Improving Your Speaking and Presentation Skills Requires Watching Yourself On Video

Last weekend I spent most of a Saturday afternoon watching videos of myself presenting in front of audiences of various sizes.

I was preparing to meet with a video production company to have my first ever professional speaking promotional video produced.

Watching myself on video has become an acquired taste. A few years ago it was terrifyingly painful to watch myself present.

Then I realized, it is the only way to improve.

If you aspire to be a professional speaker, where others will pay to see you in front of the room, and/or pay you for products and services after you come off the stage, you must video yourself as often as possible.

Today it is easier than ever to garner video of yourself speaking. With virtually any smartphone and a $30 tripod you can do it at all of your speaking engagements.

 In this photo of my recent keynote to 150 project managers in Birmingham, Alabama in the lower right you can see I've set up my IPhone on a tripod two rows in front of the stage.

This day I was also having a professional videographer doing a two camera shoot so I could garner crowd reaction for cut aways in my promotional video.


As you've probably figured out by now there are two reasons to shoot video of yourself, one is strictly for development and coaching purposes, and the other is to create a promotional video. The former is inexpensive and the latter you will need to make a minimum of a thousand dollars, or more, depending on the type of shoot you'll need.

Either way, if you're serious about improving your presentation skills, shooting video is a must, and because of today's technology there is no excuse not to do it.

Unless, of course, you just can't stand to watch yourself on video. 

If that's the case, get over it, because if you don't, you are not serious about improving.

And, if you're not serious about improving, why are you speaking?

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Skip Weisman is The Workplace Communication Expert and a member of an elite group of international World Class Speaking Coaches.

Skip works with aspiring speakers to improve their presentation skills and programs around content, organization and delivery, while also working with the owners and CEOs of small businesses with between 6-60 employees to improve communication in the workplace.
 
The work Skip does with his small business clients can transform work environments in as little as 90-days to create a championhip company cultures that are more positive, more productive and even more profitable.

You can download his newest workplace report, "The Missing Ingredient to Improving Employee Performance" at www.YourChampionshipCompany.com and learn about Skip's keynotes and seminars on workplace communication at www.SkipWeismanSpeaks.com .