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.
