(hint: it’s not about the right microphone or perfect lipstick).
This week Lara from KindOverMatter.com is sharing with us The Keys to Interviewing Confidence. Interviews can play a huge role in course development, but also in all aspects of your marketing and helping you grow your reach.
Happy reading,
Sam
Having recently completed my first tele-summit, I learned a thing or 2 about interviewing. I worked with a fantastic group of 7 other women, and there was a lot of talk about what to wear, how to accessorize, what makeup to emphasize, best brand of microphone, type of lighting, ideal time of day…
You name it, we discussed it. While technology is important and we all want our recordings to be visually appealing, there was something underneath all of our questions on lighting and microphones – lack of confidence (AKA, good ole fear).
Let’s face it, for most of us, it’s pretty nerve-wracking to put ourselves out there, but for most businesses, it’s necessary. It’s also a lot easier to obsess about accessories and wardrobe choices than it is to admit that we’re scared.
So we’re going to get that out of the way right now.
I was totally scared.
All 8 of us were totally scared….and you know what?
We did it anyway.
One of the greatest enemies of fear is action. Fear keeps us small and tries to protect us by not letting us stray outside our comfort zone. Action proves fear wrong, and while nerves may be high and confidence may be low, any action, no matter how small, will help you move through fear.
Transparency is another tool. After emails and research on earrings versus necklaces (I’m not kidding!), we all started talking about our fear. As Dr. Brené Brown says, “Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” By exposing our darkness to each other and having open dialogues about our insecurities, we all started to feel more comfortable. Even when I had a complete technology fail with one of the ‘guest experts’ in the tele-summit, I was able to quickly summon the courage to ask for a 2nd interview.
Comfort is key. Please save yourself the time of researching lipstick versus eye shadow (lipstick) and earrings versus necklaces (jury’s still out on this one). Trust me when I tell you that you’ll be most confident by simply wearing what you feel good in. For me, that’s typically a black shirt and jeans and in every interview of the tele-summit, I wore some version of that! If you are comfortable, confidence comes through.
Finally, practice makes perfect. Test your equipment, do a 10 second recording before starting, reboot your computer before the interview, say a prayer to St. Isadore, if it helps. Yes, technology is important, but it will fail. Test as much as you can, but know that even when it fails, you can succeed. I promise.
Hi, I’m Lara – Coach, Creative and proud cat lady! I am a certified Life Coach and owner of KindOverMatter.com. I believe that when you’re kind to yourself, life gets better. I work with people who are ready to live a life that feels good on the inside, not just one that looks good on the outside. When I’m not with my courageous clients, you can find me at home with my husband and kitty-love!