*Content creator* *@biettetimmons* *(a.k.a. Leo) hard at work!*

Are you creating video content to amplify your brand or increase your visibility?

If you’re the “talent,” there are three things you need to focus on before the filming begins:

1) Know your stuff
2) Deliver it with sincerity and authenticity
3) Make sure you say it so you can be understood!

The first one of these you probably already have a plan for, but the other two? They might require professional help.

Authenticity is hard to fake. Even on a good phone camera with great natural lighting. A coach who can give you tools for showing up as your authentic self every time you press the red record button is invaluable. Don’t invest a lot in mics, lighting kits, editing, or wardrobe if you don’t want to work on yourself. The best post-production can’t fix a wooden or insincere delivery.

As for being understood? That requires a different preparation, one that I learned in my training as an actor. A more technical approach, including work on:

Articulation, so you can be sure you don’t mumble or drop the ends of sentences
Breath, to support your sound, keeping it strong and centered
Vocal range, so you have tonal variety

This last one is trickiest to master, because most regular conversation involves a narrow range. But if you speak in complex sentences or have complicated ideas to unpack, using a larger range can ensure your audience follows you.

If you’re not a singer, and I ask you to use more tonality, you may feel your voice is swooping from the stratosphere into the depths and rising back to the heights. But what do I hear? An almost imperceptible change.

If you’re not used to this, you need a coach to lend a practiced ear to get that “perfect tone” you hear internally out of your head . . .and into the ears of your listeners!