11 Ways Women Can Ace Video Interviews
Have you ever noticed men and women leaders respond to journalists and media differently
?
Last night I was catching up on news videos at Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/video-center), looking particularly at women executives and CEOs on camera. Video is becoming increasingly popular and inexpensive to produce--so learning to ace the video interview with compelling power moves is a skill all executives need. And women in particular are culturally trained to be more submissive in these situations, and can come across poorly. Here's how we can fix it.
Heres what you dont do in interviews
Watch Carol Bartz, former CEO of Yahoo, to see an example of poor social media public relations management on video.
http://online.wsj.com/video/carol-bartz-relates-her-time-conflicts-at-yahoo/AF3BE622-4AB5-4E38-A05A-76AB25355938.html
1) Dont use closed body language. Carol holds her hands clasped in front of her heart, in front of her kneesshe appears insecure and closed off. (This woman ran Yahoo, so she doesnt need to be insecure in front of anyone!)
2) Dont tilt your head low. It is a sign of lower rank and submission. Hold your head parallel with the ground, even at the chinnot high, not low.
3) Dont rush yourself. From the first question, which Carol answers with a couple of umms, she is not giving herself time to answer. This comes across as submissive and potentially scared instead of strong. I could suspect that Carol simply wants to answer the journalists questions and is doing her best to provide on demand. But she does it at the sacrifice of her personal brand. Pause and take the breath you need to gather your thoughts.
Carol can do better, by the waywatch her here when shes in a more dominant mode (not waiting on the journalist or playing to the journalist as much): http://online.wsj.com/video/bartz-says-worklife-balance-is-a-myth/2D9ADEE2-C9D1-434A-9615-0F25054B879B.html
Heres how you do it right in new media firms interviews
Heres an example of what you should do on video interviewers: Watch Denise Morrison, CEO of Campbell Soup.
http://online.wsj.com/video/morrison-lives-her-childhood-dream-of-becoming-ceo/3F7BA50F-DF2B-46F6-B9F7-C6D09E11B7EF.html
What did she do right?
1) Do tell stories. Denise had a couple stories primed for this. And she got on camera, looked the camera in the lens, and spoke her piece.
2) Do keep talking. In the video, Denise wasnt asked about goal-setting, was she? But she wanted to talk about this and so she kept talking straight through, not allowing the journalist to interrupt her with a further question. The person who does the most talking often appears to be the biggest authority. Denise handles this well. This is a huge pointgo to a camera with a message, and let nothing get between you and that lens in delivering.
3) Do look at the camera. Looking closely at the interviewer allows them to read you closely, and interrupt easily. Looking at the camera connects you to the camera person and the audience, and puts you more in charge of your experience. The interviewer is "shut out."
Let's put it all together with a third and final videoJulie Steinberg on FIN being interviewed on Mean Street.
http://online.wsj.com/video/why-more-women-arent-in-corporate-power-seats/4AEBEE1C-AF09-4186-878B-3E3E44A76947.html
When you watch this, you see Julie playing directly to her interviewer, and allowing him to dominate the interview. Her submissive behavior includes asking the interviewer to teach her how to play golf. The rather bold and admittedly arrogant interviewer talks over herand she allows that. In fact, she speeds up to try to get a word in edgewise.
What could you do in this tough situation?
1) Slow down. Julie speeds up, but that makes her seem flightier. Her great content is literally blurred by her speed of delivery. Listen to how the interviewer speaks two to three times as slowly as Julie does. Slowing down is a power move.
2) Dont allow the journalist to run the interview. Julie is the expert here. When the interviewer takes the question in another direction, interrupt and redirect. Youre the expert. Redirecting is a power move.
3) Dont let the journalist frame the story. The frameor contextof the story is negotiable. As the person being interviewed, if youre a leader, you have to frame the debate. That means your worldview dominates.
4) Dont ask the journalist questions. Julie asks, Are you a good golfer? I assume shes trying to turn the interview around and take control, but question-asking is a passive-aggressive way to do that. The right approach is reframe. For example the journalist asks, If you were a male CEO Dumb question, right? Julie is a great journalist, and neither a male NOR a CEO. So to call bullshit on the journalist is one of the best ways to reframe. Take overand deliver your message. You can do that by saying, Great question, but whats even more relevant is Making statements is a power move.
5) Never forget the audience behind the camera. When you are on camera, like Julie, it can be tempting to speak TO the interviewer, which she does. But your audience (often millions) is behind the lens. Speak to them. By looking INTO the lens, and through the camera, you remind yourself of your real audience. Eye contact with the lens is a terrific power move for today's video interview. social media public relations
by: Saul Goodman
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