How to speak to the camera in a way that brings the live audience experience to your videos?
Despite the fact that being in front of a camera is easier to many people than talking directly to a live audience, it remains an intimidating experience at first, but with the right set of skills, you will not only look like a natural, but you’ll also connect with your audience and create a memorable influence.
Below are 6 key elements to consider when talking to a camera in the future:
1) Preparation is always the king of everything!
It might seem that one video doesn't require much research or preparation, but understanding the growing competition on the digital stage is enough to make you realise the vitality of a proper planning for your videos. Eventually, you don’t want to present repeated nor outdated ideas, or worse, to use the wrong delivery style for your target audience.
2) Posture is the master of body language in communication.
Stand or sit upright with good posture to show confidence, maintain eye contact with the camera, if it’s not an interview, and try not to spend too much time with your arms further apart than your shoulders.
3) Get physically comfortable.
If you want to be comfortable in front of the camera, choose clothing that not only makes you feel good about yourself, but also feels comfortable to wear. If possible, try to schedule your video shoots for a time of day when you feel at your best. If you’re a morning person, that means shooting early in the day.
4) Pretend you’re addressing someone.
It will be an additional strong point to address the camera as if it were a person. This will help to make the content conversational, which will help you in connecting to your recipients. In addition to this, sometimes it’s even more powerful to talk to your audience in a singular form, because even if hundreds of people will see your video, most people watch videos alone, usually on a smartphone or laptop, this means you’re technically speaking to only one person. Add engagement ideas like questions, examples and reflections as well to save your recipients in the audience seat till the last second of your video. Speaking on camera as if you’re only talking to one person will make people feel more engaged, like you’re speaking to them as a friend or as a loyal client and not a stranger on the Internet.
5) Use pauses between sentences for edit points.
When editing video of someone speaking on camera, it helps a lot to have pauses between points to cut in and out of within the presenter's speech patterns. Try to leave small pauses in between each one of our sentences and paragraphs. That way if there is a mistake made, the video can easily be edited to start at one of these small pauses or edit points.
6) Remember to smile.
It has been proven that smiling opens doors and helps create positive influence in human communication. You simply can’t be gloomy while communicating and expect your audience to smile or show a cheerful reaction while watching your videos.