When we prepare any presentation or performance, we tend to spend the bulk of our time on what we say. However, our words may play only a small role in how well the meaning of our message is understood.

According to Dr. Albert Mehrabian, a research pioneer in nonverbal communication, 55 percent of the meaning of our spoken message is translated nonverbally. Our tone of voice carries an additional 38 percent, while our actual words only convey a paltry 7 percent of the meaning.¹

Knowing what our body language is saying is crucial, especially if it might be at odds with our oratory. On camera, our bodies speak loud and clear, often without our even realizing it, and that's why it is imperative to understand how to keep our nonverbal communication in sync with our verbal.

On-Camera Gesturing: An Out-of-Body Experience

In the movie Talledega Nights, Ricky Bobby, a character played by Will Ferrell, is being interviewed after a race. He asks the reporter, “What do I do with my hands?” He's told to just keep them at his sides. During the course of the interview, though, his hands seem to float into the shot as if they were two foreign bodies with minds of their own.

This was done for comedic effect, but there's a kernel of truth in that bit. When the record light goes on, you can suddenly become hyperaware of your physical self and start asking yourself: how should I stand, should I stay in one place, and, of course, what should I do with my hands?

Some people choose to simply take their physical selves out of the equation and not move at all. Their heads stay locked in place, and their hands stay in the same position throughout their entire
performance—at their sides, behind their back, or in their pockets. But this approach can backfire because the “don't move” technique creates a stiffness that looks uncomfortable to the viewer and surely feels uncomfortable for the speaker.

If authenticity is the key to being effective on camera, then your body language should be the same on camera as it is when you are off camera.

Here's the tricky part: most of us are not even aware of how much we gesture. So how do you know where your natural inclinations lie?

Your best bet is to try to have a looseness in your body throughout and allow your gestures to occur organically. The less you think about them, the more likely they will come across as genuine.

I once had a client ask me for a list of gestures to use on camera. I was stymied, mostly because I thought it would be hurting, not helping, his cause. Your presentation style is a combination of your verbal and nonverbal communication, and that style is unique to you. That's why it works. Canned gestures from a list will most likely appear contrived and will make you, the presenter, look fake.

Getting Familiar with Frame Size

While I don't have a list of “Approved On-Camera Gestures,” there is one thing that dictates what works and what does not work on camera: frame size.

Frame size, in short, is how much you can see of you and how much you can see of your background in the shot. There are three main categories:

• A tight shot
• A medium shot
• A wide shot

How you are framed changes the closeness of the conversation and thereby changes how big your gestures can be. The wider the shot, the bigger your gestures can be.

Gestures for a Tight Shot

When you are framed in a tight shot, your audience will basically be able to see you from the shoulders up with only a little bit of the background. In essence, you are very close to your viewer and you are having a very intimate conversation.

Think about the kind of gestures you would use with someone in person if he or she were only a few feet away. Would you be throwing your arms wide and gesticulating with gusto? Surely not—it would seem very out of place.

When you are being framed in a tight shot, your gestures need to shrink in size based on the close proximity of your conversation partner or be kept out of the frame completely. Waving or even periodic glimpses of fingers can be distracting, and you want all of the focus to be on your face.

Gestures for a Medium Shot

A medium shot is generally framed from the waist up. Your viewer will be able to see a little bit more of the background than on a tight shot and your arms, when bent, will appear in the frame.

Consider this conversation like a cocktail party. You are close enough not to shout, but you have a little more distance and freedom to gesture and move.

In a medium shot, you still want to avoid giant gestures, which might extend beyond the screen. However, you can feel free to talk with your hands as you would in normal conversation.

A word of caution: Do not allow your arms to play peek-a-boo. Constant bending and extending your elbows with your hands jumping in and out of the shot will draw attention away from what you are saying. While it is totally fine to have your arms both extended naturally as well as bent, just make sure it is not done in rapid succession.

Gestures for a Wide Shot

If you are being framed in a wide shot, you are free to move about the studio—well, not the entire studio, but you can move much more than you can in a tight or medium shot.

In a wide shot, the viewer can see you from head to toe and can also see much of your background. Wide shots aren't used for long periods of time. In a formal studio production, it might be reserved for the opening shot of a video before the director calls for a cut to a tighter shot for the bulk of the production.

