Level Up Your Interviewing Skills
(Me chatting with an interview subject. Photo: Lauri Clark)
Being an interview subject is not easy. You’re nervous. You don’t know exactly what is going to happen. You’re worried you aren’t going to say the right thing and it’s going to be captured on video.
Meanwhile, as the interviewer, it’s easy to be oblivious to the interview subject’s feelings. I know I was when I first started. I walked in with questions and my primary concern was leaving with answers in the form of good sound bites. When the nerves of the interview subject collide with the sound bite focus of the interviewer, the result is a lackluster video.
Level 1: Performance
As the interviewer, my initial approach (and many novices’ approach) was to think of the interview as a type of performance. I would just read the questions and not engage with the subject, which meant the interview remained a stilted and strange experience. I got caught up in making sure I got the sound bites I needed, frequently interrupting the subject or asking “Can you say that again?” This is not a natural way to interact with someone.
Level 2: Conversation
One of the first things that I learned about making better video interviews is that they should be conversational. People are used to having conversations, which means your subject will relax and give natural answers.
I learned from Patrick Moreau about “The Coffee Shop Test,” where you imagine that you and the interview subject are friends chatting in a coffee shop. If you wouldn’t say it then, you shouldn’t say it in the interview. This idea made sense to me as a guide for what a casual conversation would sound like. You don’t “start” talking, or work through a series of questions; conversations flow with both parties contributing. You certainly don’t stop people and ask them to say something again, or say “Great!” after each response.
The trouble with this method is that it can go too far in the other direction. What do you do if someone made a statement with no context, and you know it won’t work in the video? What if there was a loud noise in the background and you do need them to say something again?
One way to counter these issues is to provide some ground rules when sitting down for the interview.
The Ground Rules
This will be conversational
You will look at me and not at the camera
Feel free to stop and start over, but also don’t feel like you have to edit yourself
We will be editing this, so we are just looking for the best pieces
Most importantly, please answer in complete sentences
These guidelines create good structure for the subject’s responses, but also can lead to awkwardly formal responses at best, and a stressed-out interview subject at worst. These guard rails for the conversation end up pushing it back towards a performance again. So which is it? Is a video interview a performance or a conversation?
I turns out that conversation OR performance is a false dichotomy when it comes to video interviews.
Level 3: Conversation and Performance
The interview is a conversation AND a performance. You want your subject to be as relaxed and natural as possible, but you can’t ignore the fact that the camera is there, and at the end of the day, you need the interview subject to say certain things, often in a particular way. While you want to capture the intimacy of two people talking, there is ultimately a third person who needs to be engaged: the viewing audience.
So how do you combine these seemingly contradictory perspectives? My approach is a three-step process. It’s not always possible to do, but it’s a goal I strive for.
The Three-Step Interview Process
Prep the subject for the performative aspects of the interview BEFORE they are sitting in the interview chair, if possible. This can be via email, a phone call, and/or when they first arrive for the interview. Standing away from the interview chair, go over the ground rules. Also tell them that there will be a rolling start to the interview, meaning that we will be chatting casually and slowly turn towards the interview questions. More on that in Step 2.
Once you are on set and in the interview chairs, get into conversation mode. Start chatting, and don’t stop chatting. Talk about anything and everything other than questions you hope to have answered on camera. If you are working with a crew, this will give them a chance to finalize the lighting and camera framing, but your main purpose is to get the subject talking casually. Ideally, the camera operator will start recording and give you a subtle signal that they are ready, without making it a big deal. You as the interviewer PRETTY MUCH IGNORE THEM, maybe only nodding your head to acknowledge that you heard them. This helps ensure that the subject doesn’t feel pressure to “start” the interview and switch into a different gear than the conversation mode you have been in. To solidify this feeling, ask another "small talk" question, just to keep it casual a bit longer. After that, gently bring the conversation towards the questions that you want to be answered without “starting the interview.” Work your way through your prepared questions, but jump around to match the flow of the conversation. Sit up, sit forward, smile, nod, and give the interview subject lots of enthusiastic interest and energy. If they break a ground rule, such as answering a question without the proper context, or there is some other problem, make a note of it (either mentally or on paper) and keep going.
Once you have gotten through the bulk of the interview in conversation mode, you can then circle back to performance mode to tie up the loose ends. At this point, you can break the conversational form and just ask them to repeat answers or say the certain things you need them to say.
Does this work every time? No. Is this possible to do every time? No. Different subjects and interview scenarios will make it difficult or impossible. However, having this framework in mind will help you to maximize the benefits of creating a relaxed, conversational environment for the subject while also maximizing the performative requirements when capturing a video interview.