Mattias Kristiansson’s Post

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Tech marketing sage | Passionate about 3D printing | Makes B2B marketing personal

Once they see the camera, they freeze up. Oh, the horror! 🥶😱 Whenever I’m doing a video interview, this is often the case with my interviewees. They get nervous when it´s time for the shoot. It kills the vibe and affects the final result. Many B2B companies are moving into video. It´s a great way to spread knowledge. Especially if you´re interviewing a happy customer. But your customers aren’t actors. Heck, they have probably never been in front of a camera besides their own selfies. During my 20+ years in journalism and marketing, I’ve done hundreds of interviews, photo shoots and video case stories. I’ve learnt the hard way how to make your interviewee perform his or her best. Here are my 5 tips to make your interviewee a top performer! 👉 ☑ If you’re not relaxed, your interviewee won’t either - take a breather and get in the game ☑ Get to know your interviewee  I like to have a few talks with my interviewee well before the day of the shooting. Bonding and trust is calming. ☑ Do a dry-run  Rehearsing your photo shoot or video interview (without visible camera) is a great way to work out kinks and boost confidence. ☑ Be present  Make sure you’re there during the whole shoot. I like to stand beside the video photographer, make eye contact and be ready to guide and cue. ☑ Expect many retakes It can take time to nail it. In my experience, the final takes are usually the best, as your interviewee is beginning to get the hang of things. PS. Behind me in the pic is one of my fave video photographers I've worked with, Andrew Clelland #contentproduction #casestory #interview #contentmarketing #videoshoot #marketingtips #contentproductiontips

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Mattias Kristiansson

Tech marketing sage | Passionate about 3D printing | Makes B2B marketing personal

9mo

Bonus tip: You an defuse a freeze-up by being a bit of a jester. Tell a joke, do funny voices, make people laugh. Smiling kills stress.

Thomas Nordén

Lanseringar och produktmarknadsföring för små och medelstora B2B-företag – från strategi till genomförande.

9mo

The last item, expect many retakes, is a very important one. I would assume that most, even those that are used to standing in front of the camera do retakes. In fact, I heard from my favorite video guys that they did close to a hundred (!) retakes of a three question interview with a managing director of one of the larger companies. But as long as the interviewee has that expectation on themselves they can relax a bit more, which in itself will reduce the number of required retakes. I suck at standing in front of the camera. That is why I need to do it more.

Andrew Clelland

Owner at ABC Seca Blue Photography / SecaBlue Productions

9mo

Great points 👍 and thanks for the mention. Always a pleasure working with you 🙂

Danijela Hagblom

B2B Marketing Specialist

9mo

Great points! Interview format often works better than pitching directly into the camera, because of the f2f interaction.

Carolina Silvandersson

Digital Marketing Specialist

9mo

Great post Mattias Kristiansson “Get to know your interviewee” is an important advice. Share something before the interview starts, then booth of you will be relaxed and interview smooth. And a great team of course! 😀👌

Pontus Staunstrup

Training marketers to become more efficient - Consultant/Author/Teacher

9mo

Great advice Mattias! It’s a stressful situation for many, but using your tips will really make a difference.

Yeah, I've noticed that people even stop breathing. That's why I use to talk to them about silly things to get them to relax.

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