talk to me
In my career, I have interviewed actors, musicians, athletes, CEO's and regular, ordinary people. I couldn't count them all. It's in the thousands. Almost everyone, to a person, gets nervous sitting before a camera. It's understandable. They don't know me. They don't know what I'm going to ask. What if they say the wrong thing? What if they freeze up?
If you ever find yourself sitting in the glow of an interview set, know this -- the experience is rarely fatal. It's my hope that you are in the capable hands of an experienced producer because, if you are, they will have you well-prepared.
Interviewing for corporate communications is a different beast than 60 Minutes or the local news. Your producer needs to be on your side. For my interviews, I always ask how nervous they are. If the nerves are 7 or over, I tell them to relax. If they've never done this before, it's a pure life moment. I love that phrase. Pure life moment. It's doing something that scares you -- something that makes you feel alive. Invariably, people say it was much easier than they expected. So, why test your antiperspirant?
For me, it's all about having a conversation. And nothing in that conversation should be a surprise. Before I even start, I've already spoken with the person about what we're covering and, most important, what I'm looking for. I did a junket in L.A. and before every interview, I told the actor the style of feature we were editing and what I was looking for. I got huge "thanks". One actor from Kirsty Alley's show told me she wished every journalist did that. And it makes sense. They're professionals trying to give you something usable.
If you find yourself going before the camera, here are some tips:
Relax. Breathe. Repeat as necessary.
Answer the question, and that's it. If your producer is good, they will follow up. If they don't, pause and reset. It's your interview.
Take your time. Silence feels like a vacuum. Don't be pressured to fill it. It will all be edited anyway.
Take a mulligan. Or two. Or three. Get the answer out the way you want it.
Answer in complete thoughts. This will put you in the editor's good books. It's simple. If I ask you, "What colour is the sky?" Instead of saying, "Blue.", you say, "The sky is blue." This is critical for videos with no narration.
Have a conversation. When you're actually engaged with the interviewer, everything flows better. Your passion comes out. You feel alive. You look alive. And the time goes sooo much faster!
My final thought relates to having the questions beforehand, I presume so that you can study. I say don't. I provide a range of questions for the talent if they want them, but I never stick to the list. Why? Because conversations evolve. How can you take advantage of an interesting side note if you just stick with the questions? I've had people walk onto the set with all their answers written out. It's awful and you can just feel the train jump the track as soon as I veer from the sheet.
Remember. It's just an interview. Nobody gets hurt.
