Effective Strategies For On-Camera Interviews
You’ve nabbed a job interview and the recruiter wants to meet on video. Effectively communicating on camera is part of ensuring you will move up in the interview process. As you prepare for your next on-camera interview, consider the 3 elements below and how they can enhance your interview. Much of this article also touches upon if you’re being interviewed on camera for an event. All the tips are applicable in both scenarios. Read on:
1. Video Is Visual
Video is a visual medium. This means the person watching will be taking cues. Impressions are being made quickly. Whether it’s just one person or a few people on the call with you, they will be judging your competency and your credibility by what they see.
Because you will have little time to make a good first impression, you want to be mindful of how you present yourself. This is especially true when it comes to what you are wearing. As you prepare to give an on-camera interview, consider the following:
- Solid Colors – Try to stick to solid colors. Colors such as blue, green, or red will make you pop on camera. If you need more color options, almost any jewel tone will work!
- Avoid Distracting Clothing– You will want to avoid wearing busy patterns. Large text or distracting logos will also be choices to avoid. Remember, you want your audience and others to be paying attention to what you are saying – not what you are wearing.
- Loud Fabrics – As you choose your wardrobe, try to avoid any fabrics that make noise. You don’t want to have any noise distracting from your message. Some leathers, types of denim, and latexes can make noise when you move your arms.
2. Preparing Your Message
During your on-camera interview, you will want to keep your message succinct for you to sound eloquent. Preparing can help you reduce filler words. Words such as um, like, and uh are examples of filler words. If your response is littered with filler words, those listening may interpret you as being uncomfortable or even inexperienced.
There are a few things you can do to prepare your message.
- Talking Points – Talking points are similar to bullet points. This isn’t a script that you have memorized but rather points you want to make sure you address.
- Questions – Chances are you already know why you are doing this interview. The company may have given you questions to prep ahead of time. Make sure you know how you want to address their questions.
- Practice – You want to make sure you practice what you plan to say out loud. It is one thing to think about what you are going to say and a completely different thing to say it out loud. Your tone of voice, cadence, and fluency are important for you to practice.
- Context – As you prepare your message be sure to loop in context. This means numbers, data, and any relevant stories related to the reason you are being interviewed and your expertise.
Most of the time, the on-camera interview won’t veer off-topic because there is a time constraint. The interviewer will likely have a set of questions they will need to ask as well.
3. Set Yourself Up For Success
Part of succeeding in an on-camera interview setting is understanding how your answers will be used. For this third point, we’re going to focus on giving on-camera interviews to a large audience, and not in a job-type scenario. In a large event, sometimes the interview will be recorded and aired in full. This is great because viewers will get to hear everything you have to say. However, sometimes the interviewer will chop up what you are saying into what are called soundbites.
Soundbites are usually choppy emotional phrases. Generally, soundbites are created from something you are describing with emotion.
For example, if someone is interviewing you, and asks you this question: How do you envision your company growing? You might answer with, We are seeing huge demand of corporate companies wanting presentation type training for their employees. But what we are really excited about is seeing how our training has really transformed the lives of people so they now feel more clear-minded and confident.
The part that they will likely pick up here is where you started saying we are really excited. This is because that statement was more emotionally driven.
In the end, on-camera interviews – whether it’s for an interview or for an event – are visually driven. Those watching will be looking at you, what you’re wearing, your mannerisms, and how you respond.
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