Speaking Energy: Teleprompter Training
When I think of speaking energy I’m reminded of the familiar phrase “go big or go home” as it directly applies to reading from a teleprompter. While reading the text word for word may be easy, turning into an energetic presenter with a rapport-building demeanor is another story. Energy is all about being yourself at an amplified level – which often means going bigger and way past your comfort zone.
When I was first starting out, I made one of the worst mistakes when I was recording – lowering my energy. While I was filming I thought I was doing great, but then I’d watch the recording and realize I came off flat and unenergetic. That’s because instead of amplifying my energy I dialed it down thinking I’d come off too peppy or loud if I stayed at my normal energy level. Which brings us to tip 1.
Tip 1: Project Your Voice
Try speaking 10-15% louder than you normally would. Beginners always want to go quieter when seasoned pros know the true trick is to go louder. Think back to the last time you got together with friends and you were telling them about a particularly funny thing that happened to you that day. Chances are you were more animated than normal and talked a bit louder than usual. Now when you film, you need to channel that same energy you had when talking with your friends.
*Extra tip: envision that you are talking directly to your friends when filming. Imagine the camera lens is one of your friends. This can help you boost your energy levels.
Tip 2: Showcase Your Passion
When you are passionate about your topic it will come through to your audience. So when you are reading from a teleprompter make sure your audience feels your passion. Don’t hold back here. The more passion you showcase the more energetic you will come.
By speaking with passion, you will most likely also come across as positive and optimistic which are both correlated with energy. So when you are writing your script, make sure you include phrases and other language that showcases just how pumped you are about this topic.
Tip 3: Preparation
Energy is directly connected to your confidence which stems from how much preparation you’ve done. Nothing can replace preparation. So use RATE to put together your script for the teleprompter. Then practice. Very rarely does even a pro get through an entire read-through using a teleprompter without an error. So go over your script, then practice reading it on the teleprompter. Then film.
I love the quote:
“The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.” – Ruth Gordon
This is so true for prepping to have a great performance while filming using a teleprompter. A great conversational script prepped and ready to go is the first step to having a presentation.
— Link to Teleprompter Training Part 2: Body Language