One of my jobs in the Entertainment Industry has been Red Carpet Hosting. Interviewing celebrities on the red carpet is fun and exciting, but if you’re new to it or anxious it can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking. I’ve hosted for many different TV channels and shows at a number of events and red carpets openings. For me, it was nothing but a rush a fun! If someone wants to do well interviewing and not let nerves get in the way, here are a few helpful tips I’ve done that allowed me to enjoy my time while doing a great job.

Hack #1: Know Your On-Camera Nervous Tics

Let’s take me for example – when on camera and there is something going through my mind I can always tell because I blink like crazy! lol. Another thing I do out of nervousness is annunciate. That’s not so bad (I guess I got this from pageants haha), but the excessive blinking looks a bit weird sometimes. It could be anything.. my attention being diverted to something going on somewhere else in the area yet I’m trying not to look there, me trying to hurry up and think of what to say next, me being nervous and trying not to fangirl on who I’m interviewing. There’s so much going on at those moments to distract you, but knowing your tics while your on camera can possibly help you not do them. Record yourself ahead of time (maybe with a friend) in a similar scenario and see what you do. These nervous tics sometimes are just activated right when you’re put on the spot or on camera.

Interviewing Fabio (International Model, Actor, Spokesperson)

Hack #2: Keep Good Posture

You definitely want to keep good posture while on camera. Even if you catch yourself halfway through an interview and you straighten up, on the red carpet there are not only recording cameras but photographers are snapping away like nobody’s business! During the time you had bad posture if a still was taken of you, you ain’t gonna be happy when you see it. Trust me, been there done that… -_- I’ve learned from those mistakes and always remember now, as soon as you enter that venue and especially as soon as you’re on that carpet, straighten up!

Hack #3: Show Your Personality

Nobody wants to be bored watching your interview. Bring your own style, flavor and energy to it. When hosting was new to me I had to break into this, but once I got used to it the only person I could be was myself and everyone loved it! If you know me, I’m more of a goofier person, can have allot of energy, crack jokes that sometimes only I laugh at and can be very sarcastic. I like to have fun when I interview people and it’s more entertaining for the viewer. There have been events where the celebs I’ve interviewed would come back up to me later and ask if we could do a funny little skit on camera for their upcoming project or something they wanted to promote. Those moments are always so cool and people end up remembering you – you most likely will run into them again and may interview them again down the line. You will also most likely be rehired and hired by other shows by this. So remember, try to let your guard down and be yourself!

Hack #4: Show Your Face

When you’re interviewing someone you’re facing them. Often times the host/interviewer will forget to look at the camera! What you’ll see experienced hosts doing is periodically looking back at the camera and smiling or showing their reaction of what was just said. Example: Celebrity guest you’re interviewing says something shocking. You turn to the camera (while still holding the mic up) and show your expression to what they said (i.e. shocked). You can also from time to time, look at the camera and smile when appropriate (not too much, you’ll look crazy). Sometimes cameras and interviews are set up in weird angles that don’t help this “show your face” hack – or in my case, sometimes my big hair gets in the way. These tips will help you get more screen time because you definitely want that.

Hack #5: Let Them Speak

As much as you want to get screen time and love hosting on TV, the interview you’re taking, the event you’re at, the hosting job you have is mainly for the celebrity guests and what they’re promoting. Don’t talk too much, ask the right amount of questions and let them talk more in their answer. Remember not to pull the mic away too fast just because you’re ready to move onto the next question. Don’t cut them off – sometimes in engaging conversations it happens organically but try not to too much and let them finish their thoughts. It’s your job to get interesting information from them and an entertaining interview so that people want to watch. So let them speak. Also, you don’t want to annoy those you interview.

Hack #6: It’s All Improv

Well, most of the time…. Usually, when hosting on the red carpet, you know a good bit about what you’ll be asking, what the event is promoting, and who you might be getting to interview, but it changes slightly with each person – and it should. You don’t want to do all the same questions for all the same celebrities, especially if it’ll all be on one show. I would go on with bullet points in my head of what major questions to ask who, previously researched information I need to know about the event/celebs attending/knowledge of current world events, and a collection of fun and fitting questions I can pull from when I’ve asked what I’ve planned but want to keep the questions going. This would all be in my head. I’d use this information but improvise as I go because it’ll be different with each personality. Another hack I’d do if I wanted to keep them talking is form a question from the last thing they’ve said. Example: Celebrity says, “I loved shooting in Germany!” You say, “I bet! While shooting in Germany, did you get to enjoy the culture or go explore?!” Now you have them carrying on while you can think of your following question. I’ve done this many times with guests I didn’t know much about. It helped me keep a good flow to my interview, keep an engaging conversation, have them talk more and make me look like I didn’t skip a beat!

Hack #7: Be Confident – Even If You’re Not

This one’s kinda self explanatory 🙂 The more you work on the red carpet, the more you interview, the more you’re on camera – the more confident you’ll get with it – like anything! It can definitely make one nervous when you’re about to talk to a celebrity or someone you’ve only seen on TV or read about, someone you’ve looked up to or never thought you’d meet. It’s easy to feel nervous when trying to do your best on camera during a timed, face paced environment with lots going on and lots of other people and cameras around you. I’d say embrace it all! Focus on how cool this moment is, how great you want to do, how exciting your job is and how you’re going to make people WANT to talk to you. Remember, the folks walking the red carpet want to be interviewed, they want to talk to you about what they’re doing or have done, they want to be on camera and be asked questions! They want to talk to you! So show them and the world your best self!

xo ❤