- I'm gonna tell you how to be better on camera
so you can make better videos for your YouTube channel,
and we're starting right now.
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Okay, so being a YouTube content creator
and being on camera all the time can be challenging
if it's something that you've never done before
because, you know, it's awkward, it's something new.
So because of that, I'm going to share with you
some things that you can do to help get yourself
over that hump so that you can be better on camera.
And this question was actually asked
by Kendra Morgan Official and she said,
"What are some strategies to help with speech flow
"in front of the camera? Non teleprompter."
Kendra, this is a great question.
So thank you for asking this,
and when it comes to the teleprompter side of this,
I just want to say that personally,
I'm not a fan of teleprompters.
There are people that are really good at them,
but a lot of people, when they're using a teleprompter,
it's awkward, and you can tell
that they're using a teleprompter,
either by their speech pattern
or you can watch their eyes going back and forth
as they're reading through the teleprompter.
But, if you are somebody that does want
to try a teleprompter,
some people do have success with them.
So because of that, if you're watching this
and you're like, "Yeah, you know,
"maybe I could use a teleprompter."
Then in that case, give it a shot
because it might end up being your thing.
But for the rest of us, we got to talk about two things.
We got to talk about, one, your recording method
in terms of how you're actually recording stuff,
and two, we got to talk
about your actual presence on camera.
Like what you can do to be better
within the way that you are recording your videos.
Let's start with the recording method.
When you're recording your videos
you have a few different options that you can do.
The first of course is scripting things out.
That's where you write your entire video word for word.
The positive side of scripting is
that you have your entire video planned out,
you know exactly what it is that you're gonna say,
and it makes it pretty much impossible
to screw up the end result.
The downside of using scripts however,
is that when you're using scripts
you are very focused on every word
that's coming out of your mouth
and you're looking at the script
and then you're looking at the camera
and you're trying to think to yourself,
am I saying the right thing,
is it coming through in the right order,
and things like that.
And it can make the communication side
of your video a little bit rigid or robotic
or just not that natural.
Unless of course you get really really good
at scripts and going through that process
through practice, which a lot of people do,
and a lot of people are successful through that
with script writing.
Personally, I hate scripting.
That's why I use the next option, which is bullet points.
When it comes to bullet points
it's a completely different thing because instead
of scripting where you're writing word for word,
you're just writing a little phrase
or maybe one word that is going to help you stay on track
while you're putting your video together.
The plus side or the win of using bullet points is that
when you are communicating through bullet points
you're just taking the note of,
this is the thing that I wanna talk about,
but then you're communicating it in a more natural way.
And that's because you really don't have an option.
You just have the word that you're going off of
or you have the short sentence
or something that you're going off of to keep you on track.
But the entire rest of that area
of your video is coming directly from your brain,
and you're communicating it in the way
that you communicate naturally
instead of trying to make sure
that you're saying the exact things that are on the paper
or on your screen when you're writing a script.
The downside of bullet points, however,
is that it might take you a lot
of takes to get through one video
because you have the thing that you're wanting to say
but you actually saying it in the way that resonates
with you so that you know it's good,
might take a handful of clips
in order to actually get you there.
See, I just screwed up when I said that.
So technically we should redo this clip
but I'm not going to, I'm gonna leave it
in here for the sake of the example.
But as you can see with me just stumbling
over my words a little bit right there
in that particular part of the video.
If I wanted to make that again
then it might take me several different clips
in order to get through that successfully.
Like this clip here, I might nail it
or I might have to make this clip
a handful more times depending on what it is
that I end up saying is all of these words are coming
out of my mouth.
And of course, we all look at things differently.
Some people might see that side of having to make a bunch
of clips as an inconvenience or just not a good thing.
Me, however, I find it fun because then I get to experiment
with different ways that I might express the same idea
or I just might be able to retake a clip a bunch of times
and just have fun messing up a lot
and getting myself into a great mood
while I'm actually making the content.
Now, a third way, of course is just freestyling.
And what freestyling is, is the where
you have the subject matter that you're gonna talk about
and then you just go for it.
So if you're a gamer
and you're on Let's Play this would be you
because you have no other choice except a freestyle
because you know that you can't necessarily plan out
what's gonna happen in a game.
And then of course you have the hybrid.
Now the hybrid is where you mix up some of these things.
So for example, let's say
that you're doing a bullet point list
but on that bullet point list you have some technical things
that you need to get in there.
And those technical things need to be accurate.
In that case, one of the options that you could have is
that you put together a bullet point list
and then you just have notes attached to some
of the bullet points, or maybe a short paragraph explaining
in a little bit more detail,
the technicalities of what it is that you're talking about
and look for whatever option that you choose.
If you're writing scripts, if you're on bullet points
if you're freestyling, if you're going to hybrid,
whatever it is that you choose,
I do recommend that you try some of the other ones ways
because you might find a way that resonates best for you.
When I first started, I scripted every word,
I scripted jokes, I scripted pauses, everything.
And then once I started experimenting with bullet points
I made a handful of videos that sucked.
I didn't even put them online because I was getting
into the workflow of actually working off of bullet points.
