Indium Blog

Video Interview Skills & Techniques in B2B Marcom

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    Video is no longer the next frontier - it is a part of our regular life. Therefore, it is a normal and desired part of any B2B Marcom program to put either yourself or a colleague in front of the camera. We all know that a video is a great way to depict the warmth and authentic nature of your organization, so you often want to pursue video opportunities. Other times a video interview may be thrust upon you. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. But be careful, those million words can be good, or not so good.

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    I spend a good amount of time creating and considering Indium Corporation's video "face". We make video ads and we are interviewed by our industry's media. So, I pay attention to both how we do, and how some of the best interviewers and interviewees fare.

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    The leading video medium in our industry is REAL TIME WITH...   These dynamic people travel the globe, going from customer to customer, exhibition to exhibition, and event to event, capturing video of just about every aspect of the subject. Interviews are a big part of their work.

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    Recently, Real Time With ... visited Nepcon South China, and interviewed a person who does an excellent job in front of the camera. Watch the Real Time With Nepcon South China 2008 interview of Josephone Lee. Josephine is Reed Exhibitions East China Vice President, and the head of this trade show.

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    Josephine (full disclosure: she is a good friend of mine) does it all in her interview. She is warm, humorous, focused, honest, and genuine. It all comes across so clearly as she makes it look easy. It's NOT easy. How does she do it?

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    Well, Josephine:

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    • answers the questions (no dodging)
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    • stays within her area of expertise
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    • gets her key points across
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    • works from notes when needed (though she makes it seem natural)
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    • acknowledges the viewer frequently, naturally, comfortably
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    • engages the interviewer
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    • is truly genuine
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    • shares interesting info (not platitudes or "the party line")
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    • gestures naturally and appropriately
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    • speaks at the right pace, and in a natural & comfortable volume
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    • expresses excellent body language and expressions
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    It's clear (even if you don't know Jo like I do) that she really knows what she is talking about, and that she loves it. It's also clear thet she is not a CNN talking head. Her "imperfections" are the exact thing that real viewers appreciate. It is clear that she is real, warm, and human. If I was teaching a class on successful video interviewing, I'd show the class Josephine's interview.

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    If video interviews are increasingly important to your B2B Marcom practice (like it is to mine) then you will want to watch Josephine's interview several times, taking notes, picking up pointers, and learning what you need to know to excel.

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    Special Note: these techniques can be very valuable for live presentations, as well.

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    Please comment and let us know your thoughts on Josephine's interview skills, or on video in general.

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    Image: RealTimeWith screen grab.