If you’re really (and I mean really!) not happy on camera, don’t panic. It doesn’t automatically and completely rule out making an impact online. You’ve got options:
- voice only
- voice with screen recording
- animation
- semi-automatic video
- hire someone else.
Let’s take a quick look at these and see how you feel. Remember, you might find these are better for your audience and your content, even if you’re not struggling to record yourself!
Voice only
Your first option – if you really have a face for radio – is to just record your voice. This is an early example of a recording from another course.
There are plenty of other places you can hold your recordings online – don’t think you have to put it on Soundcloud like this example!
If what you’re saying can be, well… just said, this might be a good alternative to a recording for you!
As an aside it might be an interesting thing to do anyway – have the video available and have an audio-version available in other places etc.
Voice with a screen recording
If you want to go one step closer by adding video, it doesn’t have to be video of you. The option of explaining things by recording your voice while doing a screencapture of your computer can be a very powerful and simple alternative. Here’s an example taken from another of my courses, looking at handling procrastination.
Again, there are lots places you can host your content. Youtube is the obvious one: this example is hosted on Vimeo.
Animation
If you’re not up for being filmed, why not have a substitute you on screen? This is a smallSimon video – smallSimon is a cuter version of me that explains things to do with the science of communication – presentations in particular. There are lots of different was of doing this – this is just my personal favourite animation software
By the way, smallSimon has is own Youtube playlist if you want to know more.
Semi-auto videos
There are lots of free and paid-for programs that help you make videos without being an editor!
This particular one was made using Lumen5 (the free version has their logo on it and so on but works well). Don’t think of this as the only way!
Exercise: decide if it’s for you or if the alternatives would do. In other words – do you really need this ?! Would one of these alternatives work? Might they even work better?