And because of that, I was like, yeah
these videos didn't turn out as good as I wanted them to.
So I didn't even put them online.
But I went through the process
of working off of bullet points, which ultimately led me
into a much more natural way to communicate my videos.
And interestingly enough, people started responding
to my content better
when I started going off of bullet points,
instead of trying to script everything out
and trying to force jokes and force being funny
and force pauses
where they might not have necessarily been needed.
Okay, so now let's talk about the actual part
of being on camera and some things that you can do
to improve your on-camera presence and just how it is
that you're communicating in your content.
And in this part, I want to let you know that we're talking
about two different things.
One, is we're gonna talk about the cadence of your speech.
And then two, we're gonna talk
about different things that you can do
to improve your camera presence overall,
starting with cadence.
Now, what cadence is when it comes
to your speech is how you're speeding things up,
how you're slowing things down,
where it is that you're taking pauses,
where it is that you're raising your energy level
or your volume,
where it is that you are bringing your volume down
when you are communicating or talking.
We'll just call it talking or speaking
from this point forward, instead of saying communicating.
Communicating makes it sound a little bit, you know
a little bit weird, but talking,
I think we can all relate to talking.
Okay, back to cadence.
So when you are on camera and you're talking,
the thing that you want to think about is of course
you want to make sure that you are expressing yourself
in the way that you naturally express yourself.
However, one thing that you can do to help out
how engaging you are on camera is to speed up and slow down
how it is that you're talking.
So as an example of that,
if I were to just go into something really quick
and I were to start talking about that
and then I slow it down a bit.
And the idea with that is
that your brain is having to focus on what it is
that I'm talking about when I'm communicating quickly,
and then it can kind of relax a little bit
when I start talking a little bit slower,
I start adding a little bit of pause
in between some of the words that I say,
maybe, I'll even introduce an uncomfortable pause like this.
And then with that uncomfortable pause,
I mean, you may or may not have found that uncomfortable
but with the uncomfortable pause,
the idea of that is that you're just going for a while
and you're just communicating.
And then you have that moment
of where everything just kind of stops.
And then you start communicating again
or start talking again.
And then that allows you to just kind of keep people focused
on what it is that you're saying,
because in addition to everything that's happening on screen
if you're using B-roll and stuff like that,
your voice is an additional dynamic thing that's happening
that your viewers are experiencing
when they're watching your videos.
The same exact thing applies to volume
as well with your voice.
So when you are speaking to the camera,
of course in some cases, and this is all gonna come down
to how you're putting your content together
and how you want to be on camera.
The one thing that can be advantageous as well is
that you're also increasing your volume in some cases
or maybe even increasing the pitch or whatever.
And then you are lowering things a little bit,
maybe even leaning in a tad
in order to just be a little bit more intimate
with the person that you're talking to
on the other side of the lens.
And if you really pay attention, you're going to see
in a lot of successful YouTube creators content,
you're gonna see that they use these tactics.
If they're aware of it or not, you're going to see
that they do these types of things in their videos.
In fact, with entertainment content,
it's often to see people really projecting their voice,
almost screaming or yelling
when they're projecting their voice
because they're trying to get that energy up.
And just the way that they're communicating,
it's something that is, the way that they're talking.
It's just something that is more energetic,
something more lively.
But, you are not making entertainment content.
And you're making talking head content like this
to where it's you on screen, similar to what I'm doing.
Then in that situation you can really use that cadence thing
to really pull people in
and also just fluctuating the volume
of your voice and the intensity,
it can make the whole viewer experience
a little bit more dynamic.
Now let's talk about things that you can do on camera
that can help with your on-camera presence overall.
The very first thing is to record in clips.
Now, when I say record in clips, all that means is
that when you are putting your videos together
you're recording in tiny little sections.
And then when you pull them into your computer
you have all these different clips to work with
in all of the different ways
that you've said each individual part.
And the bonus for this is one,
it can help on your editing side.
But two, it can also be really advantageous
for fixing your energy before you record every single clip
and just stopping for a second.
So instead of just throwing this full on long video
where everything has to be a certain way,
you're just working on these little, incremental clips
that end up being your full video.
Taking this approach will help you maintain your focus
when you are working on your videos so
that you do have less errors.
It's also going to help you maintain your energy as well.
Because instead of talking about something
for a really long time
and your inner is kind of falling off as you go along,
you're able to reset yourself before every single clip.
The second thing that you can do speaking of energy,
is you can raise your energy up just a tad.
Now look, it's very important
that you communicate in your natural way on YouTube
because you're wanting people to connect
and resonate with you the way that you are.
However, one thing that is also important is
that when you are speaking into a camera
your energy seems like it just goes down a little bit.
Not like you're doing something wrong
but like the camera takes away some of that energy
when you're watching it back
that's why a lot of content creators are like,
"Man, when I was putting this together
"I thought it was going to be this way.
"But now that it's on my computer and I'm looking at it,
"it just doesn't feel the same way."
It's because they were just communicating naturally
without amping it up, just a tad.
