Here are 10 tips I used successfully to quickly maximize an unexpected opportunity with The New York Times:

1. KNOW YOUR STUFF AND BE PREPARED.
Keep a list of talking points accessible. Take a minute to re-read your notes to refresh your memory. Review your website to key into what the reporter may have recently read there. You’re ready to pick up the phone!

2. RETURN CALLS PROMPTLY.
It could mean the difference in getting the interview if you can help the reporter meet their tight deadline. If you can't meet their needs, who do
you know who can? Create a 3-way win: Media gets their article, your contact gets to share their story when you can't, they both love you for it!

3. FOCUS ON THE REPORTER'S ANGLE.
If it's not clear, ask. This is not about presenting the angle you'd prefer, it's about helping the reporter do their job by gathering the info they need from an expert resource in a timely manner. Your talking points help you position your remarks, but they must reflect the reporter's angle to be a fit.

4. TAKE A DEEP BREATH.
The deadlines are intense, but your involvement will be more effective if you're not. Take another deep breath. You do have water nearby if needed, right? If you don't understand a question, simply say so or ask that it be re-phrased. There's no race here once you've connected. Relax and focus.

5. NO OFF-THE-RECORD COMMENTS.
Ever. The reporter is really not out to get you (unless it's the Enquirer?!) but may later forget your request to keep it off the record when it comes time to write the article. Treat everything you say as possibly ending up in print.

6. TREAT THEIR CONTACT INFO WITH CARE.
If the reporter shares contact info with you, use it only for the intended purpose. Don't forward it and don't use it to *stay in touch* unless you’ve
arranged to stay connected as an expert resource. Professionalism counts.

7. HANG A *SMILE!* NOTE OR A MIRROR NEARBY.
A smile in your voice can be detected across the phone line and across the air waves. When you work on things you're passionate about (like nailing your message in an interview!), it's easy to get laser-focused, scrunching up your face, without even realizing it. Your scrunched-up face is not how you want to come across, your confident smile is.

A *SMILE!* note at your desk is all you'll need as a reminder. I keep a mirror near my phone. Try it on all your work calls. Any call. It works...Smile!

8. GET YOUR WEBSITE INCLUDED.
You'll need to request this and then clarify that they have it correct. If there's a policy against including website URL's, state the name of your company in .com form (I could state my business name as Ann Ulrich Dot Com) as long as it's a domain name you own and will connect to your site. You'll want listeners and readers to find you later, so get it included!

9. FOLLOW-UP.
After the interview, or after the article runs, be sure to send a note to the reporter. But! The purpose is NOT to thank them for the publicity opportunity, or for featuring you. Instead, you are complimenting the great job they did pulling all the details of the article together, or for the important information they shared in their article. Sorry, it's not about you.

10. SHARE YOUR ARTICLE.
Your colleagues and clients will appreciate knowing you had an opportunity to spread the word about their industry or pet project. And friends will enjoy hearing your fun news, too. Remember to add a link (with permission) or mention on your website and in marketing materials. Consider framing a special article as a gift to yourself, and as motivation to continue to step up BOLD!ly to create your own unique work and life adventures.

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