo. My cookies are decorated,

and my cake is cooling. I'm doing the demo teaching the anchors on GMA how to do decorated cookies. I'm bringing everything times 4 for this thing. The chef/stylist is going to prepare the table for me (hooray). I'm just doing the talking points.

I know how lucky I am to have this opportunity. I'm so glad I posted this because I've gotten

great advice here.

And, if getting all the cake, cookies, royal icing, etc., isn't enough, I've had to do all the beauty stuff, too! Whew!

Thank you again, David!

[Fat Guy]

I don't have a ton of experience doing cooking demos on live TV -- I've done exactly one -- but I've done many segments on morning shows, including GMA and the various local-market equivalents in places like DC and Baltimore.

My main piece of advice for you is to expect the unexpected, and to not let yourself get flustered when the unexpected happens. There's certainly a chance that everything will happen the way you've been told it will happen. But it's just as possible that at the last second you'll be told your time has been cut to two minutes. On GMA you won't likely get more time than you were told you'd have, but on other shows that's also something you have to be prepared for.

Really, focus on not getting flustered. So many things come up on live TV, and when they do it's so easy to get pissed. Don't. If the host says something incredibly stupid, just smile and roll with it. Take your PR opportunity, work it for all it's worth and get the heck out of there with as much of your sanity intact as possible.

[onetoughcookie]

Thanks, Steve. I'm already trying to wash my dirty mouth out with soap, to rid myself of

any possible naughty word slip-ups.

Excellent advice, though.

Thank you so much.

[Risi e Bisi]

The first time I did a live cooking demo, it was on the noon news in a Sacramento television station at the end of the hour following the weather. I really prepared hard to keep it to a 4 minute segment.

It was the hottest day of the year and when the weather came on "How hot is it".

They went thru all the local temperatures and left me with a couple of minutes.

At the end of the day, the staff were real pros and helped me wing it just fine.

I ended up comming back several more times and loved the fact I could get in and out of there very fast and easy.

Just get your copy points together and get the word out.

[cheripie]

I saw you today on GMA and thought you did great. You moved along quite nicely, had a good rapport with the hosts and gave some good quick tips.

Well Done!

[onetoughcookie]

Thank you to all who replied to my post. I had my segment this morning, and I really had

a great time. It's interesting that the producers, handlers, etc., go to great lengths to

make the guests feel very comfortable and at ease, so the segment will go well.

I dareseay the entire process was a bit like a colonscopy...the preparation is

grueling, but when it's all said and done, it's really not bad at all!

Thanks fellow egulleters for all the support!

[alanamoana]

i only wish i had a tv so i could have watched!

congratulations on your tv spot and lets hope it brings business as well as fame (15 minutes tho' it may be )!

[K8memphis]

You were mahhvelous, Dahrling!!!

That was awesome. You came off like a pro, I mean a pro tv person.

They were all real cute with it especially the one dude who was eating the stuff instead of decorating.

Very cool! Piping bag raised high to you!!!

[Carolyn Tillie]

i only wish i had a tv so i could have watched!

congratulations on your tv spot and lets hope it brings business as well as fame (15 minutes tho' it may be  )!

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Me too - on both counts!

[Shaya]

You can watch the segment Here!

You were great, very natural and friendly, and your product is really attractive. I love Dianne Sawyer, what a treat this must have been.