If you are a business owner or service provider in need of a professional video, chances are you will need to sit down and be interviewed on camera as part of the production process. For some people, this can be a nerve-wracking, if not downright scary prospect.
However, in our experience, interview subjects almost always do very well, despite any reservations they may have had before starting the interview. This is not surprising when you think about it. The very fact you are being interviewed for a film usually means you are an expert and engaging spokesperson for whatever your business or product is.
Think of that: You are a recognized expert on the subject you are being interviewed about. If you weren’t you probably wouldn’t be doing the interview. This alone should put you at ease—You know this stuff! You’ve got this!
RJVS uses several strategies to help get the best out people we interview for films. First, we always try to put the subject at ease by reminding them they are experts. If they seem apprehensive about something, we explain that we are going to edit the interview so that they sound and look great, so they should just relax and be themselves.
Also, we usually begin interviews with a series of easy questions and gradually transition into the more detailed ones. Our goal is to do this so well that the person doesn’t realize the interview has even started.
We do recognize that interviews don’t always go as smoothly as we’d like them to. Sometimes, when subjects are nervous, they get caught up in second guessing themselves and striving for perfection in every sentence.
This may cause the person being interviewed to “get into their heads” and start worrying about phrasing and pronunciation. If the subject begins to get flustered or bogged down, we try to get them to imagine they are talking to a close friend.
This is a simple but effective technique. You see, when we speak with people we are comfortable with, it never occurs to us that every word has to be perfect, or that we should point our finger in a certain way when we say a certain phrase.
So, If we can get an anxious interview subject to relax and imagine they are talking to a close friend, we can almost always get a great “performance”.
If you need to make a film to explain your product or service or capture and preserve an important event, please contact RJVS and let us help you, “Put Your Best Film Forward!”