Interviews are a crucial part of our video production process and we love the authentic connection that comes from interviewing passionate people. We know that this can be both exciting and nerve-wracking so while you’re waiting for our videographers to arrive, we’ve asked Victoria-based actor and speaking coach, Emma Rendell, to give you some tips for interviewing on camera! 

(We’ve also included some of our own preparation tips at the end that you’ll want to stick around for!)

Emma is a classically trained actor and the co-founder of ‘Once More With Feeling’ – OMWF offers actor-led coaching designed to empower people to speak with authenticity, impact and ease. Emma always has amazing insights into public speaking and we’re thrilled that she’s helped us put together some tips for you!

We acknowledge that we live, work and create on the traditional territory of the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ nations.

Emma’s Tips for Interviewing on Camera

Having a camera in front of your face can be nerve-wracking. I’ve been there. Suddenly we are extremely aware of our arms, the sounds of our voices, our facial expressions, we become tongue-tied – you name it! There are a few simple & effective things we can do to help bring us into the present moment and really engage with our audiences.

Breathe

When we get nervous, our body goes into ‘fight or flight’ mode! The breath becomes shallow, we sweat, maybe our hands get shaky, and it becomes difficult to focus. The best way to combat this? BREATHE. By taking a few, deep ‘belly breaths’ down into our diaphragms, we are engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, bringing ourselves into ‘rest and digest’ mode. You are literally biohacking your body into becoming more calm, present, and focused. While the crew is getting set up, take 4-5 purposeful, deep breaths. It works – I promise. 

Slow down

Filming video content can feel full of pressure – pressure to get it right, pressure to be natural, pressure to not waste anyone’s time – the list goes on! As a result of this, we often speak very fast and blur our thoughts and ideas together. 

Connect to the interviewer and really listen to the question they are asking you (even if you know what they are going to say!). Take time to think about your response and don’t be afraid to take pauses. Speak slower than you think you need to – remember the audience is hearing all of this for the first time.

Remember your body

Interviews feel like an activity that happens from the shoulders up, but our bodies are KEY PLAYERS in how we come across on camera! Nerves make us tense, and tension shows. Take a few minutes in between takes (or before you begin) and go for a little walk around the room. Shake out your hands, roll your shoulders, stretch out the neck – anything to help relieve some of the nervous energy being held in the body.

It’s not about you!

Take some pressure off yourself! You’re here to share something you’re passionate about – a brand, an idea, an organization, etc. In your preparation, consider who is your audience? How do you want them to feel? Be specific when you think about your audience & your intention, choose words that feel truthful and resonate with you and your product/company/mission. By taking your focus off yourself and onto your message, you will be more engaging and at ease! 

Engage with your interviewer

I mentioned this briefly once, but I’m giving it it’s own section because it is SO important and often not addressed… As an actor, we are always told “the most important person in the room is your scene partner”. It’s the person you’re talking TO. Why is that? Because the camera loves us when we are connected to someone (or something) – that is what makes people ‘watchable’. 

Our default is to be in our own heads, thinking about the next answer, thinking about how our hair looks, how we sound – and you can see it on camera. We get the ‘glassy-eyed’ look. 

Be PRESENT with your interviewer – really look at them, really listen to them, and really speak to them. Really share your story with them. It makes a world of difference. 

Surf and Stone’s Video Preparation Tips

Emma always has some great tips and we hop that you found them as useful as we did! But, now that we hope you’re feeling comfortable on camera, we have a couple of tips of our own that we hope will help you prepare for our shoot as well. 

Don’t Memorize!

You should have received a set of interview questions from us. We recommend going over these questions and thinking about what your answers will be, but don’t fret about memorizing them!

For all of us who aren’t trained actors, memorized lines tend to sound like.. well, memorized lines. When you focus on your wording and misspeak, people will often stumble and lose the emotion in their voice or have to restart. Instead, we recommend approaching the interview like a conversation. When we ask you the questions, focus on the interviewer and answer naturally. We can always cut out the um’s and ah’s but we can’t add emotion to your voice!

Bring a Change of Clothes

Being on camera, we understand you want to look your best! That shirt also looks amazing, except that it matches the colour of the room we’re shooting in and now you look like a floating head with hands. Or maybe that pattern on your shirt is causing moire on camera and we need a replacement.

We like to leave your wardrobe choice up to you but we always ask you to bring a second pair of clothes that are more neutral. The safest backup is a plain shirt that’s black, white, or navy with jeans (or for more formal interviews, dress pants).

Repeat after me

When we ask ‘What do you love most about your job?’ answer with ‘My favourite part of my job is…’ It doesn’t matter the wording exactly, but it helps our editing team when they have those keywords included. We loved your answer, but ‘the smell of coffee and making people happy’ will be difficult to incorporate without more context. When responding to a question, try to use the question in your answer.

Think long and short 

When you’re passionate about your brand, it comes across. Often, we’ll get really into your story about how your grandma taught you her famous cookie recipe but it can be hard to cut an 8-minute story into a 2-minute brand video. We find that it helps to have a long and a short version of your stories, and we may ask you to repeat your answer if we think it’s too long… Or we may ask you if we can make a founder video instead!

We’re in this together

We know this is a lot to remember but at the end of the day, we want this to be fun! These are all tips to help you prepare and not hard and fast rules. 

Remember that you’re not alone! Our interview team does this all the time and we’re happy to work with you until you’re feeling comfortable with your answers. We can also keep the conversation going until we feel that we’ve captured what we need. The beauty of video is that we can take the best parts so don’t worry about being perfect!