Westside Toastmasters is located in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California

Do's and Don'ts for Communicating With Confidence on Television

1. Get to the studio early to familiarize yourself and get comfortable.

2. You will usually be brought first to make-up (find out in advance if make-up will be supplied).

3. From make-up you will be escorted either to the "green room" (waiting room) or escorted directly onto the set.

4. During this period, drink room temperature water—not coffee—and do deep breathing.

5. When seated on the set, let the crew place your microphone on you.

6. Make any requests you have through the floor director who will relay questions or requests to the control room.

7. Ask the floor director where you should look. If you are the guest, you will probably focus solely on the interviewer.

8. Ask the floor director which is your close-up camera and what the other cameras are for.

9. Try to project warmth and animation in your face and in your tone.

10. Don't psyche yourself out by thinking of all those viewers.

11. Think of the studio interview as an engaging dialogue shared by one viewer at home.

12. You could be on camera at all times so watch what you do.

13. Try not to look at yourself in the monitor. It can destroy your concentration. Ask the floor director if the monitor can be turned away—out of your range of vision.

    When the communication is at one location and you are at another location speaking to the television camera:

14. Look directly into the camera lens, not at the TV monitor or around the room.

15. Imagine that the camera lens is the eyes of the interviewer. Adopt a low-key, personable tone.

16. Keep looking into the lens even when other guests are speaking.

17. If there are other guests on the air, speak directly to them—not through the interviewer.

18. Speak as if you were both talking to each other in the same room—don't yell.

19. Animate your face to project a personable manner.

20. Try to project a relaxed informal "dialogue" tone.

21. Make sure the earpiece is snugly fitted. If it falls out, put it back in smoothly and continue.

22. Don't look away from the camera while the question is asked or another guest is commenting.

23. If you can't hear the question, politely ask that it be repeated.

Verbal and Non-verbal Communication for Television

Verbal communication:

• Pace yourself. Too fast or too slow will frustrate the viewers. Vary the pace to keep it interesting.

• Watch your inflection. Varying the emphasis you place on words helps to draw attention to key concepts.

• Don't be afraid to pause. Pausing before or after a key word emphasizes the importance of that word.

• Use a confident tone. Confidence is communicated through a relaxed, measured speaking style, with a friendly tone. Speak as if you are engaged in an animated, friendly dialogue.

• Choose your words carefully. Clear, everyday language is essential to understanding. Avoid jargon, bureaucratese, or a highly technical vocabulary. Don't bore the audience with run-on sentences.

• Keep your energy high. Ultimately it is the energy that you project about the subject that the viewers or listeners remember. Don't let the volume peter out at the end of sentences.

• Communicate to one person in the audience.

• Don't think of an impersonal "mass" audience.

• Communicate energy, warmth, and friendliness in word choice.

• Be polite but assertive.

• Keep sentences brief.

• Avoid "uh," "um," and "okay."

Non-verbal communication:

• An animated face connects your feelings with words; raise your eyebrows; open up your face.

• Project a balance between low-key thoughtfulness and energy for what you are saying.

• Communicate warmth through facial expression and through open body language.

• Maintain direct eye contact with the interviewer, but don't stare with a fixed gaze.

• Smile when appropriate.

• Don't distract with needless gestures.

Posture:

• Don't hunch your shoulders; sit on your jacket.

• Sit with your upper torso straight; don't lean to one side.

• Keep your feet either flat on the floor, or cross your legs at the knee—towards the interviewer, away from the camera.

• Rest your elbows lightly on the arms of your chair—don't lean on one arm or put one arm back.

• Don't tilt your head to one side—it communicates uncertainty or weakness—keep your head straight.

Dress and appearance for men:

• Avoid three piece suits. They look stuffy and overly formal.

• Don't wear black suits; they project a lack of trust.

• Avoid extremes of color, pattern, or style. Conservative styles in the median range of colors—greys and blues in particular— enhance your image. Navy blue is the most flattering color (except for men who are very fair or light-skinned; in that case, wear charcoal grey.)

• Stay away from printed, closely striped, or short-sleeved shirts.

• Wear either a white or pale-blue shirt.

