Webcam Tips MGT 4001

Eye Contact Tips

a. Eye contact is the most important nonverbal gesture in North America. It signifies trust, attentiveness and a host of other positive feelings between participants in a communication interaction; the same holds true in a speaking or presentation situation. It is very important that you make eye contact with your audience when you speak. b. This becomes even more important in a web presentation because this is the best way to create a connection between speaker and audience. Direct eye contact will show your audience that you are confident with your material and that you want them to listen to what you have to say. c. To make direct eye contact with your audience during a web presentation, look directly at your web cam. Will you see the audience looking back at you? No, but when your audience sees you on their computer screens, it will appear that you are looking directly into their eyes. If you look at the screen to watch your video feed to see how you look, the audience can easily tell that you are looking elsewhere and the connection will be lost. d. Of course, you are not expected to stare directly at your webcam the entire time. That would be like a speaker in a face-to-face presentation staring directly at one audience member throughout the whole speech. WEIRD! It is acceptable to look down at your notes, glance off to the side to gather your thoughts, etc, but you want to remember to regain that connection as soon as possible and maintain it as long as possible between glances elsewhere.

Environment Tips

a. Keep in mind that your mic is going to pick up any background noise and transmit that, along with your voice, to your audience. A sound in your environment that is barely audible to you - a fish tank, a washing machine, a ceiling fan - will likely become a distracting noise when heard through your audience's speakers along with your voice. If possible, choose a quiet room in which to deliver your speech. Turn off anything that will make background noise while you speak. b. Please remove animals from the room while you speak - especially cats and dogs for obvious reasons. c. Be sure cell phones are turned off or on silent. If there is a landline in the room with you, turn off the ringer. d. If possible, choose to deliver your presentation at a time when you will have privacy: while your children are at school or while they have someone else to watch them. Babies or children in the room can become distracting for you and your audience.

Watch out for

angles behind you.

Use a more interesting

background!

Don't use the built in

microphone.

Use a good

Microphone.

Record using the best webcam app for resolution.

On a Mac- Quicktime 1080 p, Screenflow 720p, Photobooth 480P.

Center Yourself

You should see shoulders and face. Not so far away you can't see eyes.

Practice Tips

a. A speaker should always rehearse in a situation as near to the actual delivery environment as possible. In the case of a web presentation, the speaker should rehearse sitting at his or her computer with the webcam set up as described above. Rehearse while your notes are in the appropriate place and you look directly at your webcam. b. You can use a number of free sites online to record your presentation so you can play it back to see how everything looks and sounds. (Try www.screencast-o-matic.com). This will likely be an eye-opener for you especially if you have never delivered a web presentation before. It may be painful to watch at first, but you will be pleasantly surprised when you see how much you improve after critiquing your practice and making the necessary adjustments. c. It would be great to have a live audience at some of your rehearsals to give you feedback on content, organization, flow, etc, but the main thing is to rehearse in the set-up you will use to deliver the speech. If possible, get in touch with another student in your course and arrange to rehearse each other's speeches via webcam. This situation will be exactly like the one in which you will deliver your speech, so you can get the most effective practice time and possibly the best feedback. Some instructors require this type of rehearsal, so check your course schedule and syllabus to be sure.

Appearance Tips

a. Anytime you are asked to deliver a presentation - whether face-to-face or electronically - consider your appearance as an important nonverbal communication behavior. Your appearance can add to or detract from your credibility as a speaker. b. At the very least, men should wear a collared polo shirt. If desired, men could wear long-sleeved dress shirts or suit coats and dress shirts. c. At the very least, women should wear a nice blouse - short or long sleeved. d. Avoid t-shirts, sweat shirts/hoodies, etc. Your aim is to dress in at least "business-casual" from the waist up. It isn't likely that the audience will see your legs, so you could be in your pajamas from the waist down! e. Sometimes, instructors give specific guidelines about appearance. Be sure you adhere to those guidelines.

Movement Tips

a. If you delivered your presentation face-to-face, it would be desirable for you to move around a bit in front of your audience: to use natural-looking hand gestures, for example, or maybe even to walk around a little in your "stage" space. b. Some movement is still desirable in a web presentation, but you have to consider the constraints of the mode of presentation. If your webcam is set up to show your head and upper chest, large hand gestures will not be visible to the audience, and you cannot walk away from the camera for fear that the audience cannot hear you. Movements should be smaller and more compact. Some amount of movement will help keep the audience engaged - just like it does in a face-to-face presentation - you just have to keep in mind the amount of your body the audience can see. It will help to rehearse using your webcam to see what types of gestures work best in this situation. c. While not enough movement could serve to disengage the audience, too much movement could be distracting as well. It is hard to remember that there are people "out there" looking at you while you deliver your presentation since you may not be able to see the audience. (Many systems only allow for only one webcam to transmit at once meaning the webcam of the person speaking is the only one on. None of the audience members can be seen). Since people tend to forget they are speaking to live people if they can't see them, people have a tendency to fidget while delivering web presentations. Maintain control over your body while delivering your presentation. Keep your chair still. Avoid taping on the table. Avoid excess movement of your body as a whole. Excess movement will not only pose a visual distraction, but it will likely create background noise that could be very loud on the audience side. Learning to control your movement will likely take practice.

