Three Public Speaker Styles for Video

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How does a person create online video for their business, product, or service? I define three styles that a presenter can use. The same methods can be used in a classroom to broadcast live teacher/student interaction, eLearning program, or by marketing teams putting on live events.

Record Your Message With Style

As co-founder of LectureMaker’s portable video studio, and a professional public speaker, I have come to recognize three different styles that work well in planning your next online video. In many practical circumstances more than one style may be used at the same time.

See the image below for an overview of the three styles:

  • Impromptu – speak using a well rehearsed mental framework to deliver fresh exciting content in a measured amount of time
  • Prepared – speak to a target audience using a technique already known to motivate a specific audience type in a measured amount of time
  • Trial and Error – speak without rehearsal, specific impromptu framework, or known technique, then edit the content in post production to meet an objective

LectureMaker's Video Production Service for Three Public Speaker Styles
LectureMaker’s Video Production Service for Three Public Speaker Styles (click image to enlarge)

Impromptu Framework

I used to marvel at those public speakers who could answer a question from the audience with ease and clarity. I came to realize their is a way to prepare in advance for impromptu speaking by learning a handful of reusable frameworks. By practicing the use of these frameworks, the presenter’s mind is then free to deliver a clear message. Otherwise the speaker has to juggle both formulation of the answer and the method to verbalize the answer. You may notice the typical speaker with their repeated “ums” and filler words as they try to think through this dual problem. Perhaps even more importantly, the use of a framework to structure your impromptu answer, optimizes the clarity of the message so the listener can more easily understand the presenter’s words.

Here is list of known frameworks I use in my speech preparation:

Public Speaker Impromptu Framework
Public Speaker Impromptu Framework (click image to enlarge)

The impromptu speech can be a low cost, quick to complete, and highly effective method to use in a video recording studio – where time is money. Today’s modern portable digital broadcasting studio uses recording equipment that can integrate prepared media into the video recording just as the presenter is being filmed. So having a set of impromptu frameworks prepared in advance along some media such as titles, power point slides, and perhaps a background for use with a greenscreen helps you to present short topics for live broadcasting. Sometimes a script in the form of a playlist can be be used to loosely define when titles, music, photos, backgrounds, and power point slides should be dropped into the video stream during the recording session. The script can even be shared with the speaker through the use of a teleprompter that may just have talking points associated with media so the speaker and the video production team can coordinate filming in real-time.

Prepared Speeches

The first problem I face when developing a new video for a client is how to organize their initial ideas for a video into a meaningful presentation. During my time as a Toastmaster I learned to use the advanced workbooks from Toastmasters International on how to prepare speeches in a wide variety of situations. I have developed speeches, given speeches, and had my speeches evaluated from these workbooks. The projects outlined in Toastmaster workbooks can save years of polish when targeting a know audience such as executives, decision makers, technologists, sales prospects, analysts, or members of the media – for example.

Here is list of known prepared speech styles I use in my video preparation:

Public Speaker Prepared Speech
Public Speaker Prepared Speech (click image to enlarge)

The prepared speech can take several days to rehearse and fine tune before its ready for video recording. The teleprompter is a great tool for those that are skilled in reading their script word for word to shorten the process. Otherwise I often use the teleprompter as a timing mechanism with talking points and references to media to drop into the live video recording. The media is cued into the broadcast recording equipment before the presenter begins to speak. In this way, there is no post production cost or time delay in completing a video project. When the speaker stops talking, he or she can review the video, and within a few takes have a complete video with the delay or high cost of post-production.

Trial and Error Speech Development

Sure, every video presentation includes trial and error. Using a portable video studio, every business speaker can enjoy the power of trial and error speech development with a full compliment of video recording and live editing tools. With careful planning and some initial rehearsals – the amount of trial and error can be drastically reduced during the live recording session.

This style of speech preparation includes longer recording sessions and extended post production costs:

Public Speaker Trial And Error
Public Speaker Trial And Error

Often first time projects are limited to trial and error simply because there is no in-house experience in professional video recording. And, no budget to consider using a videographer or speech coach to improve the design prior to recording. The process is iterative and requires multiple recording sessions as new media is developed, an experienced script writer may be needed to review the recorded speech to reverse engineer a script – often with the techniques and frameworks discussed in the previous two methods (impromptu and prepared). Also, the multiple extra reviews needed by a company to complete a video through trial and error can require more team review sessions. But the unique feeling delivered from this type of video is bound to be effective as the presenter is very natural speaking about products, or services, the already know very well.

The best way to work with this style is to include a larger than planned post production budget and a video editor with knowledge of your business or marketplace. There is no need for a teleprompter or prepared slides or other media to use this style of presentation in a video studio. The added media to enhance the speaker’s message can be developed after the presentation is complete.

Supporting Media

When a speaker presents at a live event, they usually come prepared with a rehearsed speaking style (combination of impromptu and prepared speech), and they usually come with their slides on a memory stick or laptop. Recording video is the same – only there are more options for media.

Here is a list of common media types:

Public Speaker Extra Media
Public Speaker Extra Media

The Goal For Your Video

Video often falls into one of four high-level goals. These goals follow a marketing funnel model or word of mouth marketing model depending on your specific needs.

See the image below for a list of basic goals I use in my training:

Public Speaker Viewers Watch Video
Public Speaker Viewers Watch Video

These goals help define how long your video should be, where it should be hosted, and how it should be distributed.

The Balance Between Training, and Consulting Services

My speech consulting can be balanced with my training support to take advantage of the techniques presented here – even if you and your staff do not have the time to become an expert in video preparation. By using my consulting time to develop sample impromptu and prepared scripts, your team can take advantage of the improved video quality that this preparation offers. By using my time to create your extra media or customize your media from your website, partners, news channels, and social networks – your time can be saved while leveraging my advanced graphics, audio, and video design.

Consulting services makes the most sense within my domains of experience that include: electronics, engineering, software tools, software middleware, operating systems, real-time performance, constrained or embedded systems, biophysics, biomedical instrumentation, product management, business leadership, new media publishing, video technology, public speaking, course development, and nuclear energy.

References

Contact LectureMaker for Training, Consulting, or Video Studio Recording – Request form
LectureMaker’s Walk-in and Portable Video Studio – Visit page
Business Video Production using LectureMaker’s Walk-in and Portable Video Studio – Visit page
Video Studio for Members of LectureMaker’s Video Service – Visit page (requires password)

Comments

One response to “Three Public Speaker Styles for Video”

  1. Bill Copeland Avatar
    Bill Copeland

    Nice succinct presentation and very useful.

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