Professional actors show you how to look and sound your best on your next video call
Working from home means virtual meetings and video calls are a part of daily life. Here, some clever techniques to boost your confidence and your professional appeal.
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Life has changed since COVID-19 swept into town and nowhere is the difference more noticeable than in the world of work.
Suddenly even the most self-conscious of us are being required to regularly chat to our superiors and our co-workers via video screen and, while some are entirely comfortable and accordingly look and sound both professional and (this is important) likeable, others of us aren’t doing quite so well.
If you fall squarely into the second camp let me say this – you’re not alone.
I have worked in media for years, am adept at hosting events and regularly appear on live television. Does it faze me? Not one bit.
Video chat with my boss however? A whole different story.
This is why I was delighted to receive a handful of tips from the good and very highly-skilled folk at the National Institute of Dramatic Art on how to look and sound my best when next on video link.
Here, is what NIDA corporate course manager and actor Sonia Todd says we should all try and immediately. First, focus on your posture and also your balance.
She recommends you sit with your feet flat on the floor, check that your spine is straight, your shoulders are relaxed and open. Allow your neck to have some ease by building an awareness that the top of your head is floating upward, toward the ceiling.
“This allows others to read your physical messaging as open and in control,” says Sonia
Secondly, focus on the ‘flow’ of your communication. This will make you appear more engaging, says Sonia.
“When fillers like ‘um’, ‘ah’, ‘you know’, and ‘like’, start getting in the way, simply pause and allow yourself to take a breath and then speak.
“This increases clarity and will make you feel more at ease with your communication.”
If you feel you want more instruction, NIDA is now offering corporate training online for the first time.
Director of NIDA Corporate, Vanessa White, believes the courses will benefit all and I have to agree. Who wouldn’t be better off appearing more polished and professional in this brand new video-focused world?
Film and TV actors build rapport with their audience through the lens, a skill directly transferable to the online business world, says Vanessa. And now, thanks to NIDA, the choices around how we communicate, how we listen and how we choose to interact with others is available to all of us.
“Our public courses explore the ways we can navigate group dynamics, keep communication channels open and maintain confident and authentic connections assisting people to improve the impact they have in online meetings,” says Vanessa.
And to that I have only this to say – sign me up.
Learn more about NIDA’s corporate courses here.
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