There’s a famous Jean-Paul Sartre quote that says “Hell is other people“. Sometimes I agree with him – but on this occasion other people could be your salvation.
There are a number of advantages of including other people in your videos. Some are obvious:
- you don’t need to think of everything to say
- there’s more variation for the viewer
But there are a number of other advantages too – all to do with how much less focus there is on you. That means it’s easier to be yourself. After all, if all you’re doing is having a chat with someone, perhaps as an interview, viewers are watching them rather than you.
There’s a wealth of software available free that allows you to do this, such as Zoom, Ecamm’s Skype recorder, or Be.live. By the time you read this there will probably be more! The technology isn’t hard to get to grips with and it might mean you take the pressure off yourself – particularly until you get your confidence and mojo flowing.
Here’s a very (veeeeeeery!) simple example: it felt like two mates chatting…
Of course it doesn’t even have to be in front of your computer!
All we did to record this next interview was point the webcam from the computer at the three of us as we chatted. It might be worth watching the video all the way through for the learning points too: we’re talking about live presentations rather than recorded ones but many of the principles remain the same!
Notice how comfortable it feels. Not to put too fine a point on it, all we did was chat. I had a couple of pre-prepared questions in my head because I knew what Andrew & Pete were like. There was a bit of editing, too, but less than you might think! 😉
You’ll probably have to click on the full-screen button so you can read the learning points.
Exercise: ask yourself (seriously!)… does it have to be as formal and “talking head” as I assume, or is there another way?