How to Prep Your Shy Interviewee for Their Video Debut

Interviews are a big part of what we do here at 12 Stars Media, and keeping the interviewee comfortable can really make or break the entire interview. That being said, how can you keep a shy interviewee comfortable? Some people may tell you that you cannot get a good interview from someone who is camera shy, but that’s not always the case. Recently, we conducted an interview with someone who had never been on camera. Needless to say, she was nervous. Honestly, how could you not be nervous? With multiple lights, cameras, equipment, and people staring at you it is easy to become overwhelmed. The trick is to make your shy interviewee comfortable with both you (the interviewer) and the camera.

Here’s a few tips to help with that

Introduce yourself

This may seem silly. You could read this and think, “Well, duh! Of course I’m going to do that! I’m closing this blog post and going back to Facebook!” But wait! Give me a chance here. Of course you are going to say hi to him or her, but the key is how and when you do it. You need to be shaking hands and chatting with them before you ever hit record on the camera. For our recent shoot, I introduced myself before we even picked out a room for the interview. You want to get your interviewee talking with you before you are sitting down for the interview. Also, if they are in the same room as you are setting up equipment, you want to keep the conversation going while you work. One easy thing to talk about is what each equipment does while you are setting it up. Doing this will help the interviewee feel more relaxed with not only you, but the equipment as well.

Tell them something embarrassing

So this is somewhat a sub-point to the first point. While you are talking with your interviewee, I suggest telling them something embarrassing about yourself. I’m not telling you to tell a 10 minute story about the time you peed your pants during class in elementary school, but don’t be afraid to say something silly or embarrassing about yourself. This does a few things. Firstly, it will hopefully make them laugh. The more laughter before the actual interview, the more relaxed they will be. Secondly, it helps to lessen the tension and lets the interviewee feel more relaxed about possibly making a mistake. If they know how silly you are, then they won’t be afraid to look silly on camera.

Be relaxed

The interviewee will mimic the type of energy you put off. If you are worried about your lighting setup and technical issues with the production, you can’t let it show. If the interviewee senses your stress about the production, then it will only increase their nervousness. Make sure to smile, laugh, and have fun. This helps reassure them that this is nothing to be stressed about and that they should enjoy it, too.

Find their comfort zone

If possible, interview your talent in an area where they are most comfortable. Whether or not you will be able to implement this step depends entirely on the type of video that is being produced. For example: our interviewee happened to be a truck driver. My idea was to conduct a second interview with her driving her truck and myself in the passenger seat. Compared to the conference room we used for the first interview, she was much more comfortable since she was in an environment that she sees almost every day. It was also a great B-roll opportunity to add excitement to the overall video. Now, I know you probably don’t plan on interviewing a slew of truckers in your near future, but this can work with almost any profession. Maybe they work at a desk all day? Then interviewing them in their office would be a great choice. No matter the profession, there is an environment that they are most comfortable in that would work best for an interview.

Ditch the script

Using a script can already generate some problems, let alone attempting to use one on someone who is uncomfortable in front of the camera. For our shoot, we were given a list of questions with answers already filled in to go over with our interviewee, and our interviewee was given the same questions. When we began with the first question on the list, it turned into less of an interview and more of a recital. I would find her staring down at her paper trying to copy the answer word for word. I soon realized that scripting her answers was not going to work. Instead, I started asking questions off the script to make it more relaxed. I told her that she should picture the interview as a “conversation with cameras rolling.” Before we knew it, she was laughing, smiling, and giving great answers.

These are just a few tips to keep in mind when you have a shy interviewee. Implementing these tricks can help your interviewee become more relaxed and ready for the camera, which will in turn produce a better video. From our shoot, we were able to produce a great video that made it look like our interviewee was a seasoned veteran in front of the camera. So remember, get your interviewee smiling and laughing however you can. And if all else fails, tell the 10 minute story about the time you peed your pants during class in elementary school.

How to Prep Your Shy Interviewee for Their Video Debut