Whether you´re trying to make it as a Hollywood star or you want to create an awesome YouTube channel, talking to the camera like if it´s the most normal thing to do is a necessary skill you´ll have to master.

So, I´ve done my usual research and come up with some factors that you want to consider if you want to feel more comfortable when facing the camera and be much more effective when you do so.

If you want to learn how to talk naturally on camera then you should read this great tips that can help you to look and speak great when you´re presenting yourself to the world.

Attention Grabber

Your audience attention is your most precious commodity and whether you deliver educational material or you´re trying to make people laugh it doesn´t matter, you need to be able to command attention.

How captivating you can be depends on the emphasis and passion you put into words so that they hold on people´s brain.

If you´re more engaged your audience will be more engaged with you, it´s a natural “mirroring” process that our subconscious mind captures and imitates.

Building rapport with others relies on your communicational abilities, the way you speak, how loud you are, articulate, your body posture and gestures, everything comes into play when you record yourself.

Now, I´m not saying this so that you think you don´t stand a chance against people that have been doing this for years, not at all actually…

I´m saying this because is important that you understand that people´s attention span has decreased a lot in the last decade, and due to that you must be an attention grabber or your videos won´t see the light of day.

If you show that you really care or believe in what you´re talking about people will care too, it´s contagious!

Getting excited about the topic and showing that through the lens of the camera will make a huge impact on the viewer´s interest.

Although talking really fast, being loud, or using several jump cuts through the video can help what I´m talking about is CONFIDENCE.

Familiarity with the presentation style and the content is one of the core factors that makes your performance better.

It may be cliché and boring to even think of but another big thing that many people miss is practice, crazy, ridiculous amounts of practice. You´ll stumble and fail a ton of times before you can make it right.

You need to!

Feeling uncomfortable in front of the camera is a perfectly normal thing, and trying to ignore it won´t help, allow it to exist, feel it, and go through it, there´s no other way.

The Lens is Our Friend

Facing the camera head-on and developing your own style while you do it can be a little awkward and feel a bit silly at times, particularly if the entire production and filmmaking is in your hands.

There´s actually a hack to it, did you know?

Have you ever noticed that in interviews and documentaries the people that are often interviewed don´t really seem uncomfortable? Even when they are in front of the camera for the first time ever or have very little camera experience.

For some reason, the existence of the camera, the lights, and all the production setting seem less intrusive to them than to you sitting on your desk in front of your DSLR at home.

This can be attributed to two main factors.

First, in most of those situations, they are talking to another person and not to the camera, and the second thing is that the entire production is out of their hands, and therefore out of their minds, there´s anxiety attached to how the lighting looks or if things are in focus.

So, what you can learn from this is that we should talk directly to the lens of the camera as if was a person, a friend, not a group of people, not an audience, a single person. Cause in most situations that´s going to be the case.

Also, people will connect with you better if you´re not constantly checking yourself on the flip screen. By looking to the lens of the camera you´re looking to the person’s eyes, simple as that.

Think about it, if you were talking to the camera as if you´re addressing an entire audience of hundreds of people you´d crumble in front of the camera by the pressure.

It´s an intimate viewing experience, and that´s how it should be!

Interacting with the camera as if it was a single person will help to get rid of some tension, leaves room for improvisation, making the whole process feel more natural and way more entertaining to watch.

Last but not least, maintain eye contact.

Think of how rude it feels when you´re talking to someone and they are constantly looking at their phone or reading a piece of paper, you´ll rapidly lose interest in the interaction, right? Well, the same happens with video.

Where Should You Place the Lens?

How you´re perceived by your audience through the camera positioning matters more than you think. Check out this next video to see what I mean by this.

As you can easily see you should place the lens at eye level so you can connect better with your audience and create rapport by setting up your equipment properly.

Dressing Up

If you want to increase the chances of making a good impression when talking on the camera you have to be comfortable and confident. And one way to do that is by having a great wardrobe set!

In fact, there are some specific benefits you can take advantage of when it comes to choosing the right color tones or styles to communicate effectively when you´re filming.

For example, ruby red, sapphire blue, or emerald green colors can easily highlight your best features by not appearing too bright or muted against most backgrounds and by looking great with most skin tones.

These are known as Jewel tones, a good palette you can use when facing the camera.

Also, try to go with simpler fabrics and not go with anything that could shine in any way because it won´t be flattering when you pair it with your lighting settings.

One more thing to keep in mind is to “Avoid small, busy prints (thinks paisley or small polka dots), which can look blurry on video.” – Nicole Otchy founder of NCO Style says.

If you want to experiment a bit but keep the wardrobe best practices in check you can combine two jewel tones that are from the same color family or try out two colors that could complement each other.

Remember! Something as simple as using your favorite shirt or pair of jeans can make you feel much more comfortable, and therefore more confident, and that will show on camera.

PRO TIP! It is best to avoid wearing shirts that have noticeable logos, brand names, or loud text because they can be a little bit distracting for the viewer.

Hands On

As some of you might know body language is a crucial part of our communicational skillset.

In fact, using your hands can help you a lot more than you probably think. There´s a great number of subconscious signals that our brain picks up when we communicate. You need to be aware of that if you want to be an effective communicator.

The fascinating science behind body language, and hand gestures, in particular, is a key factor you should master in order to get your message through the lens of the camera into people´s mind.

Here are some tips you could take advantage of next time you´re in front of the camera.

You´ll find there´s a good number of tips you can apply with your hands to be more captivating when talking to people in general, and especially when you´re on camera.

