Introduction
Ever feel like your interviews lack that spark?
It happens to the best of us! Capturing genuine moments from interviewees can be a challenge—especially when they aren’t used to being in the spotlight.
But here’s the game-changer: your approach!
Join Mikkel Svold, founder of Montanus, as he spills his secrets on igniting authenticity in your interviews.
In this episode of the Content Universe, recorded right in the action, Mikkel reveals his top strategies for getting even the most camera-shy individuals to open up.
You’ll learn how to kick things off by hitting record before the formalities, and why sharing a bit of your own story can ease nerves.
Excited to level up your interview skills and create content that resonates? Don’t miss out—tune in now and discover how to make your subjects feel at home, giving your content the authentic shine it needs!
What You’ll Learn
• Clever interview techniques for non-professional speakers revealed!
• Capture unexpected insights before and after interviews.
• Make interviewees comfortable with technical setup explanations.
• The power of personal sharing to build rapport.
• Enhance your interviews and capture expert insights effectively.
Episode Transcript (AI Generated)
__________________________________________ Hello and welcome to the Content Universe. Today, I have been out in the field. I have been not sitting in my office. I have been sitt- right now, I’m actually sitting in my car again. Sorry. I have been out filming and having an interview with three lovely people at one of my one of my great clients and that made me think about… How do you- What is it that I actually do when I have an interview and I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I want to share with you today on how to get people to People who are not used to standing in front of a microphone How to get them to say something that you can actually use All right. So that is the topic of today How to familiarize or how to get people to This is a poor title, isn’t it? What should the title be? Like How to get people talking when there’s a microphone I think that could be the title For those of you who don’t know me I am Mikkel Svold and I am the owner and founder of Montanus, which is a content production company We produce content of all sorts Including videos obviously Including interviews etc. blog posts and all that For mainly like high knowledge Companies who work with something that’s a little bit more complicated than a Nike Sneakers Oh..that was actually dissing Nike Sneakers They’re very complicated But who wants to position themselves As someone selling something very complicated Anyway, I have been out and about today And I’ve been interviewing And that’s always a pleasure for me And I wanna go through Let me count One, two, three, four, maybe, things That I do when I’m out there filming To kind of make people want to talk to me Alright so There’s a few tricks up my sleeve Sleeve The first trick I think that you guys out there When you are filming Or recording an interview The first thing you want to do You want to start the recording Way ahead of Your interview actually beginning Now why is this so? It is because Basically two reasons The first one is that sometimes The real good stuff Comes outside of the actual interview frame So that means Some of the really golden sentences Some of the really good, high value inputs That come from your interviewees It is not What can you say Inside of the boxed interview It is at the end So sometimes when you’re just introducing What it is that you’re doing They’re introducing themselves You’re saying hello You’re pointing out where should you stand How to clip on the microphone All this When that is happening Sometimes The really golden lottery ticket In terms of quotes And in terms of good points Comes in that little space of time So that means if you don’t have that on the recording It gets lost And now obviously You have to let the people you’re interviewing Know that you are in fact Recording it So, what you can do is Afterwards You can reach out to people and say Hey, you said this Before we started the interview But it’s just really good Is it okay for you If We use it And 99% of the times It’s perfectly fine Okay So that is one really good trick And the same basically Goes when you’re finishing off the interview You say Okay, thank you so much I don’t have any more questions Let the camera roll As long as you feel comfortable with Because again Sometimes the really good stuff Comes at the end Or after the interview has come to an end Okay So For that reason For the content reason You should really keep your camera on And your microphone on For longer than the actual interview The other Like more practical reason Is that When you begin your actual interview You don’t want to fiddle around With all kinds of technical stuff You don’t want to Just a second I need to turn on this Because then you’re just disrupting the flow So that’s just another little Practical Practical reason for doing that OK, so that is my first little tip Start the camera way ahead And shut it off Way after the interview OK, the second bit Is something that I find quite important To get people to open up And to get people to talk Especially if they’re not used to Standing in front of a camera Standing in front of a light All