Look (At) Who's Talking!

I remember the first time I recorded a greeting for voice mail. When I listened to it, I couldn’t believe what I heard. Do I really sound like that? Nasal. Bored. Tripping over my words. It took several takes to finally get something that I was happy with.

I learned a lot by listening to a recording of my own voice. People react to you and what you say in some measure by how you sound and the pace of your delivery. Making changes can make you seem more interesting, compelling and believable.

As a professional speaker, I had opportunity to videotape speeches and public appearances and then view them afterwards. That was another level of revelation! Mannerisms, gestures, eye contact---everything is there to see and review over and over. I once had someone approach me after a speech and let me know that she loved the speech but found my repetition of the phrase, “OK?” a little annoying. I didn’t remember saying that at all. So I was shocked when I heard that phrase and saw the accompanying hand gesture repeatedly when I reviewed the video later that evening.

If you want to improve your presentation skills, capture them on video. It is amazing what you will see. Do you stand like a tree, rooted to the ground, hands at your side or clutching the side of the lectern? Do you gesture wildly about? Do you constantly take your glasses on and off? When you are speaking you are so absorbed in the material that you often don’t pay attention to what your hands, legs and arms are doing.

Videos don’t lie. There you are, for all to see. Here are three ways to use video to improve your presentation skills:

1. Turn down the audio. Watch the video and focus on your body language. Fifty-eight percent of the effectiveness of a message is body language. Do your gestures and presence tell a story? Are you animated, engaging? Can you get an idea of the content from your motions?
2. Watch the video again with the audio. Does your body language enhance or detract from your message? Too much or too little? Do your facial expressions and hand gestures make the most of the material?
3. Send the video to a coach or mentor for feedback. We are either too hard on ourselves or too forgiving. Ask for some constructive feedback and incorporate the suggestions into your next presentation.

Use this process for every presentation. In time, watching your own videos will be a very pleasant experience for you and your audiences.

Mary Nestor-Harper, SPHR, is a consultant, blogger, motivational speaker and freelance writer for communicationsjobs.net. Based in Savannah, GA, her work has appeared in Training magazine, Training & Development magazine, Supervision, BiS Magazine and The Savannah Morning News. When she’s not writing, she enjoys singing Alto II with the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus and helping clients discover what they love and spend their life on it. You can read more of her blogs at communicationsjobsblog.com and view additional job postings on Nexxt.