6 tips for the perfect video appearance
If you’re a layperson standing in front of the camera and want to make a statement, you’re probably wondering how you can “do everything right” and achieve the optimum effect. Strictly speaking, it’s a whole bundle of questions:
1. What do I say?
2. Am I dressed properly?
3. How do I come across to others?
4. Should I speak standing up or sitting down?
5. Where do I put my hands?
6. Should I look directly into the camera?
When answering these questions, it depends on the role you want to present yourself in.
Let’s assume you are the boss and are courting potential new customers or you represent your department in the company and are fighting to achieve your goals.
1. what do I say?
Think about what the benefits of your value proposition mean for the customer.
What advantages does the customer (stakeholder) have by working with you?
Be brief, even if the world is complicated and not just black and white!
The goal is to take the customer’s perspective and summarize their benefits in a few sentences.
The magic word for this is customer-centric thinking.
In the second step, you can then go into how you can fulfill the promise, what measures you will take and what resources you need to do so, etc.
The decision-makers who are responsible for budgets are often not experts in their field.
That is why it is necessary to speak in pictures in order to simplify the relationships, because they are then easier to remember.
You are probably familiar with the term storytelling.
Find ways to use it to your advantage!
In spoken language, your voice and charisma have the power to make people believe your words and convince others.
Use them!
If you are making a YouTube video, it is even more extreme: the first 3 to 7 seconds decide whether the viewer continues to watch the video or stops.
A good way to arouse interest and attract the viewer’s attention is to make a promise or state a thesis and then give the appropriate resolution in the course of the film.
It is therefore important to build up an arc of suspense and only resolve it at the end.
This is the big difference to a live statement.
On a PC or smartphone, the potential for distraction is so great that you will quickly lose the viewer’s attention.
So put yourself in their shoes: what interests them, what is relevant to them?
Look at your own range of services from the customer’s perspective.
2 Am I dressed properly?
In the course of their lives, every person has certainly gained experience that is related to the external appearance of an unknown person. Their clothing, hairstyle, make-up, body language and so on definitely provide an initial point of orientation. This experience, which could also be called preconceptions, is culturally shaped and supplemented by your own observations over the course of your life. Be aware that tiny details can play a big role. Men in particular tend to ignore them. A piercing, a tatttoo, a colorful strand of hair, the pattern of a tie, the color of a suit, the buckle of a belt or the shape of a nose can decide whether a person is considered likeable or less likeable.
If you work for a bank or insurance company, you will probably want to exude confidence, competence and seriousness. When you present yourself in this role, you should also accept the cultural influences. A pressed shirt looks more respectable than an unpressed one, a dark suit more respectable than a light one. You certainly know best what clothing is appropriate in your environment. I recommend that you dress as you would for a normal client meeting, perhaps a little more formally. Also bear in mind that clothing is also an essential feature of the hierarchy. If your words are aimed at convincing and building trust through competence, then your clothing should not communicate “from above”, but at eye level. Your outward appearance is therefore very important for the optimal effect of your statement in front of the camera.
As a rule of thumb, when in doubt, you can say: a little more formal than usual.
My tip: stay authentic and don’t try to slip into a role in front of the camera that you can’t fulfill in real life.
3. what effect do I have on others?
The overall effect is created more by the how than by the what. How you speak, how you move and what you radiate is almost more important than what you say. This doesn’t mean that you don’t need to worry about the content when it comes to making the most of your statement in front of the camera. Rather, it means that you can enhance the content enormously with a skillful appearance. You can also ruin the content by speaking monotonously and using unmotivated body language.
Speech plays a particularly important role here.
The sound of your voice, the speed at which you speak, rhythm, volume, emphasis and a few other factors make a significant contribution to the overall impression.
Think of the effect of James Bond.
It’s not what he says that makes him so characteristic, but how.
So the medium of video gives you possibilities of expression that you may never be able to achieve with written text on the homepage and a portrait picture of yourself.
4 Should I speak standing up or sitting down?
If you want to present yourself or your company, I recommend that you do so standing up. When the President gives a State of the Union report, he will of course stand. A choir would never sing sitting down! Be lively but not nervous and restless. You appear more present and upright when standing. Your voice is clearer and freer and you can breathe better. When standing, your hands also have more opportunities to unfold their effect than when sitting. It’s all the little things that make your statement in front of the camera more effective.
Standing also gives you much better opportunities to use your hands.
If you walk while you speak and the camera moves with you, it looks very dynamic. Keep in mind, however, that the amount of movement is appropriate and must be related to your words. At the same time, the constantly moving background distracts from the content. In most cases, walking while speaking will be a good introduction or transition to a new topic.
Running back and forth on stage, i.e. “pacing around”, on the other hand, seems too restless and nervous. How do you want to present your point of view while constantly changing it?
5. where to put your hands?
It is best to use your hands to speak and support your statements with gestures.
This looks natural and supports the credibility and seriousness of your statements.
If you speak without gestures or facial expressions, you could give the impression that you are distancing yourself from what you are saying.
It almost creates a contradiction.
Leaving your hands hanging unused on your body is not an option, as they reinforce your words.
You appear more credible and active if you use your hands intuitively.
You can move something with your hands in the truest sense of the word.
Motionless hands move nothing.
If speaking with your hands is not your nature or there are other reasons, such as shoulder and arm joint injuries, then you should at least not let your arms hang down, but bend them slightly and place your hands slightly inside each other.
Moderators like to use moderation cards in their hands, sometimes a writing utensil is also a suitable means of giving the hands security.
In general, I can say that everything that counteracts gravity is positive for your charisma and therefore also for the effect of your statement in front of the camera: standing up straight, shining eyes, a radiant smile and active hands.
If you want to learn more about body language and the effect it has on others, I can recommend this book:“Reading People” by Joe Navarro.
6 Should I look directly into the camera?
For personal greetings and farewells as well as requests or appeals, you should always look at the viewer, i.e. look into the camera lens.
You would do the same in a real-life encounter, i.e. seek eye contact.
If you stand facing the camera, this gives the viewer the impression: Stop, stop, I’m standing here and have something important to say.
This is also the effect of a bouncer: he will always clearly want to stand in your way.
If you have an urgent appeal, the body position is quite appropriate.
If, on the other hand, you turn your upper body slightly (approx. 15 degrees) but still look into the camera with your eyes, the overall situation appears more open and inviting.
You then look like a host at the front door: Welcome, come in!
Looking into the impersonal and “cold” lens is abstract and perhaps uncomfortable for the layperson without practice. If you are rather inexperienced but want to present longer contexts, it is much more comfortable to look past the camera at a real or fictitious interview partner. The idea of this dialog situation is ideal for many types of presentation in front of the camera and makes filming much more relaxed for everyone involved. The advantage: you appear authentic in a very uncomplicated way.
Reading the text to be spoken from a teleprompter requires some practice. It is all too easy for the words to be read out and the facial expression is too rigid and untrustworthy. Speaking freely is always the best choice. Before your performance, you can practise speaking in the mirror or, even better, record yourself on your smartphone for self-monitoring.
You might also be interested in these articles
5 tips for overcoming your fear of the camera
13 tips for the perfect webinar appearance
Eye contact during a Zoom meeting