this You need to help them familiarize themselves With the environment If they feel a little bit more at home At the recording studio Or at the place where you’re recording If they feel a little bit more at home That will make it so much easier for them To kind of let go of the anxiety To release the tension a little bit Because if they know that Here is the camera This is how it looks You’re this far away from the camera We have so much It’s not right in your face Although it looks like that It’s just the lens So we need to have it here I’m sorry about that So explain everything Explain all these minute details This is the light that we use Obviously it’s pointing to you The reason why it’s bouncing off here Is because of that and this So they get a lot of knowledge On the setup The technical setup that you are using That really I find helps them Feel more at home That helps them know What can you do, what can’t you do Do I need to sleep perfectly On the little green cross That we’ve made with tape on the floor Or can they move around a little bit Can they touch the microphone All this So if you explain that It just makes it so much easier For people to navigate In the situation That they’re very unfamiliar in And of course this is not rocket science Because it’s like that In all human engagement So if you can somehow Make people feel a little bit more At home or a little bit more In control of the environment It always of course helps So that is My second tip for you guys And then the third tip Has nothing to do with The technical setup The third tip that I want to give If you want people to open up to you I’m sorry This is just basically repeating What any Personal Trainer or whatever Personal engagement trainer What are they called? I’m just repeating those guys right now But if you want people To open up to you It really helps If you open up to them first Because you as an interviewer You are the person in control You are the one with the upper hand Right now So you can control Whether they open Or they don’t What I normally do I would give something of myself I would be Maybe tell a little bit about myself Not as an introductory But I would say like Explain of instance It might not even be real true But I could explain Oh, I’m sorry if I’m a little If I seem a little out of focus But my morning with my kids Was just terrible I’m making myself a little bit more humane And that makes them Able to kind of mirror my personality And they feel they know me Just that tiny bit more I can also say Explain my ignorance to Whatever topic that we’re talking about So today for instance I was talking to people To blue collar workers Working in a factory Building complex stuff They have a very physical job And they have a lot of You know They’re technicians They do technical things In real life Whereas I sit on my On my Can I say butt? Without getting like Cancelled From the platforms I don’t know I just did it So I sit In front of the keyboard every day And you know Do online work Or do Computer work So that I can also explain I can say You know I’m not used to Being in this kind of environment I don’t really have a clue What you guys are doing Because normally And then I would put a bit of sarcasm and irony in it Normally you know I would just sit Inside an office Sheltered from real life Or whatever I can Figure out saying And just by saying that I really urge them To make me familiar with their Every day life And make me familiar with The stuff that they Are meeting In their work So That kind of giving a little bit of myself Letting them know Who I am What my boundaries are What my Not boundaries But my like knowledge boundaries What my ignorance is Where are they And you know Try and be a little self sarcastic Or what’s that called Because it just really helps ease the tension I think Those are probably my Three best advices To Conducting An interview With a camera With a microphone With someone who doesn’t feel comfortable Standing in front of a microphone Or in front of a camera Normally So you want them to open up So those Are probably my Three main things Except of course Of the question frame But that’s like For another episode I was just about to say So So I say Yeah Start the camera way ahead End the recording Way after Give something of yourself Obviously No it’s not obvious Give something of yourself So they Can feel that you are humane And the one That I mentioned in the middle Was familiarize Your interviewee With the technical setup Because they will then Kind of get that Home feel Feeling And that’s really That’s really what you want Alright I think that is It for today’s Content Universe I hope you Can use it Once you get out there In the field Interviewing All of the brilliant Experts that we need to Kind of drag Knowledge out from In order to create High quality High knowledge Content If you enjoyed this episode Please do share it And let me know Let me know in a comment I would really Enjoy Hearing from you You can find me On LinkedIn That’s just my name You know that Or you can Hit me up On podcast at montanus.co And that will land Straight in my own inbox I really hope you enjoyed This episode Share it And help us get it around Just a little bit I’ll be so I’ll be so thankful If you help do that That’s it for today See you guys On another Content Universe Planet