When you are being framed wide, you have the freedom to use those big gestures, almost as if you are standing in front of a classroom or a large conference room.

Gestures as a Retention Tool

While the vast majority of your gestures should be natural and not canned, there are times when a planned gesture can add value to your overall impact. Gestures can help your audience retain your content if they complement your words.

Your body language can be a visual aid. For example, if you are talking about revenue rising, you can show it rising by making a vertical gesture with your hand. If you have a broad spectrum of experience, opening your arms wide will serve as a visual representation of that.

A word of caution: make sure your gestures match.

The Role of Off-Camera Movement

While a tight shot represents a very close, intimate conversation with your viewer, it does not mean all movement must cease. In fact, if you do stay stock still, you will likely appear stiff, uncomfortable, and unconvincing.

Even if your gestures cannot be seen in the shot, they serve a vital purpose. They help you to release tension and allow your words to flow freely. If you are physically relaxed, your delivery will be as well. If your jaw is clenched and your hands are balled up in fists, you will have a very difficult time coming across as confident. A hand movement might not be seen on camera, but it will have ripple effects through your shoulders and be visible to your viewers. Even small motions add visual interest while allowing you to channel some nervous energy outward.

Posture Pointers

The way you stand or sit during a performance plays a central role in your effectiveness on camera and can make an immediate impression—
good or bad—on your audience.

Ideally, you will start from a place of comfort, a position in which you feel most at ease yet still energized. Too often, novice speakers are told to stand or sit in a certain way that feels awkward. That advice creates an immediate barrier for the performer. He or she must overcome the challenge of feeling uncomfortable from the get go. Posture is personalized, just like gestures, and should be unique to you.

Standing While on Camera

If you are going to be standing for your performance, use your default stance. If you're not sure what that is, try this: the next time you're having a casual conversation standing up, take note of your posture and how your feet are positioned. Is your weight evenly distributed between both feet? Are you leaning to one side? This is your default stance and should be your go-to position when starting any performance when you are standing up.

The Metronome Effect

If you find you are someone who typically stands with his or her feet parallel with weight evenly distributed, then you should start your performance from that position. However, a quick word of warning: those who stand with feet parallel run the risk of the metronome effect.

It's a common misconception that our feet need to stay rooted in the same spot while on camera, but the performer often feels the impetus to move. That can result in the performer swaying side to side. If the camera is in a fixed position, the presenter can appear to be rocking from one side of the screen to the other, in a rhythmic fashion. Not only can it be distracting, it can also make your viewer seasick.

If you feel yourself starting to sway, try to channel that movement into your gestures rather than full body movement. If you want to avoid the problem altogether, try placing one foot slightly in front of the other. It is nearly impossible to rock side to side.

Going for a Walk

No doubt, you have seen speakers who pace back and forth across the stage when presenting to a live audience in front of them. Movement can be a coping mechanism for nervousness and can help the presenter stay on track with his or her content. On camera, though, pacing will either make your audience dizzy or send you right out of frame.

But that doesn't mean your feet are stuck to the floor. It is perfectly acceptable to shift your weight from one hip to the other. We do it in casual conversation, and we can do it on camera, too. Just be sure the change isn't so dramatic that it sends you careening from one side of the frame to the other. A wide shot will allow for more movement than a tight shot will, so be aware of what your limitations are.

When I teach traditional presentation training, I tell my clients to move to a new position in the performance space when transitioning to a new topic. The same rule applies to shifting your weight. It can be a visual cue to your audience that you are about to introduce something new when you slightly shift your weight.

Sitting While on Camera

Speaking on camera while sitting might seem like an easier scenario to navigate. After all, you don't have to think about finding your default stance, rocking yourself silly, or walking out of frame. However, sitting can pose its challenges, too.

The biggest mistake people make when performing on camera while seated is sitting too far back in the chair. This poses a problem on two levels.

Comfortable chairs can sap your energy. When you relax into a chair, you tend to let down your guard and lose that mental sharpness required for any impactful performance. There's also an aesthetic issue. Sinking into a chair can make you look sloppy on camera. Shirts have a way of bubbling or gaping, the shoulder line of your suit might look uneven, and your clothes overall may appear rumpled.