So, one thing that can be really advantageous is
if you do raise your energy levels
just a little bit to compensate
for the energy that the camera takes away.
One thing that can be really helpful
with this is actually moving your body
around and just getting loose before you make your content,
maybe even flexing your vocal cords a little bit.
Singing a little bit or yelling a little bit
or just speaking overly loud compared
to what you would normally do before you record your videos.
So that by the time you turn your camera on
and you start getting your clips together,
your energy is exactly where you need it to be.
The next thing on this list
that's going to help you be better on camera is
to look deeply into your lens.
Don't look at your monitor,
don't look off to the side,
look deeply into your camera lens
and talk to your camera just like you would talk
to a buddy of yours.
Imagine that you're on Skype or that you're on Zoom
or that you're live streaming
through StreamYard or something.
And you're just sitting there talking to your buddies
through the camera.
That's going to help you because one,
it's gonna bring down the expectation of like,
oh my gosh, there's going to be a bunch
of people on the internet looking at this.
And then it just makes it more of a, Hey,
I'm just talking to a buddy.
I'm communicating in my natural way,
but just a little bit amped up,
so that I'm communicating or talking
in the way that I like to talk,
in the way that I normally do.
So if somebody were to meet me in real life
after watching one of my videos,
there's going to be extreme similarities there
in the way that you are interacting with that person
compared to how it was that they were interacting
with your videos.
And look, I have no idea why I'm doing all of this right now
it's just kind of a thing that I'm doing.
I don't know why, but it seems like during these videos.
I'm doing a lot of this.
The next thing you can do to be better on camera is
to talk to yourself out loud.
So, in our normal lives,
we're going through the day
and we're internalizing all this stuff.
And then when we get in front of the camera,
we have to suddenly speak out loud
when there's nobody else in the room.
And that can be a little bit awkward
and uncomfortable especially if you're just getting started.
So because of that, if you can practice
when you're in the shower,
when you're at home and nobody's there,
if you're out driving around or whatever,
if you can practice just talking out loud
when you're by yourself,
that's going to help you be better on camera
because it's gonna be a lot more comfortable
for you when you are on camera.
And when it comes to being good on camera,
being comfortable on camera is a really big part of that.
And that's why when you first get started
it might be awkward watching yourself
because you're like, yeah, this is just not me.
And the reason for that is because you just
haven't gotten comfortable being on camera yet.
So just speaking out loud is going to help you get used
to talking out loud,
the thoughts that you're having in your brain
while nobody else is around.
The next thing that can help you be better on camera
and just improve your overall camera presence is to get
into a good mood before you make your videos.
And when you get into a good mood before making your videos
that's going to be expressed through you making your videos.
People are gonna feel that on the other end.
And if you're bummed out, they're gonna feel that too.
So if your content type, if it's important to make sure
that people are resonating with you in a positive way,
then make sure you get yourself in a good mood.
Maybe smile a little bit, maybe dance around a little bit,
listen to some music that you love
before you start your video recording.
So that when you actually start talking to the camera,
you're gonna be in a much better mood
and people are going to feel that on the other side.
Okay, another thing about being better on camera
that we need to make sure that we discuss here
since we're talking about this is not giving yourself
a hard time when you mess up,
because part of recording videos is making mistakes.
So, if you're live streaming it's one thing.
But when you're making video content,
mistakes especially when you're trying to make sure
that your videos are as good as they can possibly be,
mistakes going to happen when you're recording your videos.
You're gonna forget the things that you're supposed to say.
You are going to say things the wrong way.
You're going to lose their train of thought.
All of it, like things are going to go wrong.
So don't give yourself a hard time.
Don't let yourself get frustrated because it gets reflected
through the lens that you're frustrated.
So make sure that you're just enjoying the process
that you're having fun doing this stuff
because if it's not fun,
then over time, it's gonna be a burden.
And the last thing you want when it comes
to making content on regular basis is for that content
to become a burden.
Because this whole thing is about doing
what it is that we love and sharing our passions
with other people who are also passionate
about the things that we are.
It's not about getting frustrated
and giving yourself a hard time.
Another thing that you can do to be better on camera is
to make sure that you get yourself into the right zone
or the right vibe when you're recording.
So I mentioned being happy before,
or just being positive and all that,
but then there's the other side of it as well
of just getting your mind into the right place in general.
So, one thing that I personally do
that is beneficial for me, is before I start recording
to make sure that I'm here and that I'm not physically here
and then my mind is elsewhere is I will just breathe in.
I'll take a bunch of deep breaths
and just get myself comfortable right here
in front of the camera before I start recording.
So that I'm here, right?
So that I'm here with you instead
of just being in front of the camera
and going through the motions
while my brain is really thinking about other things
and doing other stuff.
So that can also, it'd be helpful.
Now, if you're watching this video
on how to get better on camera, there's a really good chance
that you're also trying to learn how to get better results
on your YouTube channel.
So I have a video right here about how to use TubeBuddy
to get more views on your videos.
I encourage you to check that out.
It's going to help you out a lot.
And if you haven't yet, make sure you subscribe.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'll see you next time.