5 tips to rock your online speaking
Today is National Speakers Day!
Whether you consider yourself a “speaker” or mainly a business owner who is called to get your message out to your divine right clients, there are a plethora of online speaking opportunities that will help you stay visible and connect with the perfect people who are looking for YOU.
To give your message the greatest chance of being seen, heard and acted upon by your ideal clients, here are 5 tips to rock your online speaking.
These will help you stand out the next time you record a video or Facebook Live, speak to a group on Zoom, or get interviewed on Streamyard or another platform for online speaking.
1) Light your face and position your camera so you’re facing toward natural sunlight. You want your audience to literally see you in the best possible light!
I simply use an adjustable IKEA desk lamp (that I borrowed from my son’s desk) right behind my laptop camera. And I angle my laptop so I get the natural sunlight effect coming in from my office window.
Bonus Tip: Make sure your camera is slightly above eye level for the most flattering angle. Use a laptop/computer stand or even a stack of books to achieve this effect.
As an example, check out my Facebook Speak, Shine, Sell Page where I do daily live readings (3-4 minutes each) from my new 44-card inspirational deck called “Daily Soul Guidance for Women Entrepreneurs.”
2) Let your audience see your hands. The last thing you want to do is to look like a disembodied “talking head” when speaking online. But, unfortunately, I see this all the time with many online speakers today!
One of the easiest ways to look like a fully embodied being who is radiating an important and inspiring message is to bring your hands up near your face (in the camera view) and use them to express your message.
A few things you can do: 1) literally welcome your audience by opening your arms when you start speaking; 2) when sharing your 3 tips or the #1 mistake, as examples, hold up your hand to illustrate the point you are making; and 3) when you really want to emphasize a point, lean into the camera with your head and torso, along with your hands up near your face.
3) Bring energy to your words with vocal variety. Unless you’re like Eckhart Tolle who is a master at delivering his meditative monotone message, you’ll want to jazz up your online speaking by varying your pitch.
Use your voice as an instrument that gets LOUDER –or softer–when called for. You want to mainly speak from your resonant chest voice (or heart voice), but there will be times you’ll want to raise your pitch and speak in a higher tone (your head voice) or lower it and speak from your belly voice.
4) Speak a little louder than you normally would–especially at the beginning and end of your presentation. I’m not saying you should sound like you’re yelling at your audience.
But starting and ending your presentation, in particular, with your voice slightly raised gets your audiences’ attention and then holds it at the very end when attention spans tend to drop off.
5) Finally, try standing next time you speak online. Think about it. When you deliver a talk in person, you’re mostly standing in front of an audience, right? So why not do the same for your online speaking, depending on your audience, your topic and how long you’re speaking for?
Standing will give you extra energy and confidence for delivering your message. It helps convey to your audience that you are a leader and expert on your topic. And because most people sit while speaking online, you’ll stand out when you STAND!
Drop me a line and let me know which one you’ll try next time you speak online. I’d love to hear what you discover!
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