SEVEN SECONDS TO IMPRESS - HOW TO MAKE YOUR SEVEN SECONDS REALLY WORK FOR YOU
Did you know it can take just 7 seconds to make up your mind about whether you want to engage with someone, or not?
This can be very scary numbers for some of us, but what if you knew that those 7 seconds that someone had for you, they knew straight away who you were, your personality, your passions, and that they want to connect with you more? These 7 seconds can be essential for when you run your own business, work in a corporate office, have a date to go to (!) or any interaction really, and it also matters on video too.
I recently had an online talk with videographer and YouTube expert, Eugenia Zagoruyko of uFocus, where we shared our tips on how to impress in just 7 seconds using video. With her fantastic tips for getting everything right on your video, and with my tips on styling, we had great feedback from the attendees of the talk, to help give them the confidence to get started with their videos for their business!
I wanted to share some of the tips we shared, in terms of styling advice & video advice, so you can potentially get started with building your confidence, and know that the next time you meet someone new, those 7 seconds won’t worry you.
TIPS FOR IMPRESSING IN 7 SECONDS ON YOUR VIDEOS:
Some of the top tips Eugenia shared with the group were:
1. The light is important! Your camera will take on the light in a different way to how you see it with your eyes. Don’t have a bright light behind you, as people will be distracted by the bright light behind you, and lights above you will cause difficult shadows. Have a light in front of you to help light up your face.
2. Consider your background. As minimal distractions for people as possible is important, but don’t feel you have to have just a white background. You can show off your personality with your surroundings but help ensure that you are still the star of the video.
3. Set up your camera for a feeling of conversation. People look at you through your videos and feel as if they are there with you, so the perfect framing is with your face and shoulders. It helps viewers to feel as if you are close enough to have a conversation with them.
4. Take off your glasses – the effect is twofold here. Firstly, when you have your lights set up for your video, they can often reflect off your glasses, and can be distracting. It also helps you to prevent yourself from being distracted by yourself whilst you are filming!
5. Ground yourself. Take a moment before you start your video to ground yourself, smile, and take a breath. This will help you get prepared and in the zone prior to recording. When you finish, smile, count to three, and then you have enough time to stop your video comfortably.
PERSONAL STYLING TIPS FOR IMPRESSING IN 7 SECONDS ON VIDEOS:
Now here are my top tips for styling yourself for your videos, to help you feel confident and built rapport with people in just 7 seconds!
1. Consider how much people are seeing of you on your videos. Most of us only show our face and shoulders in our videos, so these are the most important parts of your outfit.
2. More make up is often best. Video cameras pick up things differently to our eyes, so you will need to apply a little more make up that you usually would in your day to day life!
3. Bring the attention to your face through your styling. Steer away from too vibrant colours and consider minimal accessories, unless your brand is all about extravagance! Bring people’s attention to your face so they can listen to what you are saying, rather than fluttering between your clothes, your accessories, your background, and then your face and what you are speaking about.
4. Consider the best colours for your skin tone. Try to understand what are the general characteristics of your face, for example light colours, which means lighter colours work best on your skin; vs darker colours work great on a darker complexion. For a more bespoke colour analysis to help you really know what works best for you on camera (and in person!) a colour analysis can truly help.
5. Video is no different than in person. Although we want to be comfortable and embrace the joys of working from home, it is important to consider these video meetings, and professional videos as if we were meeting people in real life. It’s important to give the commitment to the videos as you would a talk, a meeting, or a business event. It can also help to make you feel uplifted and ready to take on the video!
I hope these 10 tips help you prepare for doing more videos whether for meetings, networking events, or when you decide to start filming for your business. To see the full video, head to my YouTube channel.
