Our 6 Best Tips for Getting Your Leadership to Perform Well On Camera

The most compelling internal communications videos include leadership participation. And the most common way to get leadership involved in your video is through an interview-style filming session. This allows leadership to speak conversationally and off-the-cuff, creating a more human connection with your audience, rather than delivering a stiff scripted address to camera.

But how do you conduct a good interview with leadership to get the talking points you need while also keeping your interview subject feeling comfortable, happy, and ready to share.

Let’s go through some of our top tips to make video interviews easy and smooth for the best results possible. 

1. Make it easy

The first thing to remember when you’re doing video interviews? Make it easy for the participant. People have busy schedules. They’re getting pulled in lots of directions, especially in leadership roles. It’s often difficult to set time aside for the video shoot. Think about how you can simplify the process. 

Mention you will complete filming in under 20 minutes. And let them know that they don’t need to prepare anything in advance. If they want the interview questions ahead of time, that’s great, but it’s not necessary. You will be asking them about subjects they know very well. 

Then be ready to start filming as soon as they show up for the interview. You have a limited window of time with them, so you want to ensure you get the most out of it! You can use coworkers and others as stand-ins to get the shot right, including framing and audio testing before the interview starts.

That way, all the interviewee has to do is show up and start dropping pearls of wisdom. 

1. Start with an icebreaker

Once your participant is set up and ready to record, you’ll want them to loosen up a bit, which is where an icebreaker helps. You could ask them to stand up, take something out of their pocket and tell you a quick story of how it got there. 

Or you could have them tell you about something funny that happened to them recently. 

Really the purpose of the icebreaker is to get them comfortable talking on camera, and in the moment. But an added bonus of the icebreaker is it usually yields footage of them smiling, laughing, and being unguarded. It helps humanize them in the video while also getting them to feel more relaxed in front of the camera rather than tensing up or feeling awkward. 

1. Keep it conversational 

Ideally, you’re aiming for interview footage that’s smooth and hits all the points necessary based on your internal communication goal. The best way to get your interviewee’s head in the game is to quickly give them a rundown of what you are about to discuss and the purpose of the video.

Don’t assume your subject knows why they are there. Nor what’s expected of them. While you didn’t want to burden them ahead of time, now is the moment to put their mind at ease. They need to know how they can succeed at this interview. So tell them! You are going to discuss X, Y, and Z  and you really hope they can lean into points A, B, and C along the way. 

That doesn’t mean they need to memorize something or have talking points to parrot back to you, but they do need this quick overview so they feel prepared and confident going into it. 

Reassure them they don’t need to memorize anything and that you will remind them about the key points along the way. 

Encourage them to be natural and show off their enthusiasm for the subject matter as much as possible rather than trying to get through everything super fast. The tone and presentation matter because you want leadership to deliver messages as naturally as possible with an upbeat energy. 

1. Repeat the question in the answer

Unless the interviewer is being filmed as well, the final video will feature only the interview subject. That means that the viewer will not have the benefit of hearing the question from the interviewer before the interviewee answers. That’s why it’s important to have your subject incorporate the question into their answer. 

For example, if the question is “How did the new system install improve efficiency?” the interview subject's natural response will be something like, “Amazingly well. Beyond what we projected.” That’s great and all, but the viewer has no idea what they are talking about. To solve that problem in editing the only solution is to put a graphic up on screen before the answer that reads “How did the new system install improve efficiency?”

But if you get the subject to include the question in the answer, you will have a response like this: “The new install improved efficiency amazingly well. It was beyond what we projected…” That will eliminate the need for extra graphics in the video, which will make for a better viewing experience while also reducing post-production costs. 

1. Ask for short and sweet summations

A natural progression to the point above is to end each topic with a repeat of the question and answer. Having talked through their thoughts on the subject, they have it all fresh in their minds. Now is the best time to have them sum it all up by answering the question again with a sentence or two. And to work the question into the answer. 

This will yield your best sound bites for the video, as it gives them their best chance to speak clearly and concisely on the subject while still remaining conversational.  

And don’t be afraid to explain why you are having them sum it up in this way. They will understand what you are trying to do and will want to help. Remember, it’s their face on camera. They desperately want to appear comfortable, confident and succinct. These quick summations will give them that opportunity. 

1. End with a CTA

The final tip goes for any kind of video, including video interviews for internal communication. Include a clear call to action at the end of your video, and have your participant clearly say the call to action on camera. If it’s a reminder to enroll in health insurance, have the leadership member end the video with a reminder to submit forms by the 14th. 

Think about the video's purpose, e.g., recruitment, benefits, updates, and what you want people to do after watching the video. Having leadership say that call to action clearly at the end is a solid way to end the video while galvanizing employees into action. 

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