Many speakers, educators and instructors today are being asked to present to a camera in addition to presenting to live audiences. As video becomes ever more prominent as a standard communication medium, it is important to recognize and utilize best practices for presenting to a camera. Here are some key tips regarding your visuals.
Using Visuals on Camera: Preparing Slides
PowerPoint presentations used for compressed video follow most of the same guidelines as any slide presentation. The main thing to remember in creating slides for compressed video is that webcast viewers will be seeing your slides on a computer monitor. Simple and readable visuals work best.
General Slide Suggestions
Imagine a television screen when planning the layout/format. Use a horizontal or landscape format.
- Use no more than five lines of type and five words per line. Slides with too many words are hard to read.
- San-serif fonts are easier to read on screen (Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Verdana, etc.).
- Align text to the left margin. Type is easier to read flush-left. If only one or two words are used, centering the text is fine.
PowerPoint Slide Formatting
- Use simple graphics. Elaborate graphics are difficult to see.
- Contrasting colors are easier to distinguish from each other than those that are too similar.
- Limit your content to only one idea per slide
- Leaving space around the slide’s border will ensure that images or text won’t be cut off or skewed when converted for television screens.
- Avoid using sound. When used in compressed video presentations, sounds are often distracting or annoying to the viewer.
- Avoid using animations unnecessarily. Movement does not translate well on the compressed video screen because there is a delay in the signal. M.
Suggestions for Easy-to-Read Slides
- Upper and lower case letters are easier on the eyes than all capital letters.
- As a rule, red is not a good color for television.
- Gradient backgrounds make reading the slide difficult.
- Underlining and punctuation are difficult to see on television.
- Script or fancy fonts are hard to read even if they are enlarged.
Presenting Simultaneously to a Live and Online Audience
An interesting new twist in the world of speaking and educating is managing a live audience and an online audience at the same time.
Pay attention to the on-line attendees
Presenters will often roam around and leave the range of the camera, making it a less than ideal experience for those watching remotely. Utilize the whole stage, and connect closely with the people in the room. But be aware of those watching on camera, and speak to them as well.
Talk directly to the camera.
Look into the camera lens. Presenters often look at the picture on their screen (the people watching them), but to the viewer it can appear that you are looking down, away, or off to the side (depending on the placement of the monitor and camera). Try to look through the camera lens to your online audience from time to time.
Repeat all questions.
The online audience will likely not hear questions that are asked, or responses that are shared in the room. Repeat all questions, and also repeat the gist of the comments shared to keep the online audience involved in the discussion.
Practice these simple tips so you'll be able to keep your confidence and breeze through your video presentation. Have fun, and enjoy the results!
These tips are offered as a way to help you continue on your journey of creative and effective training!
Part one: click here.
Part two: click here.
By Rich Meiss ©2014 Meiss Education Institute
