Here's how to talk on camera so it’s not only easier to speak but also edit after:
- Pause for a few seconds before moving on to the next sentence or idea. You can glance at your script here so keep it somewhere you can easily glance at it without having to move around.
- Repeat steps 1-2 until your video is done.
- Load your video onto your video editor
- Look at the audio waves and cut out all the parts where there is a pause
- Now you have a smooth video that looks like you spoke for who knows how long without messing up.
This tip has made editing my content 500X easier!
The thing is, people will stilkl read too much into what to sound like on certain platforms and end up sounding like anything but themselves.
In my opinion—it's both easier and better, in the long run, to be consistent in your voice and adapt the topics to the platform. Just because other marketers say you should sound a certain way because you're on LinkedIn vs YouTube it doesn't mean they're right.
Should do this, should do that, so many should, should, shoulds...whatever.
Pretend you’re talking to a friend, a close co-worker, or even leaving yourself a voice note. Not only does this alleviate the tension of what you feel you “should” sound like but it makes your content easier to understand.
You'll waste years trying to sound like someone you're not whereas you'll invest months into learning to talk on camera like you normally talk when not on camera (and then just post it).
I highly suggest you start talking to yourself.
- Have imaginary conversations where you’re trying to teach or sell an idea to your customers, boss, or coworkers
- Talk before you type your script and see how it feels when you say it out loud
Practicing speaking out loud has helped me pick up on how I tend to vocalize my thoughts. When writing, newer writers tend to overuse the word "that" and in video you'll find you have some connector words or awkward sounds you might overuse like:
- Ummm
- Ahhh
- Some word or combination of words you find yourself repeating too much for whatever reason
Incorporate more natural pauses when you talk to people in real-time
Video makers I admire are not rushing from sentence to sentence. You can feel the natural pauses as they communicate ideas. And in a way, the calmness they convey from their more collected style of communication exudes confidence.
Frankly, I’m somewhat of an anxious person. I often feel like our world is moving at 1,000 miles per hour and it inevitably makes my brain and my speech attempt to catch up.
The practice of taking more natural pauses to be more intentional with every word helps me communicate better but also relieves some of my anxiousness.
This practice will pay off the most when you do live videos since you cannot edit yourself in real-time.
But if you’re not shooting live, the next point will show you what you can do by exaggerating these natural pauses to create the illusion of being naturally good at talking on video.
