How to Ace the "So, Tell Me About Yourself" Trap

My adorable friend, Louisiana Mary, just got back from a slew of commercial auditions.  I asked her how they went and she said, "Eh, most of them were lame."  What did that mean, I asked.   She said, "You know, I just went in and they asked me to tell them something about myself."  Oh oh oh, I shouted, I love those!  And this is why:  they are so easy to ace.  If you aren't acing them now, you will be soon and they will be a welcome commercial audition "no-brainer."

"So, tell me about yourself" is nothing more than a personality test.  The interview audition comes in many forms, but "What did you eat for breakfast this morning" and "What are you doing this weekend?" are versions of asking "Do you have a personality?" in a dry way that may seem to invite failure.  I guarantee you the clients do not want to hear a laundry list of your daily schedule or your eating habits.  If you're pursuing a career in acting you probably have a big ol' personality and the trick is letting it shine regardless of the question the camera person throws at you.

Before your next interview audition, think about the things you love to talk about.  What makes you sparkle?  What makes you happy?  What makes you unique and funny?  No matter what the camera person or CD asks you, you need to redirect the question to focus on what brings you joy.

Example:  If someone asked me "What did you eat for breakfast today?" I would reply with humor, "I had a hearty ol' breakfast with bacon, eggs, and toast because it reminds me of where I grew up.  I'm originally from Mechanicsville, Iowa, and I grew up on the oldest Hereford cattle farm west of the Mississippi.  Ye haw!  But I don't know why my town is called Mechanicsville, because we only  had one mechanic and he never seemed to fix our cars."  I love to talk about where I came from because to the folks in Los Angeles it is unique and my personality lights up at the chance to flex by cowgirl alter ego.  What you say should be honest and true, but you may need to fudge some details.  I didn't really eat that breakfast today, but I have and it always reminds me of home.  If someone asks me what I'm doing this weekend, I will probably say something I did last month that was really cool instead of divulging that I have no weekend plans and am therefore lame.  A little fudging is okay.  Who will know?

Once you have a few staples in repertoire of events, people, places or activities that bring you joy and that you can talk about at the drop of a hat, you can hone your audition even more.  Next, you should assess the product.  If you're auditioning for a Pepsi spot that's featuring a beach party, your answer might gear toward party central good times and your energy should be at the highest level and never wane while you're on camera.  If you're auditioning for Huggies, you might want to make your story more maternal, even if it's about your pet.  If it's Intel, and you need to be a computer dork, maybe you talk about a subject or book that you find fascinating in an intellectually stimulating yet friendly way.  Ad agency people put actors in very tight molds and want to see real people, so play to them using everything you've got in your bag of tricks.    

Finally, don't stop talking until you've shared a sufficient amount or, better yet, the camera operator indicates that the interview had ended.  Do not make the CD fish answers out of you because you gave him or her a simple yes or no.  Display your personality.  Don't mention the product.  Keep talking. 

Sounds simple, right?  It is!

Go get that callback! Woohoo!

(Picture proof of my country girl ways...)

--Stacey Jackson

Comments

[Nicole J. Butler]

Thanks for sharing this. Sometimes these auditions/ interviews throw me. Maybe this will help.

(BTW, I'm a Hawkeye! )

[susan]

Ah, you know, I have had several of those types of auditions, but never thought to "prepare" for them - having an idea of what to talk about that is interesting (to me, at least). Good idea...

[Burbank Gal]

Wow -- those are IMPORTANT tips! Thank you! :) I did one of those "So, tell me what you did this weekend" audition/interviews, and I knew I was blowing it as I spoke, but I was so absorbed with what I was talking about: I had been at the beach, and several dead seals had washed up. Sooo, I went into "graphic" detail about the decomp of one of the seals... Oops... :P

[Stacey Jackson]

Ah, dead decomposing seals. That's always a hoot! ;) Thanks for the feedback, ladies! I hope you get to try it out soon and see if it helps. Let me know.

[Robin]

Nice pics sis :)