7 Simple Ways to be More Engaging on Video
If you’re building a business online, video is the most powerful tool you have for connecting with your audience, earning their trust, and creating engagement that turns into sales!
But it doesn’t always come naturally to show up on camera and be your most authentic, genuine, magnetic self… especially if you’re an introvert, or simply not used to being “in the spotlight” (I certainly wasn’t!)
So I’m sharing 7 simple ways to elevate your “camera presence” and really get your audience invested and engaging with your next video!
This is for you if:
You want to start connecting with your audience on video, to earn their trust and engagement – and really make it work for you!
You’ve been recording videos but something just feels off about them. You know you can be personable and engaging, but it just isn’t coming across on camera (yet!)
You’re feeling discouraged by your engagement on videos and wondering why your audience isn’t connecting more with your content.
Talk to one person.
When you’re speaking to an audience, it’s tempting to refer to them as a group: “Hey guys, I hope everyone’s having a great day! So, all of you have been asking for…”
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, so no worries if it’s how you typically roll.
But watch your favorite people on Instagram… you’ll probably notice they steer clear of this language, at least most of the time.
Why? Because they know it disrupts the intimacy they want to build with you! It creates unnecessary distance and increases the odds that you’ll check out.
Because referring to your audience as a group feels less like you’re in a private video chat, where your presence really matters – and more like you crashed a party where you don’t know anyone (because who are these other people, anyway?)
Instead, you can try hey friend, a simple hey, hello, or hi there – or even skip the greeting and dive straight into your content! “So today I want to talk to you about…”
2. “You should smile more.”
Yikes, does that advice sound a little out of touch? Maybe it is... but let’s set that aside for now, and just focus on the science behind your beautiful smile and its impact on your community!
Because as archaic as it may sound, smiling reeeeeeally can work to your advantage on video.
When we see a facial expression, our brains subconsciously subtly mirror the related emotions. When you see someone in tears experiencing grief, you feel a sense of sorrow yourself. When you see a face filled with joy and excitement, you feel a boost of joy too!
Smiling also increases likeability, and makes people perceive you as more successful, more confident, and more trustworthy.
Now, of course, no one resonates with fake emotions. So my advice isn’t actually to smile more…my advice is to find and celebrate the reasons to smile in your life. Invest in your happiness, so that it shines from you naturally!
As a naturally reserved person myself, I know it takes presence, mindfulness, and courage to be transparent with your emotions, especially on video… but the result is that people feel more connected and in tune with you!
So take this advice, or leave it... before you press “record,” make sure you’re in a positive frame of mind, and that you’ve taken the time to invest in your own happiness today. And if smiling is just not your style, that’s okay… just keep in mind that it increases likeability and actually makes our audience feel happier!
3. Move your gaze.
When you’re recording video, it’s tempting to stare straight into the camera and let your gaze linger there for seconds, or even minutes at a time… but this can come across as awkward and unnatural… and can even be subtly uncomfortable for your viewer!
There is such a thing as too much eye contact – and that applies in person OR on camera.
When we’re speaking, the ideal amount of eye contact is around 50%. Significantly more than that, where you’re staring at someone’s eyes for more than 4 seconds at a time, can subconsciously signal aggression, over-intensity, or social awkwardness.
On the flip side, significantly less eye contact - where your eyes are darting around and looking anywhere but your listener’s face – can signal either submissiveness or disinterest/disengagement.
But focusing on the camera about 50% of the time, and allowing your gaze to move the other roughly 50%, gives your conversation partner the feeling of a natural, genuine conversation with you at an ideal and easy comfort level.
The same is true on camera! And maintaining that connected-but-casual level of eye contact makes your viewer feel like you’re sitting down for coffee and having an intimate one-on-one conversation.
So as you record, allow your gaze to break away periodically while you speak, refocus your eyes across the room as you find your words, and then come back to the camera. This may feel awkward at first, but soon your brain will realize it’s just the same as a normal face-to-face conversation!
4. Use positive language.
One of my favorite phenomena in human psychology is trait transference: the way you describe others is the way people see you.
