Firstly, we can't expect that the interviewers to have the enthusiasm and understanding of the game that we have (otherwise they would be players) - its all a bit quirky to them and their main objective is to provide entertainment - it is fortunate if you get an interviewer that is interested in imparting some good quality information and is genuinely interested in Scrabble. Sometimes their idea of "entertainment" can be in the form of making fun of you!

Having said that, I think that radio, TV and any media can be a great way of promoting Scrabble. The press is able to be "controlled" a bit more, as it is possible to write a press release, or an article, that is likely to get printed word-for-word. The impression that I get, is that newspaper editors actually prefer a well-written, electronically submitted article. This greatly reduces the workload!

With real-time media such as TV and radio, things get a bit more unpredictable! My suggestion to anyone who is thinking of promoting Scrabble (or anything for that matter) on radio (or TV) is to have a clear idea of a few "key points" that you would like to get across, and "direct" the interview to achieve these points.

When I was interviewed by Narelle Pfeiffer at 2BLU FM I wanted to illustrate some of the fun and interesting aspects of the game - I figured this was best done by having a few short stories in mind. Secondly, I wanted to promote our upcoming tournament - so having dates and contact details was important. Thirdly I wanted to promote the Western Scrabble Network, so I needed to be prepared to ask permission in the interview to announce the web address. Fourthly, I wanted to provide an insight into what I refer to as the greater Scrabble Community, which basically includes all people who participate in Scrabble tournaments. I wanted to emphasise the diversity and the sense of community.

Having this agenda in mind, when I got asked a question that I thought was a bit weird, or off-topic, I was able to steer my answer so that it stayed on my agenda. Some useful phrases for radio are:

"That's an interesting question. I really don't know the answer to that, but what I would like to talk about is...."
or "Would you like me to tell you about (our upcoming tournament) (some of
Scrabble's more interesting characters) etc
or, if you want to be a bit cheeky, what about:
"I think what your meaning to ask is ...."
Or if you get asked a question that you don't like, don't know how to answer, wish they hadn't asked, or fail to see the relevance of, then simply answer another question...the pollies do it all the time.

In one interview I was asked "How is Scrabble like chess?"
My answer was "Hmm...What's chess?"

Another question was "What else do scrabble players do in their spare time?" Imagine where you could go with that one if you don't have your own agenda in mind!! I probably didn't handle this as well as I could, but in hindsight, what I think I should have said was: "I guess what your asking is for me to tell you a little about some of the interesting characters in the Scrabble community..."

Another thing I need to remind myself is that I'm not there to just deliver a wad of information - I'm actually having a discussion with another person. Some of the most memorable interviews that I have watched are those in which the interviewee has turned the interview around and posed a few questions back at the interviewer. A discussion in which two people are discussing an interesting topic from different paradigms where both people have a genuine interest in exploring each others thoughts can be quite compelling listening.

So I would encourage anyone who is thinking of promoting Scrabble on the electronic media to do so - think of it as a bit of a game - have fun - and hopefully some of these suggestions may be of value.

Tony Hunt - Coordinator - Western Scrabble Network