Improve Your Speaking Skills on Video?
Do you want to speak on stage someday or host your own seminars? You can use the power of screen capture software (like Jing or Camtasia) to create your products faster and improve your public speaking skills.
My formula: record a video for a paid product, if I don’t have time for that, keep the video rolling while I do something to improve my business… and don’t stop the camera until I’m done. (This REALLY keeps me on task.) If that fails, open up Notepad and go over what I did that day. I plan for 5 minutes and that usually ends up taking 20 minutes.
Then, watch that video you just recorded from start to finish.
This is what professional actors and public speakers do to train themselves to actually look presentable.
You would be surprised at how many people DON’T do this. Just look at how many chipmunk-infested Camtasia videos are floating around out there.
There are so-called “experts” at video who are hard to watch.
When you talk with your hands, it’s distracting and you look like an idiot! There is absolutely NO REASON for you to use 2-3 different nervous hand gestures with every sentence.
When you talk for 2 minutes before you start to say anything new, you have lost my interest. Do you have a lame video with flashy graphics than says nothing but, “Welcome to my web site?” Get rid of it! If someone missed the first 2 minutes of your video, would it still make sense? Then start at that 2 minute point next time.
The point of video is so you can communicate more information in less time, and hold someone’s attention better than plain text can. That should be your goal as a public speaker as well. If you can master the art of keeping yourself entertained, you can become a great public speaker, or at least produce amazing videos.
Filed in: Product Creation
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Another GREAT tip Robert.
I really like the way you have advised to improve watching myself. This definitely helps improve public speaking skills and creating good videos for IM.
Short, Sweet and great advise video!
I will definitely put this in to practice.
Amar
Well said, Robert.
Not review one’s own work – any work – can only get you into trouble. I speak from experience.
Learning from one’s own mistakes can vastly improve on-screen presence almost immediately.
Once, when editing a three-way interview so we could post the audio, I edited out the “umms,” “uhs,” “ahhs,” etc. and created an outtakes audio clip. It was three minutes long! The original interview was less than an hour.
We all learned from that!
Thought provoking video, Robert. Has someone produced a product on how to be a great speaker on video? Might be a great idea. It is a different ballgame making live videos as opposed to screen capture videos.
One ‘expert’ who is an acting coach that I saw interviewed online said it was good to use hand gestures while speaking and to always have your hands at least waist high so they will be seen on video. Robert doesn’t agree obviously.
Rick
Robert – You gave me a fantastic Ah-ha moment through this video. I wrote a small tip on my blog yesterday which is LOVED by my readers.
But hey – why not CREATE a video of what I wrote and make it a nice video article the way you are doing.
Thanks for this Ah-Ha..keem ’em coming 🙂
Regds,
Deep
Hi Robert
I have camtasia 5, and I think it has the audio chipmonks. Given my accent I’m prepared to live with this, but it would be good to find the fix
Thanks
Andrew
Hi Robert,
Slowly been following your stuff and buying some of your products.
For me this post is quite timely as I have been just done my first two ‘talking to the camera videos’.
It is not the easiest thing in the world to do. I could make a really comic video from the outtakes!!
I recommend to anybody who wishes to talk to video, that joining their local Toastmasters can help them a lot.
I would add that even with my Toastmasters experience in Public Speaking, and evaluating speeches, that each time I watch my first two ‘talking to the camera videos’ I learn more.
Best,
George
Hi Robert
Many people have this problem. You have very valid points to the 2 minute point.
You only need to see all the videos on You tube.
Hamant
Robert, as always, your sage advice and experiences shared are very welcomed.
Your post sort of disagrees with some of the latest products for videos such as the gorgeous flash intros, etc. that they claim make people watch your video more readily.
I tend to agree with you – I don’t need the fanfare to tell me in as short a video as possible whatever it was I clicked on it to learn in the first place. Time is a premium item.
To Andrew: Robert has the answer right here on the site about the chipmunking: http://www.robertplank.com/remove-chipmunks-from-camtasia-videos/
It’s super easy to do, too.
Donna
Hi Donna
I tried using the fix, but to me it’s still chipmonky at the start, perhaps it’s just my computer?
http://andrewstark.cachefly.net/HiddenSales/HiddenSales.htm
Perhaps I should get camtasia to produce in .avi and then use easy flv to create the .swf files?
Robert, as usual, good post and tips. That’s something I will start working on more myself is video, definitely if not the best personal communication tool there is… Thanks
Terrance Charles
http://www.thesimplecodemanuscript.com
Robert –
Thanks for how crystal clear and to the point you are! You model exactly the elements that create success in internet marketing – and in fact in the off-line world too!
Linda –