Hope you’ve been having a great month so far.
I just got a new phone and to test it out, I’ve finally got around to dabbling in Facebook Live. I don’t think the BBC will be in any rush to hire me as an anchorwoman, but I’m having a great time playing around on camera. I’ve also put up some videos on the SpeakUpLikeADIVA Facebook page.
If your plan is to speak to live audiences, there’s much to be gained from trying out your talk on camera first.
Here are a few tips….
1. Record yourself and watch it back. Do you pull any funny faces or have any nervous tics? I frown too much (my boyfriend tells me I should get botox) and I blink a lot too. Things I can definitely work on! How about you?
2. Being on camera is also a good test of whether you’re being in the moment or not. If you start worrying about how you look rather than what your message is, it’s easy to forget what you wanted to say. Stay focused on key points and try not to let your mind wander.
3. We can all get a bit stiff with performance anxiety.
Before you start recording, warm up your facial muscles and mouth. First blow loud raspberries (or pretend to be a bumble-bee and make a buzzing noise with your lips vibrating against each other) and then, slowly poke out your tongue as far as you can go towards the two opposite sides of your mouth and then up towards your nose and down towards your chin.
Video is an incredible way to brush up on your speaking technique so don’t hesitate. Put that smartphone or computer cam to good use!