Acing video interviews

At the NYT Small Business Summit in October, I got formally interviewed on video for the first time. AMEX was the main sponsor of the Summit, and their small business campaign theme is "Share Your Story". They hired a production crew to spiff up the nervous entrepreneurs who were milling about the Hilton, and asked them on camera about their products, their personal saga, etc. Some of the clips are here. I shared my story like the rest -- yet it seemed more mundane than the soccer mom with a better golf shoe, or the Harlem wine store owner, or the guy in a black and white shirt with black and white cookies.

Perhaps it was my delivery.

Some weeks after, I saw how it should be done. The WSJ did a brief interview of a popup book designer, who scored 10/10 during his four minutes. I gave my observations on him over at the NYT SBSC blog.

Bottom line, if you're not clicking: Have passion for your business, convey personality, give short answers, and practice beforehand.