When I was preparing for a job interview as a business process analyst at a large corporate company a couple of years ago, I knew I had a problem. I’m a waffler and I would attempt to answer questions from 90 different angles with 360 explanations of specific degrees of influence that could affect each! To make matters worse, during interviews I would be so busy explaining, describing and clarifying that I would often forget the original question and suffer through one of those ‘long, silent periods’.

Well it was time to do something about my interview performance before this next big interview. I needed to take a more scientific approach and see myself in an interview situation - how were my explanations addressing those tricky behavioral questions, did I look relaxed, where was I looking, was I speaking too fast?  Essentially, I needed to see my many mistakes ‘warts and all’, review and improve!

So I turned to what any good professional sports team coach would do to dramatically improve results and used video analysis! It helped that I created a realistic setting and took the whole exercise seriously but what a huge benefit it was and it didn’t cost a dime!

I had two friends ask me a variety of relevant interview questions while being videoed using my Sony digital handy-cam placed on a tripod. After listening to my friend’s feedback we would all review and discuss the video which I’d play back on a large TV screen. It was so much more believable and impactful for me being able to actually see myself objectively in the actual interview situation - a total revelation!

It took around 90 minutes to go from waffling, indirect answers to clear, relevant and structured answers with good examples. My confidence also increased throughout the session from being able to see my progress from the first recording to the final one and it felt great knowing that I was communicating so much more effectively.

So what happened in the actual interview? It was a breeze - I had good eye contact, felt relaxed and confident, answered clearly and concisely and enjoyed the whole process. I was offered the job the next day and started work two-weeks later at the highest paying job I had ever had! Interestingly, it wasn’t really the role that suited my strengths, qualifications, or experience but I got it anyway and learned a lot!

Are there any situations where you have used video to clearly see what has been ‘going on’ and where you may have been ‘killing your chances’? If you haven’t used video to see and improve an aspect of your life or business give it a go as you will be astounded at the clarity and increase in performance it will bring at a minimum of your time.