We’ve all had to embrace remote meetings and pitches over the last year despite the general hatred most people have towards seeing/hearing their own faces/voices. Probably more surprising than Freedom Day’s timing (ooh, politics!) is the fact that some quite smart people still don’t seem to be very good at using a camera.
Having spent a fair bit of time interviewing people while creating Profile Videos to help with companies’ new business efforts (yes, that was a sly product placement - check them out) I’ve noticed a few things I’d like to share with you to help you come across less like a PlayStation 2 version of yourself.
1) Don’t read from a script. I shudder slightly when someone askes to see the questions before the interview. Yes, I know you don’t want to be caught out with a tricky question but PLEASE don’t actually write out what you’re going to say word for word. As soon as I see someone’s eyes drop to a prepared Word Doc answer my heart sinks. Even if you started out as an interesting and dynamic person, almost no one bar Morgan Freeman can read a script without it sounding like, well… a script. Eye contact matters, so don’t forget to look into the lens and not at the on-screen face of your interviewer.
2) If you need notes, just have bullet points. Obviously you’ll want to be sure you hit all the key points, so JUST have those to flick down to now and then. And - if you later realise you missed one - you can just come back to it. Making mistakes will actually make you sound even less contrived, which can only make what you’re saying more compelling. A very simple “I just want to come back to your question about X because what I failed to mentioned was Y…” etc.
3) Relax. What is THE WORST thing that can happen? Seriously? You suddenly burst into flames or projectile vomit down the lens? It’s not gonna happen. If you stutter or can’t find a word just laugh it off… look human… find a way to move on and come back to it when the word occurs (which might - inconveniently - be about 1:30am the following morning).
Knowing that no one likes doing these and thinks they look and sound rubbish should be your armour. The fact everyone is thinking “I’m glad they’re doing it and not me” already gives you some leeway to screw up. The less you worry about screwing up, the less likely you are to drop the ball.
Oh, and smile. Unless that does make you burst into flames (in which case, just smile with your eyes or something).