“Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.” – Actor Michael Caine
The above quote stuck in my mind as I was doing my first Zoom seminar to 100 people last week. As a voice coach and public speaker, I have given 1000’s of live speeches, both nationally and internationally, plus as a professional actress I have done many TV shows, commercials and hosted my own radio show, “The Sounds of Success.” So, what happened next took me by surprise.
For this seminar, I prepared as I always do by rehearsing on the Zoom platform, checked the lighting in the office, made sure the background was not distracting and positioned the camera so people were not looking up my nose, which I’ve heard often happens.
Five minutes before start time, the organizer explained that due to the large number of people on the call everyone would be mute, and I would be looking and talking to my own image, full screen for the 30 minutes.
In the first minute of talking to my own image, I heard myself speeding up, stumbling over statistics that I have cited for more than 25 years… and most of all, I was completely out of the moment.
“What is happening, I thought… stay calm and fall back on your voice technique.”
Smile and take a deep breath to center yourself.
Repeat the last thought again. This time more clearly.
Start breathing between your thoughts so the audience can take in the message.
Focus on saying the ends of words.
Within two minutes, which seemed to last forever, I was calm, back on track and present with what I was saying and finished my 30 minutes.
The challenge was not only having to talk to my own face, but also having no audience connection – not even a visual, on which to focus. My solution to this was to engage everyone in breathing and projection voice exercises.
I learned an important lesson, and in case this should happen to you, here is my advice – when doing large calls, it is best to use visuals and voice only, or make the video call between you and the host (while everyone else is watching on mute) and then taking questions in the Q&A function.
Excellent vocal skills are the foundation for outstanding communication and the first step to mastering communication is to consult with an experienced voice coach.
