How to Be a Video Interview Pro: 25 Strategies to Get ATTENTION and Make Your YouTube, Livestream, Google Hangouts, Skype Interviews and Videos Look or Sound Like a Professional TV or Radio Show Paperback – April 15, 2015

Mike Koenigs has done it again. He has once again written a book that’s filled with great and highly implementable and tangible ideas. This time it’s about how to conduct a perfect (video) interview.The book has 25 specific secrets that Mike Koenigs reveals to you on how you can make the interview an absolute success. You will recognize several of the mistakes that Mike Koenigs is pointing out that a lot (if indeed not most) people do when they do their interviews Perhaps you have even made some of them yourself (highly likely) - cringing optional.I highly recommend you read this book if ever you either wish to conduct an interview or if ever you are to be interviewed. You’ll be thankful that you did for sure.Not a big reader? Well, you will find this book very easily read as well as a fast read. In fact you can probably read it in just 20 minutes, and yet, trust me, it’s filled with great advice from start till finish. It’s written as a dialog between Mike Koenigs himself and his famous Disrupatasaurus, Disruptar, and by doing so, makes for an even more fun, fast and memorable read.What I love about Mike Koenigs is that he always takes tried and tested ways and shares them generously with everyone. In fact Mike Koenigs is known for having provided the techniques, insights and tools for a huge amount of people directly helping them to make considerable successes for themselves.Be sure to pick this book up straight away and see how you can improve your game when you are conducting an interview or being interviewed.

Mike is the absolute genius at cutting through all the noise and finding the easy button solutions to get the results you are after. This book is no different. If you use video interviews on youtube, google hangouts, livestream, skype, etc... Mike gives you the little nuggets to make your videos look and sound like a professional production costing thousands of dollars. Not only do you get tips on what equipment to use, but also how to conduct yourself like you are a pro and have been doing this for years. Thanks Mike for another great read with easy implementable tips.

300 hours of video are being uploaded to YouTube every minute. 89% of teens watch YouTube, 72% of Millennials, 58% of Gen-X, and 48% of Boomers. 9% of Americans listened to podcasts in 2008, 15% by 2014 and 17% by January of 2015.The Pew Research Center data show that the medium has been steadily growing its audience over the past two years. The rapid growth in the use of smartphones, mobile devices, and the increased ease of in-car listening have contributed to this increase in interest in podcasts.The subtitle of this book is “25 strategies to get attention and make your YouTube, Livestream, Google Hangouts, Skype interviews and Videos look or sound like a professional TV or radio show.”Given this growth in podcasting, I believe a few ideas about how to do this better would be useful, even if you don’t do anything more than talk with staff and colleagues on Skype.One of the first pieces of advice Koenigs offers is to centre yourself in the middle of your screen and avoid having only a part of you visible to the viewers. I was not going to mention this piece of advice as there are so many others of importance, except that I have just completed a meeting with a colleague in the US whose camera cut off everything above her mouth. She was quite unaware of this until I mentioned it. So, position yourself in the middle of your screen, with plenty of space around you.Additionally, it matters what is around you during the recording. “I’ve seen interviews with people who are supposed to be successful and wealthy, and… there’s disarray… behind them,” says Koenigs. The interview or podcast is an opportunity for you to promote yourself as a brand, and everything about you will be seen as representing you. If your surroundings look chaotic, it will be difficult for your audience to believe you can provide value to them, since your own surroundings do not show order.You get only one chance to make a good first impression, so be sure that everything around you looks as you wish it to. “Dress for success. Dress for results. Dress for the income you want, not the income you have. People will judge you based on how you present yourself,” Koenigs points out. The audience of the interview or podcast might never have seen you before, and have nothing to judge you by other than what they see.An easy way to improve the effectiveness of your videos is to smile. It is a well-known fact that smiling not only creates the release of chemicals in your brain that make you feel happier, but smiling also helps people connect with you and relate to you. As the author asserts: “No one wants to buy from Eeyore (the sad donkey in Winnie the Pooh), and no one wants to listen to Eeyore either.”Those who spend time on stage or in front of a camera, know that they need to strike the correct pose all the time. When you are podcasting, it is no different.What you want from the presentation is people’s attention. Your challenge is both to get and keep your audience’s attention by being unique and interesting. That your content is brilliant is not valuable if people cannot stay awake long enough to watch it.Koenigs suggests a number of things you can do to keep your audience engaged. One way is by giving your viewers directives and commands. "Don't miss out on this…. You're going to want to write this down.”If they are not engaged with you, they are most likely interacting with someone else by texting or Facebooking, rather than paying attention to you.Visually interesting props not only attract attention, but could also be excellent metaphors for complex ideas. Props also increase the likelihood of being able to communicate your ideas more effectively.Earlier this year, I reviewed a book in this column called “Lead with a Story.” Koenigs echoes this idea in his call to open your talk with a story. The opening words, “Let me tell you a story…” alerts the brain because stories are how we have always learned. Additionally, talk to your audience as though you are talking to one person, not a group. The connection value is far higher.Your biography and how you are introduced to the audience is far too important to leave to chance. You need to make sure that your audience is introduced to you correctly. You will need to supply your interviewer with various CVs – short, medium, and long. Whichever way they are going to introduce you to the audience, you need to enable them to do it most effectively.Finally, fifteen minutes before your interview, get prepared and rehearse your points. Remind yourself of what you wish to accomplish from the interview or podcast.This is hardly the last word on the subject, but it is a light and cheerful way to begin to make your video presentations far better.Readability Light +---- SeriousInsights High ---+- LowPractical High -+--- Low*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works.

If you have any desire to look and feel great on camera, this is the book for you. It's fast, fun, and animated, so you'll learn and laugh at the same time. I have watched Mike (and Disruptar) on camera for the last 8 years and also participated with him on more shows than I can count. He is the consumate professional whose focus and attention to detail are second to none. It's because of the secrets he shares in this book that he has a reputation for being "the man" when it comes to live streaming video. Get the book. read it. Implement it. You'll be amazed at the results!

Mike does another brilliant job presenting all the info needed to create amazing videos. His points are practical and easy to follow - great for beginners or pros, all the tips are applicable to anyone wanting to learn the easiest ways to create memorable and professional videos. All the tips and tricks are presented here. In addition, Mike presents the material in such an entertaining fashion. I couldn't put the book down and just had to finish it in one sitting. It was as if I was right there in the room listening to a great interview between Mike and Disruptar, all the while getting such helpful and pertinent info!

I would think that all the techniques and thoughts outlined in this book are pretty standard advice - but after watching some of the videos on youtube and other people's websites, they aren't.I did learn a few things and it was nice having all this advice in one spot. Using the techniques in the book has already made my pictures and videos better.From the perspective of readability, it was a little childish and could have been written in less pages. All in all a worthwhile book if you don't know the techniques and a good opportunity for review if you do know them.