Piotr Szekowski, lecturer of the business speaking course, suggests what to pay attention to when preparing for an online public speaking event.
The specifics of working in front of the camera
The moment we start recording ourselves armenia mobile phone numbers database the red light of the camera turns on and the feeling of looking in the mirror returns. Suddenly, we stiffen, we go into a mode of economical expression – we have to behave ourselves, because the camera is recording us and it will go out into the world. While recording, we have the need to look at ourselves and verify our micro-expressions. And yet we ourselves have turned on control and economical. Our fears are most often rooted in the assumptions that we have created for ourselves.
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There is also a belief that you should speak better or do more to the camera than you normally would. You often hear: “I can’t do that to the camera, it requires acting skills”. But in reality, the secret lies in being natural, i.e. as you usually are. When we talk online using a webcam, we are most likely in a frame that we can describe as a half-close-up. We have an exposed face with every – even the smallest – expression visible. If we behave naturally, we don’t have to make faces or try hard to look good in the camera’s eye, but let’s also let our face express itself. What can help when recording on your phone? Turning the screen so that you don’t look at yourself. The same rule applies to video conferences. You should look at the camera, the presentation or other people. And when setting the camera, it is worth remembering the appropriate height. A camera set too low will make us dominate the screen, and too high will turn us into a supplicant, someone who is much lower on many levels. It is best to set the camera at eye level.
Effective preparation for an online presentation
We can summarize it in three elements:
- creating a “persona” to which one will speak;
- preparing a speech plan;
- checking technical aspects.
#1. Persona
The most important thing in online speeches, as well as in the whole specificity of working with a camera, is who we are talking to. On social media reels, you can feel that some people are talking directly to you, and others are talking very generally into space google ads b2b: how to overcome platform limitations e.g. “Hello, my dears” – who are these dears? When we do not have a flesh-and-blood person in front of us to whom we are addressing our words, we are most often saying something into a vacuum. Then, unfortunately, the other side has the feeling that our message is for everyone, but not necessarily a specific person, which makes the message lose its personal touch.
So before an online speech, it is worth defining who we are talking to, who these people are for us. If we want our speech to sound real and personal, we need to address someone we know (even if we do not see this person). We need to build a typical persona, just like in marketing or sales. Determine who this person is (what they do, how they behave, what language they use), find them in your environment, and then imagine them during the speech. We will speak directly to this person. In this way, our voice and expression will take on a more intimate character.
#2. The Plan
And even better if they are images that we create in our head. Our attention escapes during a presentation, especially when we have guatemala lists to deal with whole sentences in our minds, which will constitute the plan for our speech.
Images are the most natural and simple. They will also allow for spontaneity during speech, which will reduce the impression that everything is memorized. The visual plan also triggers our imagination. We start to create a narrative around the images and build a story. And telling a story is much more enjoyable for the listeners than reciting a lecture. In a story created in this way, there are natural climaxes, building tension, pauses and arguments, woven into the story, and each element takes on meaning.
The best speeches are those that are spontaneous, or at least appear to be.
#3. Technicalities
Sound
Let’s take care of good sound and the conditions in which we will conduct the meeting. There should be no background noise, echo or feedback. Let’s invest in the quality of, for example, the microphone, because the voice (also in the case of online meetings) carries a lot of information. The recipients have a limited view of the silhouette and it is on the voice and sound that they will focus their attention.
Light
Lighting makes us more or less warm to the recipient. Light can be a great ally, but also an enemy. It allows you to focus on the face, features and highlight more or less favorable elements. Proper positioning is also key. Let’s not sit completely back to the light source, because anything that appears as a gap or shadow will unnecessarily distract the recipient’s attention.
Wallpapers
In photography theory, spectrum is the image, everything we see in the frame, while punctum is the detail that catches our attention. If at an online business meeting we have a beach, flamingos or a forest in our background, we certainly won’t be taken completely seriously (unless that’s the custom in the group we’re in). The best are plain, white walls, but it’s worth remembering not to sit right up against the wall, but a little way from it, so that it doesn’t feel like it’s peeling off. Wallpapers, available in apps, are treated as unnecessary communication “noise”. There’s no need to make our message strange.
Etiquette
We dress appropriately for meetings. Remember that the camera does not like patterns or small dots, because it distracts and blends the image. Let’s focus on a neat but business appearance. The dress code can also be specified in an email that we will send before the meeting.
It is good practice to inform about the online meeting and its agenda in advance. Let everyone prepare for it. A few sentence equivalents are enough to define the topic, ask questions and assign tasks. It is also worth delegating a moderator who will take care of the detailed agenda, write down the names of speakers, topics and will keep an eye on the time of the speeches, introducing order.