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Practice Makes Perfect

Not all of us are naturally gifted with the ability to verbally shoot from the hip and pull it off intelligently and coherently. And we may not exude confidence or project as much je ne sais quoi quite so easily as those that do this professionally all the time.  No worries!  It’s not like we’re expected to be celebrities or award winning speakers!

We just have to work at it a little harder (some of us, perhaps a LOT harder)! Fortunately, even if your early efforts look a bit uneasy, there are some simple ways to make it all come together better.

  1. Scripting! Write it down but don’t memorize it. Some of us need to know exactly what we’re going to say before we say it. If you have a tendency to freeze on camera (and believe me, I know what that feels like) write a script, but DON’T memorize it – it’s hard to come across as relaxed and natural with a canned speech. Let your memory come to your rescue. Post notes on your monitor or the wall behind the camera. It’s okay.  No one will ever know but you!
  2. Pace Yourself and remember to breathe! You want to talk in a steady even pace as much as possible.  Not too fast and not too slow.  Studies show that while we believe we should speak slowly, a faster (yet still understandable) pace conveys authority. You want your audience to understand what you’re saying, but you don’t want to put them to sleep.
  3. Enthusiasm! Practice inflection. If you don’t sound excited about your material, no one else will exceed your energy level! Work on conveying interest and energy in your words, facial expression, and posture. Watch some videos or shows on TV where you can pick up some of the nuances of entertaining speech.  I like to watch the Today Show for 20 minutes every weekday.  You can pick up some good tips there.  (One thing I never ‘get’ is when they say, “But first, it’s Today on NBC!”  LOL.  Sounds silly to me.)  All that aside, when in doubt, smile.
  4. Audio Quality Counts! One of the top reasons people stop watching videos is because the audio is bad or irritating. Make sure to speak loud enough to be heard easily without becoming overbearing. And watch out for distracting background noises.  Test your location and play it back for a sound check. There’s software that can equalize your sound track.  Take a look at Audacity or Sound Forge if you’re interested in going that far with it.

Rarely will it ever turn out that you get what you want in just one take.  And those re-takes are excellent practice. As with my video course with Andy Jenkins, keep at it. Before you’ll be doing it “like a boss.”

I’m still requesting links to your videos.  If you’ve been doing video for a while, leave a link to the one you like best.  If you’ve finished your first one, we’d love to see it.  If you’re still nervous about it, ask questions or let us know how we can help!

You’re a superstar waiting to come out of your shell… let’s get started! What do you say?

Related posts:

  1. 5 – Mashing It Up On Video (and Other Vlog Strategies)
  2. 9 – Whoops! Problems With Your Video?
  3. 2 – Don’t Fear the Video Camera
  4. 6 – Screen Capture Video