“That’s a really tough question,” she said on camera. “Move on to another one.”
Later, she asked her co-worker who was asking the questions, “What are you trying to get at?”
“Is that what you wanted,” she said deeper into the interview. “I didn’t know what you were trying to ask.”
You might expect, to an extent, these types of interactions between reporters and the people they interview. Most journalists do not share their questions before interviews. But the above conversation is between two co-workers working on a video for their organization.
We always offer to conduct the interviews for a business video. Most clients take us up on this offer after we meet with them and better understand their key messages. But some clients are more comfortable conducting the interviews themselves. This is fine except for a few pitfalls we are witnessing and one of those is a lack of communication between the interviewer and interviewee before standing in front of the camera.
We understand co-workers are pressed for time and do not always enjoy the luxury of preparing for such projects ahead of time. But discussing the questions and deciding on the most effective answers should occur before the camera is looking you in the face. You are otherwise wasting time and fumbling through answers that could have been more engaging. Also consider many people inherently feel uncomfortable before a camera and feeling unprepared or unsure of the answers takes that level of insecurity to the next level.
Business videos are not ambush interviews. Meet ahead of time to discuss the questions and answers. This recommendation seems simple, but schedules are not simple and we too often see people planning out sound bite strategies while the camera and lights hover over them.