Why a Swivel Chair WILL Ruin Your Interview

Fidgeting. It’s normal, natural and it’s going to happen. But unfortunately, the camera picks up the slightest movement, so restlessness appears ten times more distracting in a video. To make matters worse, many people are a little nervous when the camera is on them, so they tend to move even more. Most fidgeting can’t be stopped, but there is one big step you can take to keep the movement to a minimum.

#ProTip: NEVER have the interviewee seated in a swivel chair.

If the interviewee is in a swivel chair, they WILL swivel back and forth, even if they are the stoic CEO of a Fortune 500 company. And the interview will be ruined by the distracting movement. If the swivel is the only chair available, look for a locking device built into the chair to remove the possibility of movement. If there is none, wrap a high-quality, residue-free tape around the swivel joint to keep it still (videographers usually have on hand a thick, easily-removable tape called gaffer’s tape that works perfectly for this). Just make sure the chair can’t possibly move. And don’t even think of having the interviewee sit on an exercise ball.

Katie Rutter is the executive producer of Thing in a Pot Productions. She has received multiple awards for her videos and the overall quality of her work, including being honored as Video Producer of the Year in 2018 by the Catholic Press Association. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our video Pro Tips in your inbox every month!