So you’ve sat down to create some videos for your social media - the lights are set, you’ve pressed the record button - but you’ve frozen and can’t speak, or get the points out clearly. This blog will hopefully give you some points on what to do when this happens - talking on camera can be as daunting as public speaking for many people!
1.) Embrace the awkwardness!
As with the start of any journey, it’s not going to be easy when you first start out. The first few takes (as well as the first few videos) are probably going to be quite rough, so it’s important to accept the awkwardness at first. Let’s face it - talking to a lens or screen is still relatively new to most of us, and is still a strange thing to do!
The best way to improve camera presence is to celebrate progress, rather than each individual video. Practise makes perfect, relaxing and letting your personality shine through means that you’ll make progress much faster if you’re enjoying the journey rather than worrying about the destination all the time. As someone who spends a lot of time behind the camera here at Pickering Street Studios, I still feel a little awkward and sometimes uncomfortable behind the camera. I strive to improve with every video!
2.) Breathe and connect
After you’ve pressed record, take a second to breathe before you start talking to calm your nerves. Just because the camera is recording doesn’t mean you have to speak straight away - a lot of people make the mistake of pressing record and speaking through their points as fast as possible. But taking a second to breathe gives you time to reflect, remember what you want to say and pace your words. You can always edit out gaps later, using cuts or other footage to hide the joins!
3.) Write a script
Have you ever been watching one of your favourite YouTubers, and been wondering how they manage to deliver their points so clearly and effectively? In a lot of cases, many YouTubers will have written a script to make sure they cover all of the points that they want to cover. When the camera is on and rolling, it’s easy to forget what you’re saying, lose your point or talk about something else entirely unrelated!
Writing a script means you’ve sat down and actually gone through your points on the page before recording a video - so you’ll be a lot clearer on what you’ve got to say when it comes to being in front of the camera.
It might sound quite daunting writing out what you want to say, but you don’t have to necessarily write out every single word. There’ll naturally be some variation when you come to record, and even some points written out on some notes can keep you on track, and make the whole process a lot easier.
Scripting also might not necessarily help if you’re only wanting to record shorter form videos for instagram stories or reels, or TikTok. However, having a few talking points written down might help to keep your points on track.
4.) Ask a friend to help you
A lot of tips involving more confidence on camera usually say to imagine talking to the camera as if you were talking to a friend. However, you could take this one step further when you’re first starting off by actually asking a friend to sit on the other side of the camera whilst you record. Having someone else involved in the process makes it a lot more fun, and your friend can give you some real time feedback as you record the video to make sure you stay on track.
After a few videos, it should help you feel more relaxed and confident when it comes to recording on your own, as you’ll have had the realtime practice of having help from a friend, too!
This is a bit of shameless plug here, but having a dedicated videographer can also help you feel more confident. Having someone who’s had experience recording and filming people beforehand can really help you improve as they can give you tips and real time feedback on what will work best to create an awesome video!
5.) Embrace movement
It’s easy to fall into the trap of freezing in place when recording, like a deer in headlights. This can lead to a ‘stiff’ delivery - and this is not how we communicate. Use natural gestures and lean into your body language to emphasise your points, and your words will flow a lot more naturally as well!
You might find it a little easier to stand when recording, or vice versa for sitting - everyone is different. Having a little movement within your frame will help too!
6.) Play and experiment
As with many things in life, it’s important to enjoy the process - if recording videos becomes a source of anxiety, you’ll find it difficult to keep up a consistent schedule. Plus, if you’re enjoying yourself whilst recording, your natural personality will start to shine through!
You could try playing about with different vocal inflections on certain points, bring in some anecdotes from real life, or use comedy or humour to bring people in and engage more with the camera. For example, when I’m recording videos for myself, I try to speak with 10% more vocal inflections than I’d probably use when talking in real life, as it comes across a lot better on camera - and I also give out a tip of smiling more than you think you need to - as it makes you appear more natural on camera!
Bonus tip
A good way to improve is by recording yourself practising and watch it back. Analyse your body language, vocal variety, and overall presence in the video. When recording videos for clients I say that usually you need 10-20% more energy when speaking on camera to come across as ‘naturally’ as you do in ‘real’ life!
I hope you’ve found these tips useful, and please let me know if you’d like me to make more blogs like this in the future, as I can share a lot of experience that I’ve had helping people feel more comfortable at our video production studio at Pickering Street Studios! Remember, camera confidence is a journey rather than a set destination - have fun along the way!
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