Small business owner shares his story in Miami Florida
How do you get a great performance from a non-performer? That’s the question we are faced with every week while helping companies share their stories and brand messaging. There are a few tips we’ve learned over the years to get the most out of a “candid interview”.
#1 - You have to keep the setting light and loose. Being friendly, thanking them for taking time out of their day, making small talk about their business and what they really know about the subject matter before the interview helps to calm the nerves of most first time interview subjects. Having something to drink, keeping lights and equipment to a minimum, crew activity slow and deliberate also does wonders to ease any tension.
#2 - If you guest is very nervous, start off with a brief orientation about how the interview will go. That you would like them to rephrase your question in their answer, since most likely your off-camera questions won’t be heard, assure them that they will only be fielding questions about stuff that they know very well. And that we can start and stop at any time, and in the magical editing suite, we’re going to make them look and sound great, even if they don’t feel they are doing well. Give them double assurance that you are there to make them shine.
#3 - Once you start, begin with simple stuff like having them pronounce and spell their first and last name, give their official title, and their company, this gets the ball rolling. The first answer they give usually sets the table for how it’s going to go. If someone is really nervous, have them settle in by giving them a second chance at the first question, assure them they are doing great, then move through the questions. You can always come back and do them all again. Usually once your guests nerves calm down, the answers will feel more natural. That’s why we usually get the best responses toward the end of the interview. This is where we usually circle back and ask the early questions a second time, and then we get the gold!