How you feel on the inside can make a difference in how you come across on the outside, particularly when you’re communicating with others (in-person or on-camera).
As Karin Reed, our Chief Confidence Creator, likes to call it, your “mental mindset” is crucial to nailing your next presentation or simply being appearing to be engaged in your next virtual meeting.
Here are three tips to help you nail your mindset on-camera:
- Treat presentations as conversations
There’s no need to stress yourself out over an on-camera presentation or meeting. By putting yourself into the right mental mindset, you can treat your next on-camera moment just as you would a one-on-one conversation across the dinner table. Make your audience (no matter how large) feel like they’re the only one you’re speaking to.
- Pretend your camera lens is a person
Far too often, we fall into the habit of looking at our computer screens while speaking in a virtual meeting, whether that’s looking at another meeting participant, or sometimes, ourselves. Instead, we recommend making looking into the camera a habit. This way, it will appear as if you’re actually making eye contact with your audience and speaking directly to them, as we mentioned earlier. One important note – you don’t want to stare at the camera lens. A quick glance away allows you to come across more naturally but also gives you an opportunity to sneak a peek at the body language of your audience. Are they nodding along or nodding off?
- Avoid negative communication habits with a mind trick.
Negative communication habits can include mental, verbal and physical habits you might not even realize you tend to do—for instance, the use of filler words. Next time you’re speaking virtually, try to minimize your use of filler words like “umm,” or “you know.” Your audience may start to count your filler words rather than listen to your actual message. Pro tip: Stick a post-it note to your computer with your filler word of choice on it. It can serve as a visual reminder not to use it, and sometimes by looking at the word “um” written on the note, it replaces your actual verbalization of it!
Want to learn more about your on-camera mindset? Enroll in a Speaker Dynamics University course to improve your on-camera confidence!
