We watch so much television, DVDs , in the past video, now a days Youtube – its everywhere – whats so hard about presenting in front of a camera?
Its easy to get up but then, your words may not be quite what you were thinking, you don’t like the way you look, even worst, you don’t like your mannerisms or your accent – you might speak too high pitch or keep fidgeting. What does your hair look like? When you watch back the video – in the background there’s a funny old photo on the wall and you can hear the dog barking!
Actors and Television professionals are trained rigorously with presenting in front of a camera. Every aspect is discussed, developed fine-tuned so that the performance is like what you see. When we as business people get up and present in front of a camera – without the training then we wonder why our performance doesn’t match our expectations.
What are some of the common things to remember when presenting in front of a camera that you can develop to create a useable video ?
1. Its important to set out what you are wanting to achieve with the video– the more planned and prepared you are the better the final result will be.
· 2. Script preparation is a big issue – commonly, business people have so much content they want to include that their script is far too complex – too much detail is discussed and the presentation becomes far, too long.
Short, concise scripts are important for maximum impact – for most video – no longer than 90seconds – 50% of your audience has gone after 2 minutes.
M 3. Mannerisms become very distracting – these need identifying and worked on – examples are for instance what you do with your hands, perhaps you hold your head one way in particular – you may forget to smile – check these.
· 4. What you wear is important – watch out for stripes, very bright colours
· 5. Remembering lines under a time pressure is challenging – keeping focus on the moment is really important. When professional videoing is an option – being trained to use an autocue will really assist you to present without forgetting your lines – this becomes quite an issue when you’re on the spot.
6. Finally, nerves – getting up infront of the camera and speaking to the camera rather than a person can be a challenge – looking at the camera as though its a person helps along with practice – getting familiar with the process.
Being polished when presenting to video camera is a valuable skill that will enable you to connect with your clients before you have even met them. They will get to know you and your business – if you connect confidently and clearly then you will make an impact on the viewer – who could be a potential client.
The Speakers Practice is running the Effective On-Camera Presenting workshop on the 30th August and 6th September with Professional Media Skills Trainer – Tim Stackpool at the PowWow Studios at North Sydney. This is a fantastic opportunity to become really comfortable and capable with presenting in front of a video camera – you will be able to confidently speak to your potential clients via video and win them over!
Go to : http://www.thespeakerspractice.com.au/presentation-and-video-program for more details and to book in http://bit.ly/13qDtvz or ring Adrienne McLean on 0414 367 960 to discuss the Effective On-Camera Presenting workshop more.