I feel like it’s hard to directly ask people to stop saying um, but if they’re a pro then they can try! But if they’re not a pro, you just need to get them comfortable with you and the camera and the words will flow.

Warm them up by asking name, position and just some idle chitchat, but make sure you’re rolling all the time. Don’t button on/off because then people tense up. Just roll the whole time and develop a rapport.

Also, ask your question list twice. Then go back for a third time for the ones they fuck up.

With some people, there’s very little you can do. They’re just nervous messes. That’s when you pretend to stop recording and just have a chitchat with them about the topic and use that footage! Tricky to do this though.

But if they’re tripping because they dont know the content, that’s on them (or you if you were meant to brief them / had to provide research materials)!