It’s more than answers
10 things to remember when being interviewed
Interviews are a two way conversation - well at least the good ones are. In a previous blog article, we discussed things for the interviewer to remember, and now it’s time for the interviewee. As someone who has been on both sides, I understand the things that must be considered to ensure a great interview. Here are 10 things to keep in mind as someone being interviewed.
1) Don’t be late - being late is first, disrespectful to the interviewers time and second, sets a bad mood that makes it harder to warm up to the questions. It’s just awkward and unnecessary so respect each others time
2) Get to know the interviewer and their style. Are they informal and humorous or do they have more or a professional and educational tone . For example, don’t go on Chicken Shop Date and be surprised by the intentional awkwardness.
3) Understand the audience. This might seem like the interviewers job and it mostly is. They will come up with questions that will reflect their target audience. But you also have to be mindful and considerate when responding by using suitable language. For example, despite being an expert in AI, if the audience is people in primary school, you won’t use the big terms you would usually use with your colleagues (unless you unpack them to be easily understood).
4) The first message is visual. Consider how your outfit may be received by the audience. E.g. there was once a mini scandal with french president Macron, during an interview where viewers thought he took off his expensive watch to appear more relatable when discussing changes to pension schemes.
5) If there are any topics you don’t want to talk about, be clear about that BEFORE the interview. Mention it in the planning stages because you don’t want to arrive and realise that the whole discussion is shaped around said topic. The interviewer should be gracious enough to respect that and you will have peace knowing you were honest about your boundaries.
6) Don’t be thrown off by extra questions. You may have been sent a list of questions, but in conversation, you may be asked to delve deeper in a certain topic.
7) Think of one key message you’d like to share during the interview. If you have been asked to be interviewed, it’s because you have a level of authority to speak on a subject so don’t be shy and own that moment. Also, you don’t want to try to fit a bunch of ideas and end up verbally vomiting or forgetting all your points .
8) Consider general responses based on questions that may arise, but don’t rehearse them or it will come across as scripted. Remember the best interviews are like conversations.
9) Don’t speed talk. When nervous you may find that you ramble or talk faster than usual. So intentionally slow down your speech to calm your nerves. This also helps post production in case the editor needs to cut out a section or edit around it.
10) Finally, voice record yourself on your own device if possible. You can then listen back and analyse your responses and things you may need to work on. The interviewer will edit the audio to make it sound better so make sure you have your own raw copy - this is good for job interviews too!
That’s the main list. As a journalist I do believe that it is the responsibility of the interviewer to make their guest as comfortable as possible, but following this list as an interviewee makes the whole process smoother. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter for updates on our next post.
