Everyone’s a presenter these days. There’s no shortage of people putting themselves in front of a camera and having a go. That’s great but if you’re one of those people who’s coming across well, the chances are you’ve done it before or there’s someone with you giving you some form of help.

Yes lots of people are ‘a natural’ but plenty aren’t possibly because they either feel uncomfortable, they don’t know or haven’t prepared what they want to say or they’re trying to do the tech bit while doing all of the above.

Presenting to camera is a skill which improves with practice. My first live radio bulletin as a junior journalist on Hallam FM in Sheffield in the 1990s is not something I wish to be reminded of. In theory I knew what I was doing but add in nerves, the boss listening in and working the studio alone, it was never going to be the greatest piece of radio to hit the airwaves. Think ‘local news with an added dose of helium’. With practice though it didn’t take long to grow in confidence and ability, helped by excellent practical training and support from my peers.

Today being able to present on demand either in the form of a podcast, video or a livestream is something us business folk are expected to just ‘do’ whether or not we have any experience or aptitude for speaking into a mic or camera. Like anything else it’s a skill that needs practice, reviewing and be subject to constructive feedback. Some speakers are naturally comfortable, while others need a bit more help.

In my role as a filmmaker for training and education I work with many speakers who are not 100% comfortable or have much experience of being in front of the camera or microphone. Many are nervous, worry about what they want to say, speak too fast and/or stumble. That’s inevitably because they’re not used to it, they’ve had little chance to practice and they’re not relaxed. I always remember what it was like when I first started in broadcasting and offer the following bits of advice…

• Compose yourself before you start, take a sip of water and get comfortable and relaxed before you start.
• Get into position and pause before you start speaking so you start calm.
• Take your time, if you think you sound too slow, the pace is probably just right
• If you think you’re going to stumble, pause. Your listener or viewer won’t notice but you’ll stay in control.
• Ums and errs are fine. That’s how people speak
• When you finish, stay steady for a few seconds otherwise the recording will end abruptly which doesn’t come across well.

If you need help with your media production for your training offering contact us now.

About the author:
Jill Sainsbury is Director of Switched-on Multimedia, which produces films and content for training and education. She has 30 years experience, as a broadcast journalist at the BBC, university lecturer in journalism and media production for training specialist.