How to present yourself in the best possible light during an interview
Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash
Interviews can be an ideal opportunity for companies to get noticed. For important announcements, news, product or service launches or important additions, they can be an excellent spreader for good news. But interviews also play an important role to communicate and de-escalate unpleasant situations such as disappointing quarterly numbers, layoffs and data breaches. This is why understanding the parameters and best practices of such platforms, whether there is a camera present or not, is so important. Here are a few helpful tips and tricks, which will surely prove useful.
Dealing with the media and journalists
It is important to understand that media organizations have the important obligation to provide independent journalism and reporting. This includes cases with hotly debated topics. Instead of fostering negative feelings that journalists are out to get you, it’s favorable to instead try to work in collaboration with journalists, on a partnership level. And needless to say, professionalism is key when interacting with the media. Be sure that you and company representatives always allow enough time for travels and arrive on time to interviews.
Before the interview begins, it’s important to greet the interviewer warmly. If the interview is taking place at your place of work, it’s your responsibility to create a comfortable and ideal interview space, where you will not be interrupted.
It’s a good idea to ask journalists for interview questions in advance (or at least a basic interview guideline) so that you can be as prepared as possible, in terms of content.
In situations, where you anticipate receiving very critical questions, limit the length and time allotted for the interview before the interview begins. Moreover, in cases where you can anticipate that the interview may result in causing damage, or because of legal reasons, you may decide to politely decline participating in the interview all together.
It is standard for journalists to send quotes for approval after an interview, but do not expect to receive the entire text or article before it’s been published.
Knowing your key messages
While it is essential to extensively prepare your interview content, this does not mean that pre-prepared answers—loaded with as many key messages as possible—must be memorized by heart, to then be recited to the interviewer. . This would be rather counterproductive. It is much more important to be as authentic as possible, all while authentically representing your company.
Know and understand key points, facts and messages on various topics relevant to your business. Equip yourself with concise and bullet-point-like reasons and arguments in your head. During an interview, use these arguments accordingly, as they come up naturally in the conversation, all while maintaining your own unique style of communicating (needless to say, try to avoid swearing or other non-professional behavior at all cost).
In the case that the conversation completely veers away from the key messages you’d like to share, use the bridging technique to recenter the conversation. Bridging involves using bridging sentences such as "I would like to clarify one more thing regarding..."
Remember to always remain calm and positive. A calm and positive attitude is the basic requirement for any successful exchange for any interview.
Basic interview rules:
Take your time and gather your thoughts before answering
Speak calmly and with variations in tone and tempo (i.e.avoid being monotonous)
Connect answers with key messages and, if necessary, lead the conversation back to them (bridging)
Do not be afraid to repeat key information
Ask for clarification if you haven’t fully understood the question, or forgotten part of it
Don’t let yourself be provoked or get upset
Always remain polite
Be prepared not only in terms of content
Beside preparing for content, it is just as important to be well-prepared with being organized and with technology. As mentioned before, punctuality is of the upmost importance, regardless if the interview takes place through video conferencing, in-person, on the telephone, or whether it is filmed or not.
Appearance matters. For filmed interviews, clothing should be clean and wrinkle-free. Excessively shiny skin can be avoided by using a suitable powder. Transparent variants are recommended as they do not change skin-tone color.
Understand what is to be shown within the camera frame (i.e. close-up, or medium shot including top half of the body, etc.) Knowing those details, will help you gain confidence for filmed interviews, as you can adjust your stance and/or facial expressions accordingly.
People who are standing-up in interviews appear more dynamic and usually automatically adopt an upright posture (consider standing for videoconferencing interviews).
Not letting stage fright get to you
In most cases, an interview is not an everyday occurrence, and not all company representatives feel completely at ease in interview-settings. So while getting stage fright is completely normal, there are a few simple tricks that will help with not letting it get to you. Firstly, the key saying to keep in mind is, “Practice makes perfect.” The more you practice physically and mentally, the fewer nerves you will have. Rehearsing in front of an audience, simulating the actual interview, is helpful. That way, you’re better able to learn from errors or identify where there is room for improvement. See yourself as an athlete, in need of constant training, to help you get into that positive mindset for the interview. You can only keep on getting better.
Remind yourself that your nervousness is more noticeable to you internally than it is externally to others. You can further avoid being overwhelmed by stage fright, before or during an interview, by using breathing techniques that support the sound of your voice, and slow down your heart rate to normal levels.
In addition, there is always media training that helps with learning these techniques and more, especially useful for those with elevated levels of nervousness.
It is a special honor to represent a company in interviews, and a wonderful opportunity to share your company’s message with the public, and this should be approached with positivity and a sense of responsibility. At the same, it’s a great way to position yourself and your company as experts in a specific field. If you stick to these basic tips and tricks, you will be able to present yourself in the best possible light, are very likely to come away from the interview satisfied and successful.