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To sit for a TV interview, sit forward in your chair, leaning about 15 degrees from the back, with your jacket buttoned and your tie tucked in. Keep your knees together and do not cross your legs. Then use your head, hands and body together so you look engaged instead of stiff.
Why does sitting matter so much on camera?
Because the camera changes the proportions of what it sees. You have probably heard that the camera adds ten pounds. Part of that is flat lighting, which you cannot control. Producers usually provide decent lights, but you work with what is in the room.
The part you can control is distance. On camera, whatever is closest to the lens looks largest, and whatever is furthest away looks smallest. So think about what happens when you sit down the way a normal person does, with your back against the chair. Your midsection is closest to the camera, so it looks biggest. Your head is furthest away, so it looks smallest. You end up with a bigger stomach and what I call a pinhead, and that is not the look anyone is going for.
The fix is not a trick or a diet. It is where you put your body.
How should you sit for a TV interview?
Sit forward, about 15 degrees. Not straight up, which is too much and looks like a board, and not slouched back. A slight lean toward the camera pulls your head closer and your middle back, which is exactly the proportion you want. I demonstrate it from the front and the side in the video above, and the difference between straight up and a 15 degree tilt is easy to see.
A few things make that lean easier to hold:
- Do not lean against the back of the chair. This is the single biggest fix.
- Put your hands on your knees to start. From there they are free to move. They are not locked down anywhere.
- Cross one foot over the other ankle. This small move helps push you forward.
- Sit up as if a parent just reminded you. We were all told to sit up straight as kids. The media training version is sit up, then tilt forward.
If you are wearing a skirt, you can put both legs together and angled to the side, and still do the same forward lean.
What should you do with your jacket and tie?
Small details, large effect:
- Button the jacket. It brings the eyes up and makes your midsection look trimmer.
- Tuck in the tie. A tie that sticks out looks silly on screen. Tuck it in.
- Sit on the tail of your jacket. It keeps the jacket from bunching up around you.
- Close the barn doors. I have seen international presidents sit with their legs flopped open. Keep your knees together. You would think nobody would need to say it, and yet.
Should you cross your legs in an interview?
People ask me this all the time, and the answer is usually no. Crossing your legs pushes you back into the chair, and now you are leaning away from the person you are talking to. On camera that reads as arrogant, which is the opposite of what you want from a guest.
That said, I have had people in training who found a version that works for them. If you can sit forward, do the 15 degree lean, and pull off a crossed position without bunching up, great. A lot of techniques are not one size fits all. You need to know the rules and the system, and then figure out where you can play within them.
How much should you move your body, hands and head?
This is where body language comes in, and I can do it in 60 seconds. When you are sitting still and speaking in a flat way, you look boring. Something improves the moment you add movement, and it comes in three layers.
- Your head. Move it as you talk. But do not only move your head or you will look like a bobblehead.
- Your body. Move naturally along with what you are saying.
- Your hands. The second you include hand gestures, everything becomes more interesting.
Some people fight me on this. They say, "Jess, how about I just use my head and body?" No. You need head, hands and body, all three, and then you look great. Sitting with your hands on your knees, as described above, is a good home base because your hands can leave and return without getting trapped in your lap.
How do you practice sitting for an interview?
Set up a chair and record yourself on your phone, once from the front and once from the side. Do the version where you lean back against the chair, then do the 15 degree lean, and compare the two. The difference is usually obvious in seconds. Then add the head, hands and body movement and record a short answer. Watching it back teaches you more than any description, because you can see the proportions the way a viewer will.
Where to go from here
Posture is the visible half. The other half is what your face, eyes and voice are doing. Read body language in a media interview for the full picture, where to look during a media interview so your eyes land in the right place, and makeup for a media interview before you step into the lights. If you want someone to watch you sit, speak and move, and adjust it in the moment, that is a core part of executive media training.