Top tips for speakers

When hosting virtual events it is important to make sure the event runs smoothly and that the audience experience is a good one. Here are some of our top tips for speakers and hosts at virtual events.

Devices

•     You can use a desktop or laptop for virtual meetings – see notes below on positioning, lighting and audio.

•  Check your video settings to ensure they are as high quality as possible.

Camera positioning and height

• Always try and keep the camera lens at eye level – you may need to place your device on a box/pile of books to reach the best height.

• When talking to the camera look directly into the lens – not yourself on screen.

Ensure your camera is stable

• Holding your device will add motion and shakes to the video which is very distracting to the viewer.

• If you have a laptop try and stabilise the device on a desk or table, if you do not have either of these then you can prop the device up using a pile of books.

Backgrounds

•   Consider what is behind you in the background of your video.
•   Make sure there are no personal details visible or anything private.

Fill the frame

• Keep the device as close to you as possible - you want your head and shoulders filling as much of the space as you can.

• This will also help with the audio quality as the microphone built into the laptop or desktop needs to be as close to you the subject as possible.

Find good lighting

• Try and find an area with good natural light for filming. Let the light from the window fall on your face.

• Don’t have the window behind you as this will act as a backlight and silhouette you.

• If you don’t have natural light, try and ensure you are well lit by a desk lamp rather than overhead light.

Audio Quality

• To help as much as possible with the audio quality, record in a room that is padded with lots of soft objects ie a sofa, carpet and any soft furniture as this absorbs and pads your voice.

• Places like kitchens, conservatories and bathrooms have lots of hard surfaces and the audio will sound very hollow and echoey.

Microphones

• If possible use the headphones or earbuds that came with your phone as this will keep the built in mic close to your mouth helping with the quality of the audio in the video.

• Alternatively, most desktop and laptop computers have inbuilt microphones, you can check the volume of these in your computer setttings and test the quality of your audio.

 Alerts

•  When you are on your laptop or desktop, turn off any programme that has audible alerts like email notifications

Memory space

• Make sure that you always have some free memory space on your laptop or desktop if you want to save any recorded footage after the event.

Testing

•    Always pre-record 5-10 seconds of the footage to see if you are happy with the angles, lighting, and audio.