Guest Post: Two BAs and a camera!

This week I have a guest blog from my good friend and fellow BALIFE committee member Julia Newell. This follows on from my recent blog charting our BALIFE journey together… but is a little more fun, see what you think…

From Julia…

How do you prepare for being interviewed and filmed? What do you wear? How do you calm the nerves? Have I practised enough? How bad will the stuttering be? What will people think when they see it?

All of these questions and more were going through my head as I got ready one Saturday morning to be filmed for my interview presentation for BALIFE2021 on 3rd June.

The interview was taking place with Linda at her house and was to be about my journey within IIBA how I came to volunteer, what I enjoy about volunteering in the BA community, and of course about the inaugural BALIFE event.

As the old adage goes: “Fail to prepare; prepare to fail” and I really didn’t want to fail…

So I arrived fully rehearsed and prepared and in plenty of time to film numerous takes!!

I had written a synopsis of the talk and between us both, we worked out what the key questions would be and how to answer them. We even met in the park (following Covid restrictions) one gorgeous day so that we could review the talk content!

And I read it… and read it… over and over… but to be extra sure I wouldn’t forget it on the day, I wrote out the answers in large text to stick to the wall behind Linda like a static autocue! You’ll see from the results …it worked!

So with the talk prepared the next biggest thing as any rising star will tell you is… WHAT TO WEAR?

Should I wear something blue – the colour of an analyst? Or something bright like magenta pink or yellow – more extrovert and confident colours? In the end, I settled for a cream top and pale pink sparkly cardigan – subtle but comfy and would hopefully show up well to the camera.

That simply leaves the nerves. Luckily I knew where Linda lived so the journey didn’t add extra stress levels!

A detour to McDonald’s to pick up some bacon rolls which we had on arrival certainly helped relax me! Of course, knowing Linda and hubby Michael (and on this occasion cameraman, director, sound engineer and producer!) really helped and they were so welcoming – as were their gorgeous dogs, Elmo and Bosley – I felt straight at home.

After a little practice at the kitchen table, giving the dogs a bone in another room, getting the cameras and lighting in place and sound checks done, we started filming.

…or should I say we just started chatting really and the conversation flowed – what was I worrying about

…and we only needed one take?!

Funnily, in the interview, I talked about how volunteering pushes you out of your comfort zone, like doing this interview! I’m very relieved it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. As usual, it’s the fear of the unknown that makes things seem worse.

I can testify the interview has tested my preparation, collaboration and presentation skills – all very valuable in the workplace too and I now feel confident I can do this again

You’ll have to wait until 3rd June to see the finished result. Even if I say so myself it sounds and looks great and there are some great takeaways for any of you out there wanting to get involved in your BA community.

Check out the BALIFE website now! …better still, grab your ticket while you still can!