A lot of people avoid video because they imagine standing in front of a camera. There are two ways to be in a video, and neither is better — only easier for you.
On camera
- Strongest for trust. People respond to a face and a voice together.
- Needs a little nerve and a steady spot with decent light.
- Best for opinions, explanations, introductions — anything where you are the point.
Voiceover
- You record the voice separately, over footage of hands, work, a place or a screen.
- Easier to get right: you can redo a sentence without redoing the picture.
- Best for processes, tutorials, behind-the-scenes and products.
How to choose
Ask which one you will still be doing in six months. A voiceover recorded in a quiet room, with subtitles, is enough for most small accounts. Add the face for the videos where it matters, and not for the rest.
Making a voiceover sound good
- 1Write the script first, in short sentences you can say in one breath.
- 2Record in a small room with soft things around — a wardrobe full of clothes is a good booth.
- 3Hold the phone a hand’s width from your mouth and speak a little slower than feels natural.
- 4Then cut the breaths and pauses that distract, and keep the ones that help.
The audience forgives a modest picture. It does not forgive sound it cannot hear.