In our digital age, communicating remotely is essential. You can become a better remote communicator if you are used to to speaking into your video camera.
In your job and even your day to day life, you need to communicate and in our digital age, the ways of communication have changed. More and more are communicating across the globe thanks to technology. While the basic concepts of communication are still there, speaking remotely is different than speaking in person.
In fact, vloggers have an advantage as remote communicators because they’re already used to communicating their thoughts and ideas to a camera, rather than a person in front of them. Making vlogs can help you become a much more effective communicator because you get used to the idea of speaking to a remote audience when you’re talking into a camera.
There are a lot of video-centered tips you can practice that will get you comfortable speaking to a remote audience. Let’s dive into it.
Become a better remote communicator through video
Make sure audio sounds good
First things first, you need to make sure that people can hear you in your video. Audio is the most important element of remote communication. You can’t communicate with people if no one can hear what you’re saying. To make sure that your audio is good, check the input volume. If the audio is too low, turn it up. However, don’t turn it up so high that the sound becomes distorted. Everyone will still have problems hearing you in that case.
Keep the camera at eye level
In video production, different angles convey different emotions and shift the focus away from what you’re saying. The camera angle brings it’s own connotations. For instance, if your camera is too low, it will make the shot more dramatic. Angles communicate their own dialogue; this is something unique to remote video communication.
An eye-level shot is one of the basic angles and is the standard for those speaking into the camera. The angle won’t conflict with what you’re trying to communicate.
Look into the lens if you can
Not only will this help people better connect with you while you speak, but it will also boost your confidence. Even though you aren’t speaking to someone in person, looking into the eye of the camera is similar to looking into a person’s eyes. There are many people who get shy speaking in front of a camera. Once you get confident speaking into a camera, you will feel much more confident speaking in general.
Speak clearly
We know you’re nervous and want to get through your script as fast as possible. However, this will hurt the message you are trying to communicate to your remote audience in your video. Slow down, relax and try not to speak too quickly. Also, speak loudly enough for everyone to hear you. Don’t mumble. Speak with confidence.
Edit the video if you can
Obviously, you can’t do this for a video conference, but if you have the chance, edit your videos. You can use Adobe’s Creative Cloud if you have a subscription to it or there’s also other free software you can use if you just need to splice together a few clips. If you’re interested in what editing software we recommend, check out our Buyer’s Guide. When editing, look for long pauses and unnecessary information. Cut all those clips out to condense your video into a clear and concise message.
No matter if you’re in a conference call, making a home video or filming a vacation highlight reel, speaking in front of a camera will make you a better communicator remotely and in person. It takes time and practice, but the more you do it, the more natural it will seem.
