Lights, camera, action

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A video lecture that could have been a lot better if only…

Last week I did a 30-minute, video-recorded lecture for a community service organization. I figured that the format would be similar to my past experience: stand at the front, speak to the audience, and a camera set-up at the back of the room recording the presentation. No way, not this time!

For one thing, there was no projector to display my slides to audience (I worked hard on those slides). No questions from the group either – there was no audience microphone. Just a close-up of me talking, trying not to look down at the laptop positioned just below the camera frame. In retrospect I wish I had:

–          Made ZERO assumptions and asked more questions beforehand about set-up

–          Used Prezi (to map out the talk and not have to rely on changing slides)

–          Kept things way simpler = more compelling.

On the other hand, I’m glad that I:

–          Tried to keep the tone conversational

–          Asked rhetorical questions for individual reflection

–          Periodically paused to summarize key concepts/messages.

No doubt I’ll get some more tips when I see the rough cut, but in the meantime the “make zero assumptions” rule seems to be one lesson I just keep learning.