You want to look sharp and feel sharp. Both are difficult to accomplish when you are lounging.

The solution is to sit erectly with your back either just touching the chair or not touching it at all. By sitting up straight, your clothes should lay the way they are designed to look best. You will also stay better engaged; your body won't be fully at rest, nor will your mind be.

Crossed Legs

Is it appropriate to cross your legs when on camera? This is a question I am asked on a regular basis.

As a young lady, you are often taught to cross your ankles, not your legs at the knee. However, I have always found that advice challenging on camera because form follows function.

When I am performing on camera with a script, I like to keep a hard copy in front of me as a safety net in case the teleprompter fails or adjustments need to be made on the fly. Often, this means I keep my script in my lap. If I keep my legs flat or simply cross my ankles, it is hard for me to glance down at my script without it being noticeable. Crossing my legs at the knee lifts my script high enough that I can refer to it quickly and practically imperceptibly to the audience.

For men, the same rule can apply. However, if you cross your legs with your ankle resting on your knee, be aware that in some cultures, showing the sole of your shoe can be offensive. Make sure the bottom of your shoe is angled away from the camera.

Leaning In or Out

Now that you are aware of the dangers of rocking side to side while presenting on camera, let's discuss what your body language says when you move toward or away from the camera.

Just as Facebook chief operating officer and author Sheryl Sandberg suggests, leaning in can be highly effective in the workplace and on camera.

When we are confiding in a friend, we lean toward him or her to signify that we are about to share something important. When speaking on camera, you can use movement toward the lens to invite your audience in and create a deeper connection with your viewer.

One of the more infamous examples of the power of leaning in came in 1995 when CBS anchor Connie Chung conducted an interview with Kathleen Gingrich, the late mother of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Chung asked Mrs. Gingrich what her son had told her about then-President Clinton. Mrs. Gingrich said, “Nothing, and I can't tell you what he said about Hillary.” Chung encouraged her to reveal what her son had said, but Mrs. Gingrich still balked until Chung leaned in and said, “Why don't you just whisper it to me, between you and me?” At that point, Mrs. Gingrich opened up and opened a Pandora's Box. Who knows if Chung's body language made the difference, but on camera, you can see Chung physically lean in toward Mrs. Gingrich. She appeared to be trying to cultivate a deeper level of intimacy with her than might be considered appropriate for an interview to be televised to the masses.²

Pushing ill motives aside, movement toward the camera and your viewer can make you come across as earnest and genuine. It helps to build trust between you and your audience, which ultimately builds credibility for your message.

Step In to Start

One of the most confounding moments in any on-camera performance is the 10 seconds before the red light goes on. All of the stress associated with the high-stakes nature of the presentation is written all over the presenter's face. He or she wears an expression of pained anticipation or frozen fear. The performer is simply staring into the camera lens and waiting to be “on.”

A trick to eliminate the nonverbal broadcasting of that anxiety is to use movement prior to the performance. If you will be standing during your presentation, figure out where your mark is. Your mark is the spot where you will be in sharp focus and centered in the frame. If you are working in a studio, you will be told where that spot is, and often a piece of tape is placed on the floor as a visual reminder. Once you are given your mark, stand on it, but then take a step or two back, away from the camera.

Just before you begin your performance, step back up to that mark. When you hit your landing spot, say your first words as you settle yourself into your default stance.

By stepping into the shot, you create movement from the start and avoid the dead stare that so often precedes a performance. It also is a way to invite your audience in because you are closing the gap between you and your viewers.

If you are seated, you obviously can't step toward the camera. However, you can still lean toward the camera and derive the same benefits. Your audience feels welcomed and you are respecting the intimacy of the conversation.

Making Eye Contact When You Can't See Your Audience

Any presentation coach will espouse the virtues of good eye contact with your audience, so what do you do when you can't see your audience?

The most common practice for the novice is to never, ever take one's eyes away from the camera lens. Imagine if that happened in real life, off camera. You are in conversation with someone and he or she locks eyes with you and absolutely refuses to let you go for minutes at a time. Not only can it be unnerving, but it can also be downright creepy. Nonstop eye contact with the camera is like drilling your gaze into your viewers' heads.

Look Away

Looking away from the lens can feel like an impossible feat, especially if you are reading from a teleprompter, but let's put it in the context of a conversation off camera.