If I tell a story about a client, and say “She was so brilliant, passionate, and engaged and invested in the people around her,” on a subconscious level you’ll start associating those traits with me. But if I talked about qualities I didn’t like, or things I felt my client did wrong, those would be planted in your mind and be associated with me.
If we fixate on things, people, attitudes, and behaviors we don’t like, we’re associating ourselves in our audience’s minds with those undesirable qualities.
But if you focus on what you appreciate and the good you see in the world, your audience will naturally associate you with those wonderful qualities as well!
This takes practice and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person if you call out things you disagree with... it’s just something to be conscious and mindful of, and remember to notice the emotional charge of the words you use.
5. Prioritize the first 3 seconds.
The first 3 seconds are make-or-break for your video content! 65% of people who watch the first 3 seconds will watch the first 10… and 45% of people who watch the first 3 will watch the first 30.
The point: grabbing your viewer’s attention in the first 3 seconds increases retention and makes it more likely they will stick around.
So what do you do in those first 3 seconds? Here’s what I recommend you NOT do:
Talk about how your day is going
Ramble about something unrelated to the topic of the video
Anything other than talk about the topic of the video
Keep it simple! Your viewer just arrived because they saw the title of your video… and they’re wondering if they made the right choice. Let them know they’re definitely in the right place, by restating what they’re going to learn and the problem or situation this video will address.
6. Streamline your message.
If I taught a masterclass about how to make people STOP watching your video, Rule #1 would be: Make your viewer work hard to follow along.
As content consumers, we’re happy to engage mentally, feel challenged, and puzzle out our own perspective on issues…
But we don’t want to have to waste energy figuring out what we’re supposed to focus on. We don’t want to be sifting through extraneous details and unrelated stories to get to the crux of the video and figure out how it will make our lives better.
Here’s an example:
Today I’m going to talk about 5 romantic date nights to keep the spark alive in your relationship! I’ve always been a sucker for moonlight walks on the beach… even though to be honest, I got stung by a jellyfish as a kid and had welts all over my legs – my sister said I cried for weeks! Not exactly super romantic, right? Anyway, sometimes your relationship hits a little rut and you need some extra fuel on the fire! Speaking of fires, the wildfires here in Colorado have been crazy! One almost reached our house last week! Okay, so back to those 5 romantic date night ideas...
As a reader, you may feel like you’re trying to swim across a pool – and someone keeps creating massive waves that push you under and make it hard to stay afloat!
So what’s the solution? Keep it simple!
Eliminate friction and streamline your message. You don’t want your viewer following you down a rabbit hole, realizing it’s a dead end, and forgetting what your video was about in the first place. Reading your content should feel like sliding down a frictionless waterslide!
Every time you create a piece of content, read it a few times and look for parts you can eliminate to serve the main idea. Be mindful of how each sentence and phrase relates directly to the main topic – and if a side note feels too off-topic, consider whether you want to turn it into a separate piece of content.
7. Include captions.
Aside from making your content accessible to people who are deaf and hard of hearing, captions also increase engagement and attention more generally.
A surprising 92% of consumers say they watch videos on mute, and 83% say they are more likely to watch an entire video when there are captions included.
Even if your viewers watch with the sound on, captions are still hugely beneficial. More than 100 empirical studies have shown that captions increase comprehension and memory among both adults and children, versus verbal content alone.
So wherever you show up on video, be sure you include captions if you have the choice. They’ll make your content more accessible to more people, increase your views, boost your viewer retention and engagement, and make your content more memorable for your community.
Recap
These tips aren’t hard and fast rules; they’re just guidelines to consider and see how (and whether) they fit in with your approach to video. Your unique personality, presence, and style will shine through more and more on video with practice! But to recap, my 7 tips for being more engaging and magnetic on video are:
Talk to one person
Remember to smile
Move your gaze
Use positive language
Prioritize the first 3 seconds
Streamline your message
Include captions
If you'd like support in your coaching business and taking confident action without fear getting in the way, I'd love to support you on that level – click here to learn about private coaching and how we can work together ♥
Always in your corner,
ashley
P.S. A free gift for you:
Elevate & Align
Journal & Planner
