VLOG #7: How to present your content to the camera
Full transcript:
Hi, it’s good to see you here.
My name is Romain and this is episode 7 in the VLOG!
It’s the end of the day and I’m here at Duxton Hill in Singapore, preparing for an evening client shoot actually. Such a nice place, with many beautiful shophouses. And it’s very close to the city center and Pinnacle@Duxton. If you recall episode 2, which I recorded at the top of that awesome residential building. There is really a good atmosphere, good vibes here, especially at this time of the day, and I expect it to be even more lively and packed soon, as today is Friday. Which means, as I’m not alone, I may mostly wear my mask for this video, and I hope you don’t mind but, that’s the price to pay to do this outside. Safety first!
OK, today is all about how to present your content to the camera in the context of your content marketing and thought leadership videos. In the last episode we talked about how to find ideas of videos that would be interesting for your audience, and hopefully you now have developed your own ideas.
Great! Now, how to deliver?
As you can imagine, there is not ONE best way to do it. It will depend a lot on your message, its complexity, and your natural ability to talk to an audience. The good thing about doing a video though, compared to let’s say speaking in public, is that it’s not live and you can record as many thanks as you want until you nail it perfectly.
I would say that there are 3 main ways you can use to deliver your message. And as we go through them, you’ll realize that the amount of work you need to put into it is higher or lower depending on whether we talk about the preparation work vs. the recording phase.
- You can just script it completely, and you’ll just have to speak the script to the camera. And there’s nothing wrong with that. This is especially useful when what you want to say is quite technical or contains a lot of details that you don’t want to miss. So, having the script next to your camera for you to refer to is not a bad idea but your audience will see your eyes are moving a lot to read your notes and you will lose the eye contact with them which, in my opinion, is quite key to retain their attention on top of course of the quality of your content. So, you can use a teleprompter! Gosh! I think vlogging is a real sport and I’m sweating again a lot. Sorry about that! Truth is, you don’t need to invest thousands of dollars in a bulky one. There are now many smartphone apps providing this function or even small, lightweight ones which you can mount on your camera and use your smartphone to project the text on the mirror. It’s super useful and something I use a lot for some of my clients and yes, for some of my videos too. OK, I think I will go on the side a bit and just remove the mask for a minute while I’m alone here, because I need to breathe. See, not all of us are comfortable talking to a camera, even if you’re alone doing this and there is nobody around to judge your performance. It’s really not easy to speak in a fluid, comprehensive manner to articulate a message for your audience. Most of the people, and me included, are super comfortable having a friendly discussion to present something to someone around some coffee. But when it’s time to press record and do the same to a camera, we are losing it completely and it’s not uncommon at all, let me reassure you on this. So, if you want to be absolutely sure you deliver the message you envisioned for your video, use a teleprompter but don’t forget these key advices… OK, mask back!
- Number 1: look at the camera lens as much as possible. Your eye contact is everything. And the good news is, this is where your text should appear, so just focus on this. And if you’re using an app, yes the text will appear slightly below the camera but that’s ok, you can also try to memorize the next sentence from time to time and speak it naturally to the lens.
- Number 2: even though you’re reading, try to do it as naturally as possible. This is why you should write your script with your own talking style as opposed to something very literate or formal.
- And number 3: don’t forget to breathe! Fine tuning the teleprompter speed can be challenging at times, so if you see that it’s going too slow, finish your sentence by putting some emphasis on some words. If on the contrary it’s going too fast, well, it’s too fast and slow it down. It never looks and sounds good if you’re rushing to deliver your message. So take your time, breathe, and retake if necessary. You can always do some small cuts during editing. So, I will practice what I’ve just said and breaaathe a bit!
- OK, the second way: you just write your content’s key messages in the form of bullet points, which you can attach somehow to your camera or keep next to you for easy reference while you record your video. And this has the advantage of having your best authenticity on camera, while not forgetting anything of importance, but it’s harder of course, and it takes more practice.
- And the last way, the “pro” one: you have no teleprompter, no bullet points with you, just your content in your mind, and you improvise the whole thing with your own words, which obviously will be the best representation of yourself to your audience. But that really takes even more practice, and in the end it might not be appropriate in the context of business videos, because for those you really want to deliver an impactful message with some key points. So, for some fun content, vlogging, why not, but for your sales pitch for example or something on those lines, I would definitely recommend the first two options.
I really think I’m gonna melt in a minute, so that’s good we are at the end of the video.
Personally I practice the first two ways quite a lot depending on the type of message I want to convey, and on my mood or energy level too. Some days it’s just more difficult and taxing than others, especially in hot countries like Singapore. Did I tell you that it’s very hot here?
OK, what do you think about all of this? I find it so interesting to work with my clients on this type of videos and teaching, advising them on how to be engaging for their audience using what works the best for them, their personality, their target audience and their business objectives. All these advices are based on my own experience, and in the end the most important for you is to follow your ideas and find your own style, to be at ease with yourself. And that’s how you will look and sound authentic and create a deeper connection with your audience. All of this helps a lot in creating solid business relationships. And it definitely takes practice! Do it over and over again and you will definitely improve quickly.
OK, that’s it for today. I hope it was useful to you. As always please like, share, comment if you enjoyed. There are some many other small tips and tricks that I didn’t mention because this topic is very vast, but if you are in Singapore, always open for a coffee to talk about it further.
Alright, time for me to go on with my shoot, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next VLOG.
Take care, bye!
Need inspiration for your videos?
- Watch videos I have produced for clients and myself
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