Below are links to a Skype discussion I had recently with Neil Chapman, former BP communication lead. I'm bringing this to your attention for two reasons.
1) I believe that Skype or online interviews using web meeting software will become increasingly common in the future. Recently I blogged about a friend of mine, Rory O'Connor, who got his 15 minutes of fame because he rescued a dog in his kayak. Rory was interviewed by several national news outlets including CNN who caught him at the airport in Miami and conducted an interview via skype. Really, those satellite trucks are expensive, as are the people and equipment needed to get on-scene interviews. Why spend the money when you are cash-strapped and you can talk to the people you need to via skype or Go-to-Meeting or ichat or Google Hangout or any number of ways to communicate via video. The key is recording and third party programs make that easy on skype. Recording capability is built into many of the new systems including Hangout.
2) The second and bigger reason is Neil Chapman himself. Neil is one of the truly great gentlemen I have met on this journey in crisis and emergency communication. I got to know him when I was selling PIER in the early days and Neil became one of our first major clients. He worked for a little oil company called BP and as one of their communication leaders with a clear interest in emerging trends, he was assigned to help the company find a solution for the changing world of communications. In the nine years since then, Neil found himself on the front lines of numerous major events including refinery explosions, drilling platform near-sinkings, pipeline corrosion issues with global implications and, of course, a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Retired from BP, Neil is very active in advising corporate communication leaders and senior executives on the realities of crisis communication today. In short, he knows whereof he speaks.
We'll talk more about skype media interviews later because, as you will see, there is much to learn about set up, about lighting, about where you look, about how you record it, and so on. I'd love to hear from anyone who has already done a skype media interview so I can incorporate your lessons learned. Contact me at gerald.baron@agincourt.us.
There are two versions of the Neil Chapman interview. A 14 minute edited version and the full 50 minute unedited. I've provided links on vimeo which allows you to easily download these if you want to view offline or use in your training programs. (Also, if you want to be alerted to new interviews with experts like Neil, be sure to sign up at www.agincourt.us.)
14 minute Skype interview with Neil Chapman on vimeo (for download)
