Being confident on camera can mesmerize your audience and enhance your charm! Mellissa Tong, fellow WBE and Founder and CCO of Duck Punk Productions, provides a formula to master the art of looking like a rockstar on camera! Follow these tips and tricks to optimize your appearance and speaking skills for quality video content.
ROCKSTAR TIP #1 – What’s your why
Before you go on camera, the first thing to do is write your story. To have a memorable and compelling story, you have to start with your “WHY!” I used to teach a seminar called “Finding, Speaking & Marketing Your Big Why™,” helping WBEs dig deep and get to why they do what they do.
When you talk about your “why,” make sure you‘re not referring to having a more flexible schedule, making more money, or being your own boss. These are the results of your why, but not your why.
ROCK STAR TIP #2 – Authenticity
I’m sure you’ve heard this advice before, “be authentic,” but what does that really mean? When it comes to communication, 93% is body language, only 7% is verbal. Imagine if you said, “I’m full and can’t eat anymore,” and yet you can’t take your eyes off the cake on the other side of the table. Don’t you think you’re sending conflicted signals to yourself?
So, make sure you really believe in everything you say, or only say what you believe in, otherwise you’re giving your audience an excuse not to listen or buy from you.
ROCKSTAR TIP #3 – Be clear and precise
When you’re speaking on camera, always speak clearly and be as precise as you can. Remember, less is more. We all know our attention spans used to be 10 seconds, now it’s only 5 seconds.
If your message is too complicated, too long-winded, or too technical, which happens a lot, break it down into simple terms; simplify it, shorten it, cut it down into bite-sized nuggets or sound bites people can grasp quickly.
ROCKSTAR TIP #4 – Speak slowly
Whether you’re a fast talker or not, I think everyone can benefit from speaking a little slower on camera so they can be understood.
When you speak too fast, your audience has to work extra hard to pay attention and listen to every word flying at them. Besides just listening to you, they have to digest your words and make sense of it.
If you speak slow enough, with some short pauses, you’re giving them some breathing room to digest your message. Then they can decide what kind of action to take.
ROCKSTAR TIP #5 – Articulate
It’s easy to go monotone when you’re speaking alone on camera. You have no feedback; you’re just speaking to a dead object.
So be sure to put some emphasis on the key points. Use your hands, gestures, facial expressions, as well as body language to articulate and make a point, just don’t exaggerate it. It’s okay to make mistakes, even on camera. Correct yourself and keep going if you’re live on camera. If not, even better, delete and start over.
Also, don’t be afraid to pause. I use pauses quite often and I use it for different reasons. When you pause, you’re not only setting up an anticipation, you are also giving your audience time to process what you said.
