Thrilled to be featured in this piece about how videochat is the new public speaking by the wonderful Rachel Sklar.  

More and more, clients want help speaking spontaneously in videos on social media and remote teams need help having more productive meetings via videoconference.

Someone in San Francisco is swiveling in their chair and someone in Chicago takes it personally, thinking that person is disengaged or doesn’t like them, when they’re really just tired or insecure or lost in thought like the rest of us.

This is because video is a microscope for body language.  It picks up on every small movement and amplifies it. On video, I recommend the following:

• Cultivate stillness, even more than speaking in public. Settle your energy by using a prop or another physical anchor like feeling your foot in your shoe, and if you are in a chair that swivels, keep it steady.

• If you use hands to speak, make sure they are completely in the frame and used deliberately, or not in the frame at all.

• Focus all of your physical attention in the direction of the camera (it’s helpful to think of it as projecting yourself through that tiny camera or green light all the way to the west coast or whoever you are speaking to).

• Dress the part from head-to-toe and wear shoes that make you feel powerful (and make sure that your feet are flat on the floor to help you feel grounded).

• If you have a tendency to lean-in in conversations, make a conscious effort to lean back to counter it.

• Prepare a shortlist of bullet points you want to address and keep them open in a sticky note on your desktop.

• Speak as deliberately as possible, being sure to use silence instead of fillers when you need to think. Unlike the phone, you can give a visual indication that you are thinking rather than a verbal one.

• If you anticipate extraneous noises due to your environment or connection, over-communicate that upfront so that everyone is on the same page.

• Prioritize your audience’s comfort first and foremost, and you will feel more in control.

Do you struggle communicating on video?