Coaching

You know the three-second rule, the one that says that it takes all of three seconds for us to decide whether we like or dislike someone we just met. Well, that rule applies to the camera, too. So be positive. Make sure you get the good news out first. Of course, that’s going to take some preparation. Never try to improvise good news! On camera, that’s a recipe for disaster. Take care to decide what is your most important piece of news. Then, formulate it, and make sure your tone is positive.

Then, write it down and read it out loud. Sound all right? Good. Now comes the middle part. Craft a  maximum of three submessages with one supporting sentence each. Then, repeat your opening headline. What you have now is the structure of your statement. Now, take a critical look. Are you speaking from the heart? Do you care whether what you are saying really reaches your audience? If it does, great. If it doesn’t, it’s back to the old drawing board. Once you have your agenda together, practice it. Tell it to the camera. Then play it back and look at it. Do you look the way you would want to look? Are you coming through? Are you creating excitement? Or are you at least being persuasive? Good. Then lights, camera, action!