Everyone is naturally nervous about being on video. Going live brings that anxiety to an entirely new level. Whatever happens live, happens – and there is a record until you delete it. But, if you take the time to practice and prepare, while nothing can ever go perfectly, you can appear very natural and in your element on Facebook Live.
1. Ensure That You Have Good Lighting – If you can’t afford to buy lighting, you can just do the event in front of a window where the light shines in. But, getting the right lighting doesn’t have to be expensive. You can buy lighting that works from Home Depot. If you wear glasses, put the lighting up high so that it doesn’t reflect in your glasses.
2. Check Your Sound – One of the problems that people experience most with video is sound. You may want to invest in a professional mic instead of using earbuds. Some people do fine with earbuds, though. Check how your sound is and ask people who do videos that have great sound what they use.
3. Be Prepared – Sometimes, one reason people have issues going live is that they don’t know their topic and they’re not sure what they’ll say. Give some thought to what you’ll talk about. Use notes if you need to for words you are uncertain about how to pronounce or names and quotes that you want to remember. Nothing is wrong with looking at notes.
4. Be Sure to Flip the View – Sometimes the view of the video is in mirror view. It depends on your device on how you change it, but you’ll want to change it so that you’re not in mirror view.
5. Notice Your Background – The background of your video can distract or add to your appearance. How it looks depends on your own personality and your niche. You don’t want to be fake, but you do want to be comfortable. Try out different solutions so you find out what works best for you.
6. Talk Like You Normally Talk – Something weird happens sometimes to people when they know they’re being recorded. They start talking differently and using words they’re not accustomed to using. Plus, they always try to fill the air with sound. This is not natural. It’s okay to pause and think about what you’re saying. Silence can be a good thing.
7. Be Yourself – Even as you practice improving, you want to be who you are. If you don’t wear business suits to work, don’t wear them in your videos. If you do like to dress up, do that. If you like wearing makeup, do it. If you don’t, you don’t have to. Good lighting can help if you have any skin issues, or you can just wear light makeup to help if you need it.
8. Know Your Audience – Before you plan your first live event, you need to know who you are, who the audience is, what they need, what their pain points are, and how you can best help them and serve them.
9. Know Your Niche – You don’t want to go outside of your niche when you perform your live events. If your niche is about spreadsheets, you don’t want to do a cooking demo. You want to be interesting to your audience about your niche and not go outside of it.
Going live may be nerve-wracking but after you do it more, you can keep improving as you watch your videos play back. You can watch for lighting, listen to the sound, and notice where you do trip up – usually it’s because you are trying to be perfect. All of this will help you improve. Let go of the emotion, look at the data, and change one small thing to make it better with each Facebook Live event!
What do you think? Did I miss any tips? Let me know how you look natural during your Facebook Live events below.
The Libra's Balance 