You naturally shift your gaze throughout a conversation, even if it's a subtle glance upward when you are trying to recall a bit of information. Sure, the majority of your time is spent looking into the eyes of the person with whom you are speaking, but that periodic break in eye contact is a welcome one. Otherwise, it would be exhausting for both the speaker and the listener.

According to Carol Kinsey Goman, author of The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help—or Hurt—How You Lead (Jossey-Bass, 2011), “Too much eye contact is instinctively felt to be rude, hostile, and condescending; and in a business context, it may also be perceived as a deliberate intent to dominate, intimidate, belittle or make ‘the other' feel at a disadvantage.”

The argument against staring down your viewer is a forceful one, but how do you pull yourself away?

A break in eye contact can be most effective when associated with a pause. By combining a look away with a pause, it can signal to your audience that you are transitioning to a new concept or that you are gathering your thoughts before proceeding.

However, a word of warning: Breaking eye contact should not be a big gesture. You would be amazed how dramatic a shift in eye line of only a few inches can be. If you are in a formal studio setting, a glance to just below the lens will suffice. If you are using the camera on your phone or laptop, look to the bottom of the device for a half second before looking back at the lens.

Performance Pitfalls: Eye Contact Errors

When breaking eye contact, looking down or up periodically appears most natural, but beware the sideways glance. Looking off to one side every once in a while is fine, but if you make a habit of looking to your left or right too much, you will look unsure of yourself and your content. Plus, your viewer might wonder what you are looking for—is someone coming to get you?

Another no-no is making the eye movement too obvious. A prolonged look away from the camera can cost you the connection you have with your audience. They might think you are done with your presentation and tune out. Breaking eye contact should not require your head to swivel in the direction of your gaze. If it does, the movement will look contrived, manufactured, and out of place—almost as if your attention were diverted somewhere far off camera.

Vary Your Angle

If you absolutely can't pull yourself away from the camera lens, there is another option that will diminish the “deer in the headlights” look. You can change the angle of your head relative to the camera.

Watch one of your recorded performances. If your shoulders stayed square to the camera and your head never moved, you will want to incorporate some variation into how you physically address the camera.

Try loosening up your shoulders and neck and allow your head movement to reflect your content. Be careful not to lift your chin too much to avoid looking pompous. Remember the rule about movement toward the camera. A slight leaning in with your head and a lowering of the chin will create intimacy.

Look Up

When anchoring a newscast, you have several cameras on which you can appear. The director decides which camera to use for each story, and usually there is someone called the floor director, who points to the camera that is “live.”

After being burned too many times by being cued to the wrong camera, I took it upon myself to confirm which camera was being used by consulting the monitors embedded in the desk. Right before I started to read the story off the teleprompter, I would look down at the shot and quickly assess what camera was live based on the background. If it was camera three, I would look for the weather set. If it was camera one, I would look for the skyline backdrop. Only then would I look up and start to read the next story.

Looking up at the start of each story was a product of protecting myself from being caught off guard, but it also served as a built-in break in eye contact, which appeared natural.

You learned about the benefits of stepping into the shot at the beginning of a performance. You can also eliminate the awkwardness of anticipation by averting your gaze until a split second before speaking.

Use those few seconds right before you perform to gather your thoughts, visualize your viewer, and channel any nervous energy. You don't need to look into the camera to do that. Instead, look slightly below the camera until you are ready to speak. Then, look up just a beat before saying your first words. That eye movement will signal to your audience that you are ready to engage and will inject more energy into your presentation than if you had spent those moments beforehand just staring into the lens.

Chapter Takeaways

• Your gestures on camera should reflect how you gesture off camera provided they are not distracting.
• Frame size dictates how much room you have to move.
• Gestures can be an excellent retention tool but need to match your oratory.
• Movement is essential even if it's off camera to banish the stiff look.
• Begin any performance from a place of comfort.
• Find your default stance.
• Consider stepping into the shot to generate looseness in your body from the start.
• Be careful not to sink into deep chairs, lest you appear sloppy.
• Movement toward the camera is inviting.
• Movement away from the camera comes across as arrogant.
• Attempt to periodically glance away from the camera. Nonstop eye contact creates a death stare for the viewer.