October 7, 2012

Exercise: Critique This Interview

Promod on Qb (Sep 2012) 5 - camera 500x625by Promod Sharma, CC

I was interviewed on camera for the second time. This was on Internet TV, which reduces the stress levels.

The interview was on the Qb money talk show. My previous experience was on Liquid Lunch, which uses the same studio.

The photo shows a green screen which allows a fake background to be inserted.

The Studio

The studio was surprisingly noisy. There was a constant hiss of static. Perhaps that dampens out other sounds? The filming area felt dead acoustically. Voices didn't carry far. While we were chatting at a table, it felt like we were talking from much further apart.

I couldn't tell what showed on camera, which meant I didn't know where to put my hands. I would have put them on the table but it was a little too high. I was also wired for sound. I didn't want to jar anything by moving around.

Your Review

For your critique, watch for several minutes (say in the middle). What did you like? What would you do differently? Next, leave your comments below. You can do the anonymously.


My Review

I thought the interview turned out better than it seemed at the time. Practicing impromptu speaking at Toastmasters (e.g., during Table Topics) is an effective way to practice.

I noticed that several sentences end with my pitch rising. That makes a statement sound like a question, which makes the speaker sound uncertain. That's not good if you're meant to be an expert.
I use "so" plus "and so" too often. This lead to run-on sentences. I also stretch out words like "aaannd" and "thennn". Pausing is better than filler. However, I found I had some ... unnecessary ... pauses which were not needed ... for effect. I also used duplicate words.

I rarely make these mistakes in my Toastmasters club, which is why I'm surprised that I do outside. This is another reason to always record yourself. Besides the official recording, I use an audio app on my Android phone. I had my video camera but didn't set it up. Because of the acoustics, the sound levels would probably have been low.

The overall experience is another reminder that practice is essential, especially in the real life environment which your club can't quite simulate.

Enhancements

I created a podcast from the video and made as many fixes as I could using Audacity. The background noise is nearly gone. The volume levels are levelized (sometimes the host was difficult to hear).

It was easy to delete "aaannd" because a gap usually followed. I could not easily remove "so" or "and so" because there was rarely a following pause.

I learned lots about my voice by editing the audio. The experience was worthwhile for learning.


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Promod Sharma ("pro-MODE") looks forward to more interviews and practicing at Goodyear Toastmasters.

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