Here are some other you might wanna consider using:

• Show openness and honesty. By keeping your hands at a 45-degree angle with the palms facing up when you speak. Tip! Do not let your fingers spread apart when doing this, that could be interpreted as needing something.
• A strong call to action. Palms down positioning slightly torn to point at someone commands attention and its used to be directive and give an order.
• Hold something. When you hold something that´s connected to the point or topic you want to make you´ll experience a greater feeling of comfort.
• Add some energy and avoid repetition. Using your hands pointing up or above elbows or shoulders level creates emphasis and excitement on what you´re saying, also try to avoid making the same gestures over and over, mix things up.

One Paragraph at a Time

Dividing your content into several paragraphs, each with no more than 200-300 words in it, will help you to remember and rehearse each shot before you can decide which one turned out best.

This way you will not only be more effective when you´re recording but you´ll also make it easier for yourself when you have to edit each part and paste it all together so it looks presentable.

Another thing to keep in mind is speaking slowly at first until you get it right and more confident about what you´re going to say.

Actually, if you want to divide each paragraph into smaller, more biteable pieces, might be a good idea to do so if your paragraph is too long to remember and say all at once.

You´ll speak clearly and in short sentences that can be understood by anyone. 

Speak in front of the camera the way you talk, use your own words and don´t try to be a news reporter.

Dividing into visual chunks of text or guidelines that you can rehearse and improvise on is always a great idea so that you don´t waste your viewers time by not having any clue about what to say next.

Be prepared, be considered about your audience´s time. Make your presentation informative but also dynamic and entertaining.

Production Stuff Out

When you´re independently recording your own content it can be really hard to not feel way down by all of the technical elements that rely on you.

Now, in traditional media, there´s a person for every job, and the person that is in front of the camera doesn´t have to worry about any of that stuff.

However, if you´re a one-person production crew these type of responsibilities and technicalities make you feel a bit more distracted and ware your performance down.

Make sure you have a nice backdrop that suits the mood of your video, whether is that you want to film outside, or maybe you have a nice room or you´ve bought a cool SLIMMER PAPER that can hang from the wall make sure it gives you contrast and looks good.

The second production “thing” you should concern about is recording yourself near a good source of sunlight, like near a window. That´s it, you don´t need any more than that.

The point is to focus on your performance and not so much on any other stuff you can´t control right now.

¡Get to the Point Already!

What´s the point of your presentation? Educate, entertain, maybe a bit of both?

Ensure that you´re familiar with what you´re delivering and why people are watching so you don´t spend too much time fluffing around the edges and risk losing your greatest asset, people´s attention.

You want your content to be concise and keep people engaged throughout the entire presentation.

Some of the most common mistakes when it comes to being captivating and concrete with our content are lack of preparation and lack of polish.

The good news is that both things can be easily solved. With a good script and a nice editing after the shooting, you can get to the parts that are more critical for a great delivery.

You don´t want to lose people´s attention by reading the script while you film in front of the camera, you should use it to rehearse right before a take and do it as many times as necessary until you get it right.

That way you ensure yourself that you´re making your very best effort and creating quality video footage.

Some people may use or have at disposal a teleprompter, but the truth is that most of us don´t have one so a well-redacted piece of paper divided into paragraphs that represent each clip or take will work just fine.

You can have dot points or just a few lines of text to guide you, not necessarily an entire script, so that you can improvise and generate a more personal connection with your audience.

Editing is Key

This is one of those things most people don´t think much about because they end up watching the final product, and that´s all they will care about.

You have to consider how important it can be a good editing that lets you manipulate your raw footage until you get a concise, well-spoken and presented content that your viewers will love.

Edit is more than half the equation of this whole process.

Here are some things you can do to make your editing easier and much more effective.

• When you make a mistake try to pick up where you´ve left off. You have to hold to those moments when you freeze or misspoke and try to complete that section one more time from where you started so that you can go back to the start of each sentence or paragraph when you edit.
• Overemphasize body language. Many YouTubers and filmmakers can exaggerate how your hands or facial expressions look by zooming in or using different effects that can portrait those funny or entertaining moments. Try to keep the edit in mind when improvising a joke or a gesture, you could take advantage of it later.
• If it doesn´t feel right go again! You are going to want the best cuts out of every piece or paragraph of content to make things work well.
• Open up with energy and close with certainty. That means you have to open your first lines and present yourself with confidence and high energy and close the presentation with a calmer but certain tone.

Practice Makes Perfect

Yes, you´ve probably heard about the ten thousand rule, which states that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to really master a skill and become an expert at it.

Well, it´s at least partially true. You do need a lot of practice, but the whole truth is that you must be deliberate when you put those hours in.

Which means that you have to be determined to learn and perfect your craft while you do it, everytime you do it.

Practice does make perfect when practice is focused not only in hours quantity but also quality.

One way you can elevate your productivity and make the most out of your filming sessions is by implementing what the author Cal Newport states in his book as “Deep Work”.

Hard but important work that is completed during long uninterrupted periods of time.

According to Newport´s book, you can achieve this by having a dedicated workspace, an exact end time, an easy starting ritual or sequence, and what he calls power-ups.

Power-ups consist of having rituals that support your brain and body performing at a high level. It might be having a good cup of coffee right after your break, or maybe a good meal, light exercise like taking a long walk, etc.

Quick & Easy Tips

Here are some useful tips you can apply when facing the camera!

• Doing some form of exercise can tire you down a bit, maybe enough to relax your mind and body a bit and don´t get too nervous when you hit the record button. Cardio could be a good option, go for a run!
• Check yourself a few times when making the firsts clips. Watch for your body language and how you´re presenting the content on camera.
• Be organized and have a good script.