Tips:
- What is your message?
Before pressing "REC", you need to know what you will be talking about. What is the conclusion you want your audience to draw? What is the "arc" of your speech or presentation? Make sure you have mapped out your Introduction, Main Theme and Outro. What is the Call to Action you want them to take?
Please remember that preparation is key, but so is being in the NOW, following the flow. Use the map as a simple guideline. Do not confine yourself within it. If it is a Live video, maybe one of your audience members asks a question that was not in your "schedule". Do not ignore it. "Listen" to your audience and navigate the presentation accordingly.
- Talk to a loved one.
In Acting this is called "Substitution". Replace the wide audience of people you do not know with a familiar and loving face. Look into the camera and imagine you are talking to your husband, your girlfriend, your son or best friend. Your energy and vibration will instantly change and everyone will feel like their friend is talking to them, instead of a sales person or a stranger.
Personality is key. Think about the "Role" you want to play. Remember that Acting is not about pretending.
Acting is about living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
Who is the person talking? What is her or his objective? Values?
- Study the greats.
Choose films you love, classical movies, film makers who have succeeded in telling great stories. Study them. Pay attention to how they use the camera. When the scene is about something emotional and important to the plot, do they use Close Ups or Wide Shots? How is the lighting? The sound? The surroundings?
- Speech.
Make sure to use your diaphragm. When you use your diaphragm, the breath- used for speech- passes through all your chakras (your energy centres in your body). Most importantly it passes through your heart, the centre of your emotions and your throat, the chakra of creation. This way your voice is infused with emotion and power. That is how people will be able to connect with you; when you will evoke emotions in them.
People might forget what you told them, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
- Camera Position
Make sure your camera is on eye level or a little bit higher. Low angles are not very flattering.
