The "Art" of promos or interviews by Bill Behrens
Way too many professional wrestlers believe they can deliver a good interview or promo. The truth is very few wrestlers can. That's true for guys working in the Indies and it's true for a large percentage of guys who have made it to TNA or WWE.
The key to a good promo or interview is believability. Does the audience believe what you are saying? Does it make sense for you to say? And the most important.....did you believe what you said?
Here are a few do's & don'ts that might help:
1)Believe in what you are saying, as if you do then the words will come more naturally to you. Too many promos are written by others, then memorized word for word by the wrestler, then repeated...with one key thing missing, believability. If you can make what you are saying important to you, true to you, what you believe, then others will believe it to. If you just repeat someone else's words you are going through the motions and nobody including you will buy what you say.
2)Less is more. Long promos are way over-rated, and only a handfull of wrestlers can do them well, so I recommend you don't assume you are one of those guys as odds are you aren't.
3)If you cuss or curse in your promo then likely it is because you have no idea what to say. Never be proud you can get a reaction from a crowd of young men by dropping F bombs right and left, as anyone can get that same reaction.
4)Resist "crutches", phrases that precede what you want to say but have nothing to do with it, like "The thing is" or "let me tell you something" (unless of course you are The Grappler Len Denton or maybe Steve Doll/Dunn.) Just say what you want to say.......you know.
5)If you can, find something that people want to hear, that defines your character and helps bring your promo home. The best examples are lines like "What you gonna do, when..." and "Because Stone Cold said so".
6)For in ring promos do not wander around, stay in one place and just open your body or turn your head to involve more of the crowd. If you are not moving people will focus more on what you are saying, and then if you do move you can do so with more impact.
7)For promos there are two schools, the WWE style and let's call it a traditional style. WWE style is for the speaker to talk or react to someone like an interviewer or another wrestler rather than the camera. This style works best in wrestler confrontations. The traditional styles is to talk to the audience watching, the camera. The key is the eyes and eye contact, as that's where the believability comes. The eyes are the window to your soul, it has been said. I happen to prefer promos to the audience, the camera, as it's the audience we want involved and want to care, and paying attention to them or directing your point to them is essential.
8)If you are trading lines back and forth with another wrestler know when to stop. Having the last word is very over-rated. I've seen heat killed by a wrestle determined to have the last word way too many times...which leads again to...
9)Less is more....sorry that one is just worth repeating
10)Get into character, and stay in character when you are talking......the believability thing again. If you don't believe in your character and can not speak in that character's voice then nobody will ever care what you say as that character.