Webcam Tips

a. If your webcam is separate from your computer, attach it to the top of your monitor with your monitor sitting on top of a desk or table that is around torso (stomach to lower chest) height. You may have to look slightly up to see the cam. b. If your webcam is built-in to your computer monitor or laptop, it is likely that it was placed along the top of the screen. Position the monitor or laptop as described above. c. When you test your webcam, be sure you are sitting at a distance from the cam so that your head and upper chest are clearly visible. Don't sit so close to the cam that all you can see is your head. Don't sit too far away either, or the built-in mic might not effectively transmit your voice. A good rule of thumb is that you and your audience should see at least your entire head and upper chest.

Voice and Face Tips

a. In a web presentation, your voice and face are your most important nonverbal behaviors. b. Keep in mind that it may be necessary to speak a little louder than normal to be sure you mic picks up your voice. Your audience can adjust their speakers accordingly. It is also necessary to speak just a tiny bit slower since your voice is being transmitted over the internet. Delivering a speech at too high a speaking rate is negative in a face-to-face presentation, but it could be even more detrimental when delivered over the web. There is always the chance of delays in transmission, so a rushed speech could become garbled to the point that the audience could not understand you at all. Maintain expressiveness in your voice. It is important that the audience hear energy and enthusiasm as this will help keep them engaged in the speech. Remember, if you are not enthusiastic about your speech, the audience definitely will not be. Your energy level dictates theirs. c. Since the only feature the audience can see very well is your face, it is important that you maintain expressiveness in your face as well. Voice and face should match in expressiveness: Smile if appropriate. Frown if appropriate, etc. Use your face and your voice together to convey the emotions necessary to be natural and effective and to engage your audience in your speech topic.

Note Tips for Webcams

a. Placement of your notes in your environment is crucial to your ability to maintain eye contact with your audience and to look "natural" when you glance at your notes. For that reason, your notes should be placed on the desk or table in front of you. That would likely put them at about height and will have the same affect as the speaker using paper notes in a face-to-face presentation. b. Placement of your notes above your webcam or to the side of your webcam typically comes off as awkward for the audience when they see you look to the side or look up to find your place in your notes. We are used to seeing speakers look down to see their notes, so it is awkward and distracting when we see a speaker looking elsewhere. c. It is preferable for the speaker to use printed or handwritten notes - on computer paper, note cards, etc instead of having notes on the screen. Viewing the notes on your computer screen means you have to click your mouse, your cursor, the space bar, etc to advance the slide or move down the page. While this may make little to no noticeable noise on your end, it tends to be very loud when picked up by your mic and played through your audience's speakers. d. Computer or handwritten notes should be in large, easy-to-read font. Double-space so it is easier for your eyes to distinguish between lines when you look down. Most public speaking textbooks suggest that speaking notes be in outline format so specific elements are easy to distinguish visually.

Lighting Tips

a. Please use overhead lights during your presentation. If you are sitting in a dimly lit room during your presentation, it is likely that you can see your notes by the light of your computer screen, but it will be very difficult for the audience to see your face in that kind of light. b. If there is a window in front of you, consider opening the blinds to help shed light on your face if you are delivering your presentation during the day time. If you have sufficient overhead lighting, this might not be necessary c. If there is a window behind you, consider keeping it shut if you are delivering your presentation during the day time. This is especially true if you have poor overhead lighting and the most light is coming into the room through the window behind you. The computer monitor will pick up the light coming into the window behind you will and that will cause your face to be shadowed. It will be difficult for the audience to see you.

Avoid wearing

crazy colors and patterns. Solid colors. Light clothes for dark background and dark for light background.

Webcam should be at

eye level.

Ditch the built in

go for a dedicated webcam.

Window should be

in front of you.

Use the settings app for

more control over your webcam. You can control exposure, white balance, and focus.

Use a LOT

of light.

Look at

the camera!

Look into

the camera!

If you wear glasses

try to use contacts to avoid glare.

Don't be afraid to

use additional lights.

Limit echo by

use headphones