Communicating Coronavirus #4

Recently, a friend commented on Facebook about how fascinating it is to see the insides of people's homes in this, the age of the remote media interview.

"But who's dressing the set?" she asked.

It's a great question and the answer is, it's the interviewee's responsibility. If you're being interviewed via Zoom, or Skype, or some other remote platform, then it's your job to be the lighting expert, the set designer, camera operator and director.

That's difficult when that sort of thing is not your area of expertise.

So here's some quick dos and don'ts.

The two screenshots above represent just about the worst that remote interviews can get.

The subjects are in darkness, or are lit from the side instead of the front; the camera angle is too low so we're looking up their nostrils; the backgrounds are atrocious; the eye contact is wavering; and don't get me started about the headphones!

Here's how to avoid this.

• Tidy your background. Have something behind you - empty white walls look awful - but whatever is it, make it tidy and uncluttered. A bit of greenery or a splash of colour can work well.
• Ensure quiet. Close the door to the room, mute the notifications on your computer, put your phone on silent.
• Add light. Position your computer so that you have light - either from a window or a lamp - shining directly onto your face, front on. Avoid being lit from behind or the side.
• Adjust screen height. You want the camera on your screen to be at eye level (not nostril level) so achieve this by sitting it on some books to raise it up.
• Adjust yourself. You want your head and shoulders to almost fill the screen, so move closer to the camera if you have to. You should leave some space below your chin, however, for your name to appear during the interview.

There are some rule to follow during the interview as well:

• Eye contact. Look directly into the camera, not at the image of yourself, or the interviewer on the screen. This is really hard to do - it's very tempting to glance away at yourself - but it's imperative that you do it. Wavering eye contact makes you look dodgy. Consistent, steady eye contact makes you appear trustworthy.
• Volume. Speak at normal volume, there's no need to raise your voice.
• Press record. It's often possible to record the interview at your end and you should do this, so that you can look back at it afterwards and critique your performance

A remote interview is still an on-camera interview. You still need to dress appropriately, stay grounded (no swivel chairs!) and use subtle hand gestures. Remember, you can appear a bit flat when you communicate through a camera so add just a little extra energy to your voice and facial expressions.

And turn up early to remote interviews - so any issues can be worked through in plenty of time.

Take a look at the following screen shots - they were all taken from recent interviews on ABC TV's 730 or The Drum and I chose them because I think every interviewee did a pretty good job setting them up. (And trust me, there were a lot of other examples that were woeful).

Which is your favourite and why?

Remote, do-it-yourself interviews are never going to look as professional as in-studio ones. But there's a lot you can do to improve them.

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Looking for my other Communicating Coronavirus posts? Read #1 here  #2 here and #3 here.

Christine Heard is a Media Skills Network accredited trainer and runs Heard Communication, a media and crisis training consultancy that works with big business, SMEs, start ups and no-for-profits.

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