Video Presenting Ideas: Why You Should Read Fast (Episode 102)

Welcome to the Video Made Simple podcast where we take the mystery out of video and break through them and not in your day to day communication. I'm your host, Chris Schwager. And if you're someone worried about sounding too mechanical on camera, or it's too scripted, then here is a video presenting idea you may want to think about here it is, you're ready for it. Read fast.

Chris Schwager 0:22
Now I know you're thinking now what a wacky idea Chris is off his tree. Why would I need to read fast when people really need to hear clearly what I'm saying, and here's my reason for this, people will understand you faster than you can read it. And most people that read their script for the first time, are reading it slow without any love. There's really no emphasis on staff. It's just reading, you know, it's kind of like listening to a six year old read for the first time. It's very robotic, very slow. And look, this is a generalization, right? And this is what I say, as a trainer as a presenter myself, this is what people really his to me with. And the problem is people read without really understanding what they're saying.

Chris Schwager 1:06
Now they may have composer on script, yes, that's fine. But when it comes to delivering it, they're really not transferring what they're reading through to the audience so that they get it clearly and they understand it clearly. I always tell people, present your message like you're at a barbecue. Use slang, you know, be casual, be conversational, because if you do all of those things, people will hear you clearly. It's no secret, you know, people receive information, the way that you deliver it. So if you come across kind of robotic and boring, their brain will just shut down to conserve calories. There's nothing there for them, right?

Chris Schwager 1:39
But if you keep it entertaining, and light and high and using different tones, that's a really great tip to get cut through and to keep them listening. So when you read fast, you help your audience, connect what you're saying and hear it better. Your audience can decipher what you're saying faster than you can deliver, people typically read slow, they don't read with any love. And when it's slow, it's boring. And if it's boring, it's not working.

Chris Schwager 2:08
So here's a little solution that I think will be really interesting for you. And most people that I asked to do this, so sort of think it's a bit of a wacky idea. But it's a great practice to get into when I tell my clients to read fast, the immediate result of that just as an exercise purely not to have a final take by them reading it fast. But to have it as an exercise for them to understand what reading fast feels like.

Chris Schwager 2:35
This is what happens there's more urgency in their performance, there's more energy in their performance, there's more movement in their face, and body language. And this all comes from a derivative of just speeding up when you read fast, it's the best way to also achieve a realistic performance. Because you're adding that energy, you're adding that urgency, you're done quicker, you're cleverly mask any awkwardness in your performance, because all those nuances that I talked about, will start to show themselves the tone, the body language, the love and enthusiasm that you should be delivering your performance is now done in this way.

Chris Schwager 3:15
Now, is there such a thing as reading too fast? 100%. If you read your entire script, go like a bat out of hell, it'll have a very similar effect to if you were to read slow and boring, right? So if it's too fast, or repetitious and noisy, right? So the trick is to break it up, you're going to have to break up your slow with your fast, right? And so how do you differentiate the two I'm gonna run over this very quickly.

Chris Schwager 3:38
Slow is stuff that is value. Fast is stuff that is more factual based. That's how I differentiate it, that's what I recommend to my students is fact and value fact is fast and value comes when you read slow, you want to raise and stress the importance. And that's what you want to do and slightly slower than the rest. And that's how you adjust your speed by breaking it up. And you're creating this light and shade of the way in which humans actually do talk. They sometimes ramp things up, they sometimes slow things down. And the human error is a great way it's very smart. And it's very clever at deciphering the code of what people say.

Chris Schwager 4:23
Now if you want more presenter tips and all you need to do is subscribe to this channel, where you will get weekly video made simple tips to present your videos like a pro.

Chris Schwager 4:33
And of course, if you want more personalized coaching, then be sure to leave a comment and let us know how we can help. The beauty of having your own presenter coach is they'll give you constant feedback. You'll pick it up quickly with a performance that's consistent, delivering a message that people will want to watch. That's all for this episode and see you next week.