How to Create an Outstanding
Professional Speaker
Video

VIDEOTAPING SESSIONS: 10 TIPS
Article by Ed Primeau

I’m often asked by speakers and presenters for tips and techniques on how to prepare for a videotaping session. Here are 10 tips to help prevent some of the more common mistakes made during a taping session.

1. Always remove your name badge when speaking. This is true regardless if you’re videotaping or not. When you wear a name badge while speaking, it can be a distraction to the audience.

2. Treat the camera like a natural member of the audience. You always want to make eye contact with your live audience but don’t forget to consider the camera as “unseen” audience member. You may want to make occasional eye contact with the video viewer, perhaps at specific junctures of your speech. Of course, if you are talking only on camera without an audience present, you will want to make good eye contact with the camera – i.e., the video viewer. You might study live TV hosts for visual tips on how to treat the camera like an audience member.

3. Don’t dart your eyes while speaking, especially when being videotaped. By “darting eyes,” or quickly shifting from one focal point to another, you don’t make actual eye contact with anyone. To really connect with an audience, you must win them over, naturally, one at a time. I like a technique Lee Glickstein teaches in his coaching programs. As soon as you take the platform, find your first target audience member and make eye contact for a couple seconds. Then make eye contact with the next audience member (for three seconds or so), then move on to another member. Within a few moments, you will have “connected” with various audience members; your entire audience will be engaged with your stage presence and listening intently as you continue speaking.

4. Try some silence during your presentation. This will allow your words to sink in with the audience. For example, when you are introduced, do not talk at all while entering the stage. Instead, take the stage in silence. Take in the energy from the audience until the applause ends, wait a second or two (great time to begin connecting via eye contact) and then begin speaking. This, too, I learned from Lee Glickstein, and it works.

5. When wearing a lavaliere microphone, hide the microphone wire (not antenna wire) for a neater appearance. Men: hide it behind two or three buttons of your shirt, then clip the microphone to your tie then tuck the wire behind your buttons so it does not hang out. Ladies: feed the microphone up through your garment then clip onto a part of your outfit that won’t move or rustle. Clip the lavaliere on 9-10” below your chin. Do not hide the antenna; it will affect the performance of your microphone’s reception. If the volume is too low, move the lav mic 1-2” closer to your mouth.

6. Use stories and examples that the viewer can relate to. I call these types of stories “attention getter” stories and they really help improve the value of the video. They help the viewer relate to you; it draws them nearer to you and your message.

7. Stay in tune with your audience. You are their teacher (for lack of a better word) and should stay in touch with their reality – as well as yours. Are they squirming? Are they looking around or talking to each other? If you notice these activities, you may have lost the audience’s interest. This does not look good on video and reduces your chances of being asked to speak again. I have seen audience shots where three or four of the people in the shot look captivated, but one or two ruin the shot because they tuned out.

8. Wardrobe should not blend in or clash with the meeting room’s backdrop or background (walls, etc.). Always wear your best outfit for videotaping but do not wear the same outfit twice for two taping sessions. If the meeting room has exit signs or doors in the background, you can order some pipe and drape from the AV department for $50-$90; this will make the background look very neat and professional. Draping colors should range from black to royal blue to maroon; all will look better than wall signs or exit signs on videotape.

9. Fill empty seats in the front, so as to help keep your energy up and to not show empty seats in the “B” roll/audience camera. The introducer will ensure this if you put the request in with your other requests beforehand – like A/V, setup requirements, announcements about taping, turning off cell phones, etc.

10. Last but not least, test the microphone and cameras before the taping begins. Listen to the sound in the room and watch and listen to a test recording. This will help you to avoid 99% of problems that can occur while videotaping. If possible, don’t wait until two minutes before your program to test the equipment. If there is a problem, you want the crew to have time to troubleshoot and not have to scramble at the last minute.

Assuming you’ve honed your skills as a speaker/presenter, you’re ready to create your #1 results-producing marketing tool: a video brochure.

======================

Primeau Productions has been offering full multimedia production, studio and location audio and video recording, audio restoration and forensics analysis services since 1984. With our expert staff, Primeau Productions can help you in all phases of any production, from the creative and planning stage all the way through to the packaging and distribution of final product. We’ll make sure that the end product turns out better than you imagined it would. Contact us directly at (248) 435-8714 or Toll Free: 1 (800) 647-4281.