Casual Interview Format

Interviews with customers, employees, partners, or industry experts is very effective for creating and sharing content. This approach can be especially compelling, especially when you learn some easy interviewing techniques.  Your goal is to make the interviewee comfortable on camera and help them to bring out the passion in their topic.  One easy approach is the Casual Interview Format (CIF).

When interviewing a simple way to set up the shoot, is to place yourself across from the interviewee, with the camera to one side of you, focused on the interviewee.   In this manner, the person is really having a conversation with you. They are not looking into the camera, but dialoging with you as the interviewer.   You will often see this approach used by news and investigative reporters.

There are several advantages to this approach:

1. Comfort -  It is much easier for both people to relax, as it feels like a conversation.  Neither of you is looking directly at the camera.   It is much easier to fall into a rhythm and forget the camera is there.
2. More engaging -  As the viewer, you feel like you are in the room,  just sitting in another chair listening to the conversation.  You get very engaged in listening, as well as viewing.
3. Easy  -  As the interviewer, you can focus on having the conversation – no need to take notes.
4. Result -  It is very easy to edit this format.  You can ask many questions,  use the ones that work best.

If you want to try it,  after watching the video above, try it with one of your family members or friends.  Let us know how it goes and any ideas you learned.  Also, if are experienced and have some additional tips, please share them.