• Wear a tie that has a strong color to it, such as burgundy, to reflect color in your face. Make sure the tie is straight and touches your belt buckle.

• If you wear a beard or mustache, make sure it is well-groomed and doesn't cover your upper lip. Because a beard or mustache restricts the range of facial expression, you will have to compensate even more with facial animation. If you are bald or have a receding hairline, you will need powder to avoid glare.

Dress and appearance for women:

• Extremes are out.

• Avoid short skirts, flashy outfits, and revealing necklines.

• Also avoid an overly severe or colorless outfit, which may project coldness.

• Strong colors project confidence: for example, royal blue, red (not too bright), emerald green and, these days, black is also fine.

• Wear a jacket and skirt/pant combination or a well-tailored dress. Avoid casual dresses.

• Keep jewelry to a minimum.

• Avoid pure white blouses (unless worn with a jacket) and closely patterned stripes and prints that can create havoc with the camera lens.

• Keep hair off your face.

Dress and appearance for everyone:

• Clothing can reinforce your message and tone and project self-confidence.

• If you must wear glasses, do so—preferably non-reflective lenses. If you need to wear glasses, avoid the half-frame style, or ones that block the view of your eyes.

Camera Smarts

• While it may be tempting to look at the camera, face the interviewer at all times.

• Things happen fast on TV; a half-hour on radio or an hour with a newspaper reporter becomes four minutes on the screen. Try to make your points as quickly as possible, and realize it's an inherently more superficial medium. Don't repeat the question; that only wastes time. Instead, clarify or restate it if you need to, then give a short concise reply.

• Be sure you get your main point across at least once, no matter how far afield the interviewer tries to lead you. After all, you are there to deliver your message. Be sure it gets out.

• You may be asked to deliver a short presentation on television (as opposed to participating in an interview). In that case, it's likely that you'll be reading your script from a TelePrompTer, the device used by TV talent (such as newscasters), which enables you to read a script while looking directly at the camera lens. In fact, newer models often display the text of the speech directly on the camera lens itself.

Here are some tips and techniques to follow if you find yourself reading from a TelePrompTer:

1. The text scrolls down as you read. Remember that you are in control of the speed. If you slow down, the TelePrompTer operator will slow down to match your pace, and if you speed up, he or she will do the same. Newer models are voice activated (as opposed to hand operated) and are programmed to stay ahead of the speaker, but even these models vary the speed according to your voice.

2. Picture someone you know standing behind the prompter. That way, even though you'll be looking directly into the camera, you can still "connect" with your audience.

3. Concentrate on the message, not the words. Pause normally, stop at periods, and practice vocal variation.

4. Take advantage of the fact that you have your script in front of you. Ask for the words you want to emphasize to be italicized or capitalized. If you are including foreign names or words that are difficult to pronounce, ask to have them spelled out phonetically. Stage directions (such as "pause" or "smile") can also be inserted into a TelePrompTer script.

5. It's okay to ad-lib—a bit. You can change words and short phrases with no problems. But don't go so far off the script that the TelePrompTer operator gets lost.

6. Practice, practice, practice. Read your presentation aloud over and over before you have to do it on camera. Ask the director for rehearsal time using the actual studio TelePrompTer (especially if you've never done it before). Practice gesturing and changing your facial expressions as you read. Don't be afraid to pause or move your eyes, head, shoulders, and hands. You want to look as natural as possible—as if you were telling a story, not reading a script.

We've all seen newscasts where the anchor stops talking in the middle of a sentence; it's easy to figure out that the TelePrompTer has stalled or stopped working. Always remember that you're dealing with technology—which means that it's wise to be prepared for any possibility. In 1999, President Clinton began to give his annual State of the Union address to Congress and to millions of television viewers by reading it off the TelePrompTer. As soon as he began, he realized that it was his 1998 State of the Union address that appeared before him.

Luckily, Clinton, quick-thinking and thoroughly prepared, kept right on talking. He ad-libbed the beginning of his address until a technician realized what was going on and corrected the situation. No one watching could tell that anything had gone wrong.

You, too, must be prepared for any technical difficulties that might arise—that means knowing your speech well enough that you could keep going no matter what might happen to the TelePrompTer.