BRILLIANCE IN PERFORMANCE
Or... Get the Picture?
Part Two
Originally published in ShopTalk on 8/11/99.
In Part One of "Get The Picture", we talked about
creating a “picture” with your words. It’s another one of those “It’s simple,
but not always easy” concepts. So here are a couple of tips that makes “talking
pictures” easier.
One of the easiest (yet nasty little) habits one can get
into either on-camera or tracking is talking at. That is, where the
information only goes one way - AT us, your audience. It ends up sounding like
you're reading. It frequently springs from what I call the Strictly Technical
approach; you thinking about stuff like modulating your voice, which word to
punch, or trying to sound Credible And Professional. Remember this; wherever you
put the majority of your focus whilst delivering pretty much dictates the
result. If you put your major focus on ANYTHING but talking to someone,
you'll sound stilted.
The solution? Have a two-way conversation. The
problem? You're the only one talking. But once again, answers are drawn from
real life. Let's say you're recounting an event from your day. You naturally
share your view... the picture of it - and your friend with whom you're
sharing is engaged. They smile, roll their eyes and react to you. You're engaged
too: if they look puzzled, you stop and explain further. If their eyes sparkle
with interest, you're encouraged to go on. You take in all of these responses
even as you speak and shape the story; even if you ARE the only one talking.
This two-way conversation is the most natural thing in the world; we do
it everyday.
Cut to: on-camera presentation. Playing the part of the other person; the
camera. Now "two-way conversing" doesn't feel so natural. But slow the process
down by half and divide by two, here's how it plays. The lens becomes your
friend's eyes. You need to look into the lens the same way you look into your
friend's eyes. What are you looking for? The expression in the other person
that tells you to go on, clarify, say again, etc. The difficulty? That you have
to supply these responses in your own mind and react to them! But with a bit of
imagination, it's not that hard to do. Haven't you ever talked to - and answered
- yourself? Same thing. A useful side benefit to succeeding at this is that you
avoid that "glazed", "starey" or "blank" expression so many on-camera presenters
seem to fall into.
The next side-effect of this two-way conversation?
You talk more naturally. Why? Because it makes you ask/answer questions - and
thus interact with your friend/audience/the camera. When telling a fun story to
your friend (whether you realize it or not) you preface each idea with a feeling
of: "Guess what?!" or "You'll never believe what happened next!" or "Hey -
here's a cool thing...", or some sort of hook. It doesn't matter if you say it
out loud or not; this is the catalyst for the texture and color of your
conveyance. Their responses to these (normally unspoken) questions are what
determines your next tact.
In the "bummer story" scenario, the catalyst thought
might be "You think THAT'S bad - it gets worse..." or "It was so
sad..." or whatever properly conveys the impact upon you or someone else. Again,
you won't say these things out loud - but the thought goes before the words.
Now, what do you get back? That's the cool part. In real
life, your friend feeds you with responses. They react with "Wow - then what?"
or "Why did he do that?" or "OMG... how did they catch the guy?" You
listen, you answer... and BOOM! It's two-way conversation. This is an important
point. Listening well enough to answer a question automatically
makes you more conversational.
The final flourish; allow the thoughts to show through
your eyes before you speak. It'll make you look and sound more real and
connected to everything you say.
Try practicing your two-way conversation routine in the
mirror before springing it on your on-air audience. The mirror is painful at
first, but useful. If you can get comfortable and believable to yourself in the
mirror, you can probably convince anyone!
Stand close - and tape off your framing with masking tape
(head and shoulders is best). Then just look at yourself and say hi. Say a
couple of friendly or goofy things to yourself to see what it's like. Then try
delivering some copy. Did you change? Become someone else? Did your eyes glaze
over or freeze up? Could you see what you were going to say with your eyes
before the words came out? You should. Try talking about something interesting
or funny that happened to you that day. Do it until you feel and look like
yourself. Then try a script and see whether you still sound and look real. Do
you believe yourself? Do you sound fake or suddenly start using gestures that
don't seem like your own? Go into "reporter mode"? If you treat the camera or
mirror like another person - who reacts and responds to the things you say - and
stimulates YOUR next idea, it goes a long way toward making the picture you
create with your words hit home.
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