Video interviews and testimonials can add credibility and believability  to any event or conference. But only if you do them well. It takes more than a camera and a microphone. Here’s how your videos can really speak to people.

People Listen to Individuals

Years ago, radio and TV news discovered the strength of a revealing interview. A great interview captures someone in the act of being themselves. It is 1-on-1 communications at its best. There are few things more powerful than a sincere, authentic, insightful comment.

Interviews make information more acceptable by showing the person behind it. They can increase trust and acceptance. Interviews are your best choice when you need to explain the “why.”

Testimonials reflect opinions, concerns, reviews and endorsements. They are the best choice when you need to increase credibility; research has shown that people believe other “real people” 70% more than they believe faceless companies and marketing.

Putting Your Reputation on the Line

Reputation management is just as important inside the organization as it is outside the organization. It’s all about strengthening your existing relationships with customers, potential customers, employees, suppliers and the community.

That’s why interviews and testimonials are so difficult to do well. People know instantly if they believe what someone else is saying. So let’s make sure your testimonials and interviews show real people at their best – and don’t just string together a boring collection of talking heads.

No Talking Heads

The term “talking heads” isn’t a compliment. In the news industry, it’s used to describe what goes on the screen when you don’t have anything left you can show. It’s filler –so you’ll want to use as little of it as possible. How? By developing a strategy for every video. Ask:

What is the purpose of the video?

• Do you want to inform, explain, endorse, persuade or defuse? The worst reason to do a video is, “The (boss, CEO, President, Executive, Producer, team, presenter) thinks we need some kind of video.”

Who is the specific audience?

• “Everyone” isn’t an acceptable answer.

What do they need to learn, accept and understand to do what you want them to do?

• What do they know already? What information gap would the video fill?

Who is the best person to communicate the content?

• Select people based on the purpose, audience and information. Credibility is more important than titles and rank.

Invest the time to develop your strategy and you’ll quickly discover that it’s 20 times easier to focus on your message and choose the best people to help communicate it. You’re not manipulating the people or their comments. You are planning so you can create a more targeted presentation that communicates clearly. And gets results!

Do It Right

I’ll go into more detail about how to interview people to get the best, most believable responses in another article. Right now, here are the key things to do when you shoot your video. Here’s your communication plan.

Have a structure, not a video editing style. Slick effects don’t communicate – people do. Tell a simple story that establishes the subject, expands on it and then has a conclusion.

Address real-world, relevant topics. Go after comments that address the “hot topics” for the audience or viewers and not just the ones you’re comfortable talking about.

Avoid wall-to-wall praise or agreement. If all you show are glowing reviews, people will get bored. And no one will believe you. If every executive on camera “drinks the Kool-Aid,” your message loses credibility. The instant assumption is that no one is allowed to create negative comments, reviews or testimonials. So don’t whitewash your topic. Break the mold.

Don’t do an interview to make obvious points. The viewers already know all that. A good interview reveals a personal and emotional message with new information or a fresh perspective.

It’s okay to be real and not perfect. The goal is to be credible and believable and not plastic and rehearsed. No canned sound bites, please.

Remember why the person you’re interviewing is there. Of course you want the subject to feel comfortable and secure, but your first obligation is to the viewers and the audience. If the people on camera don’t communicate well, help them – but don’t let them wiggle off the hook. You might think that doing a rushed, “run and gun” video is the best idea because the executive is really busy. But later, when she/he doesn’t come off well on camera, you will be the one in trouble.

Create an experience and not just a video. Every successful interview or testimonial is a personal experience for the audience or viewer. Remember, experiences are how an audience measures the success of any event, conference or video.

The Best Video Length

This is the question I hear most often. The right length is always an issue, and my standard answer is, “The exact amount of time it takes to communicate the message and not a second more.” For interviews and testimonials, I can be more specific.

Forbes magazine did research of corporate executives to discover how they like to consume media. When asked about work videos, almost half (47%) liked them in the 3-5 minute range, and 36% like them shorter, about 1-3 minutes. Just 9% had a preference for videos longer than five minutes.

What This Means to You

It means keep the videos focused on the specific audience. Divide the responses by the key points and do a series of short videos instead of one long one.

You can’t have an effective 15-minute testimonial or talking head video by just changing people every few seconds. People’s brains don’t reset just because the face changes. Here’s the bottom line – keep interview and testimonial videos short!

Hire Professionals

Hire a professional crew. There is nothing cool, exciting or contemporary about a dark, blurry video that’s hard to see and almost impossible to hear. You are working without a net and you really can’t fix all the problems that will crop up later in editing. A poorly produced testimonial or interview video will do far more financial damage than the cost of doing it professionally in the first place.

The Power of People–to-People

I guess that interview and testimonial videos are like asparagus – you either love them or hate them. No one is neutral. So the goal is to make the videos as impactful as you can – and focused, focused, focused.

Just remember that videos work best in an event, conference or session when they’re used to introduce, enhance or make a transition between topics and ideas. They aren’t a replacement for a speaker … or a cure for a bad one.

The Three Rules of Video Interviews and Testimonials

Let me boil it down to three requirements for successful interviews and testimonials. Make sure you follow these rules. Your videos should be:

1. Authentic & Believable

This is a combination of the right person, authority and emotion. A viewer or audience has to feel that the person is believable. You can’t convince them.

2. Valuable & Relevant

Your objective is to solicit candid, insightful and revealing answers. Stating the obvious, the expected, the safe, politically correct or the company line isn’t worth the screen time.

3. Interesting & Engaging

Interviews and testimonials actually have to be more focused and interesting than other video formats because there’s nothing else happening. So choose your participants and their comments carefully. If they’re deadly dull in person, blowing them up to 30 feet wide on the screen won’t make them more interesting.

Keep It Real

Instead of just reporting what your executives, employees, suppliers and customer think and feel – let them speak for themselves with great interviews and testimonials. You will add credibility, authority and believability to your message. Really speak to people. And make your event experience more personal than ever before.

Let’s spend 15 minutes talking about your next project or challenge. It’s a free consultation so we can get to know each other. Just click on CONTACT US or send an email to andy@ideagroupatlanta.com and get in touch.

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