Recording yourself is a bad idea (if you want to improve at public speaking)

Speaking
Written By Liam Sandford
cassette tape

‘Record your presentation and watch it back.’ This can be the most unhelpful piece of advice you receive, especially if you are a beginner speaker. Although it sounds like good practice you start pulling apart your presentation which creates a negative speaking experience. You need positive speaking experiences to improve your confidence.

You get into the circle of doom which starts by watching yourself back. As a result you find everything that was wrong with your presentation. You then try to avoid what happened last time. Instead you should be aiming to improve in one specific area.

Recording yourself can be a confidence breaker.

Don’t watch other speakers either

This also goes against the grain. In fact it sounds like a great strategy to watch what other speakers do. But even the very best public speakers start from the ground floor — they were once a beginner speaker.

They will have practiced and practiced and practiced over many years to craft their speaking style and build connection with their audience. Watching the great public speakers makes you focus on the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Focusing on the outcome makes that gap seem bigger than it is. Instead, you should focus on the next step. What that next step is should depend on where you are in your speaking journey.

What do do instead

Building positive speaking practice hinges on starting where you are comfortable. Recording and watching yourself is an uncomfortable experience in itself. At the least you will hate the sound of your own voice.

Instead you should:

  • Use the nano speech to put structure to your conversations and presentations

  • Feel how it went, and notice the change in how it feels each time you speak in public

  • Ask for feedback from your audience — they will tell you what resonates and what doesn’t

Only at this point where you are comfortable as a speaker is it useful to watch yourself, but only if you know specifically what you are looking for.

Only one thing

When you are looking to improve as a speaker you should focus on only one thing at a time. There are so many areas you could improve in:

  • Audience connection

  • Removing filler words

  • Pausing for effect

  • Body language

  • Storytelling techniques

  • Speaking slowly

  • Delivering concisely

  • Being clear in your message

  • Eye contact

This list could go on. If you try to focus on every area you will make little progress in any. But if you focus on improving one thing only, that becomes your measuring stick on how your speaking experience was. The success comes down to how good that one thing was.

This is where it might be useful to record and watch yourself back. You know specifically what you are watching for, and looking from an audience perspective. Consider how it comes across to an audience member and only look at that one thing. Depending on how it went, use the preparation for your next public speaking practice to work on improving the skill further.

Rather than the never ending circle of doom, you will create a never ending circle of success.

Actionable takeaways

  • Stop recording and watching yourself back — without being specific you will enter the circle of doom

  • Measure the feeling. How does it feel? More comfortable compared to last time? That is a positive you should build on

  • When you are improving, don’t try to improve everywhere. Be specific and only improve that one thing. Focusing on less leads to bigger improvements.

More from me

Liam Sandford
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