I need to confess something- ‘fess up’ as those who are hip wiv da kids might say.
When a subject for a video interview announces that he is just ‘learning the script’ my heart sinks. Another good one is ‘Can we put the piece of paper nearby so I can refer to it while filming?’ The polite answer is – NO.
Before you all decide I am far too rude and move onto our chief competitors, The Attila The Hun Video Production Company, let me explain – it’s for your own good :-).
We live in a digitally savvy world – people are so much more visually educated than they themselves even realise. It means that they can pick up on subtle clues and make decisions about what they are seeing and form opinions on who they are viewing before they have even had a chance to consciously make up their mind. Today’s audience are very good indeed at judging integrity.
Unless you are a real pro at broadcasting or presenting or have actually memorized the script in it’s entirety and can repeat it to perfection (in which case you probably have too much time on your hands), the strain on your face as you struggle to get the sentence right and the resulting blankness of personality will say far more than whether you get it all word perfect.
Instead, our advice is to remember a bullet point list and to naturally speak around it, be yourself and let your enthusiasm and knowledge of the subject come through. There is no stress. We can do 3 (or more) takes, we can cut between those takes (especially as we always use 2 cameras to enable that flexibility) and the end result will be a natural, engaging presentation where you are not constantly twitching or glancing off.
If what you say really does have to be perfect then we can provide an
auto-cue so you can read the words in front of the camera – this is a skill in itself but is somewhat easier than memorizing huge chunks of script.
The best interviews? A chat with the unseen interviewer – relaxed, natural, confident and above all – engaging. You can do it!
PS 4 hours after writing the above I was interviewed on camera by some students regarding a charity I work with. I was RUBBISH! So there.