Transcript
[00:00:06.540] - Imogen
Hello and welcome to Dear Comms, the podcast where we tackle your biggest corporate comms challenges. My name's Imogen and I'm Amanda.
[00:00:19.860] - Amanda
We're here to give you practical, no-nonsense advice so you can focus on the things that really matter. Driving influence, engagement, and impact.
[00:00:29.030] - Imogen
So to start off today, we have a question which we get quite a lot. Our CEO is great in town halls and meetings, but get them in front of a camera and they are awful. How can I make them more comfortable and natural on screen? CEO videos are an amazing way. In which we can connect and engage with employees and stakeholders. They're a way of putting a face to a name, a way of bringing humanity and personality to someone who might seem quite distant from your employees on the shop floor. But sadly, not all of us are good at everything, and that includes our leaders. They can't be brilliant at everything. And in this case, it sounds a little bit like being in front of a camera is pushing the CEO out of their comfort zone?
[00:01:29.500] - Amanda
Yeah, I mean, quite a few CEOs struggle in front of a camera, and definitely when they first start out, because it's so unfamiliar for them. You know, they, they don't get real-time feedback that you, you get from being face to face. It's difficult to read the audience. So how to adjust style and tone. And I think this CEO might be overthinking things, and when you overthink things, the pressure to be good sometimes means you revert to an overly formal approach. So, I think that's probably at the back of his mind, or her mind.
[00:02:08.610] - Imogen
Absolutely. I think to solve this problem, one of the first things you need to figure out is you need to get to know your CEO a little bit better. What is the best format for them? Some absolutely excel at being face-to-face. Some of them are much better at writing long-form blogs or articles. Whatever it is that they are good at, you need to let them shine in that area. And then you need to have a think about who else is there within that leadership team who can take on the role of being the on-camera face of important announcements. Not only will this take the pressure off your CEO, but it will also build up a stable of reliable spokespeople who can help you do your communications.
[00:03:02.370] - Amanda
Yeah, you definitely need a wide variety of spokespeople. And as you say, that takes the pressure off somewhat, and certain leaders can speak to certain topics. Another thing you can do is practice, practice, practice. No script reading, no teleprompters, they're really hard, but just getting the CEO to talk to you until their key messages are second nature in their mind. You know, what's their story? What's the one thing that they want to get across as the result of this video?
[00:03:36.790] - Imogen
I think a lot of CEOs feel that a teleprompter is going to help them be better. It's a little bit like a comfort blanket for them. But what they don't realize is that those people that they see using teleprompters have taken a long time to train and to practice in how to use them effectively.
[00:03:56.440] - Amanda
It takes a real skill. I wouldn't advise it unless, you know, you've had lots of practice. Another thing to consider if you do need to use video is changing the style of that video. So instead of a piece to camera, looking like a hostage, could you do a conversational interview? Get somebody else involved, get them to ask questions so that there is interaction, so the, the CEO can be more animated. And record in short segments, break it up, reduce the pressure, and that allows natural energy to remain high if you're breaking it into easy chunks.
[00:04:38.190] - Imogen
That pressure does dissipate if you know that you can try again on certain segments and you don't have to spiel a 5-minute video in one go and get it all right and all perfect.
[00:04:52.140] - Amanda
Yeah, it's a safe environment. You don't have to do this live.
[00:04:55.590] - Imogen
Right. So if you're not doing it live, then why record it live? Why not take your time and get the best bits out of your CEO? If you're filming today and you don't have time for any of the things that we've just talked about, there are still a couple of things that you can do very quickly, which will ease your CEO into the video-making process. The first thing is to film somewhere where they can feel at home, feel comfortable. Studios with green screens and lights and cameras and a director's booth, can be quite intimidating, even for the most seasoned CEO. So think about, can we film in their office maybe, or can we film in an empty coffee corner?
[00:05:49.060] - Amanda
Yeah, don't do them behind the desk though, because that's a barrier. So somewhere where it feels more natural, sat at a table, nice armchair somewhere. Yeah.
[00:06:01.270] - Imogen
Probably not a beanbag, quite difficult to get up from and to have the gravitas you're looking for.
[00:06:06.750] - Amanda
I don't think anyone looks good in a beanbag, right?
[00:06:10.170] - Imogen
Somewhere that they can feel safe. Yeah. Keep your crew to a minimum. No one wants 300 people looking at you while you make mistakes. No one likes that. So maybe just you and the cameraman. And warm them up, have a conversation with them. Before you start filming. Get them to tell you the story that they're looking to share with your audience. When it comes to filming itself, sometimes it's easier to imagine you are having a conversation with someone you like, someone you trust. So, tell them to imagine that they're talking to that person. And instead of asking direct, hard questions, what are the goals of this? What are you doing about this? Maybe try and think more like a conversation. Tell me about, what should people know, how should we feel about? And that will just relax the tone [00:07:10.270] a little bit.
[00:07:11.560] - Amanda
Look, they don't need to be perfect. They just need to be human and authentic. I mean, audiences, employees connect with real, relatable leaders, even if they do stumble over a word or two. I mean, who cares? You need the right tools and techniques to help them shine on screen like they do in person. I think it's good to have and show to them, perhaps, people that are good at it. So if you take a look at Michelle Obama, for instance, her early videos, speeches, not great in many ways.
[00:07:47.070] - Imogen
I would go further and say they were pretty awful.
[00:07:50.820] - Amanda
Because she's not something she's ever done before, right?
[00:07:53.960] - Imogen
Right.
[00:07:54.360] - Amanda
But her team did work with her to develop a more personal and human style, and I think I think it's fair to say that, you know, the latter interviews she did when they were in office, her compassion and charisma really started to shine through. I think Tim Cook is another one that's overcome stiffness, and his team really good at casual scripting and coaching to improve his delivery, particularly in those Apple keynotes.
[00:08:24.390] - Imogen
So there are things you can do. We know we don't need to be perfect. We know that your audience is much more likely to connect with someone who's showing vulnerability in their human side than they are with an android robot who's parroting through a script. You'll know if you're on the right track because your CEO is going to tell you and show you in the work that they're doing. You will also probably hear it from your employees. There will probably be offhand comments and conversations about, "That was much better. That was good. I enjoyed that. That was interesting." It can be done. It will take time. It will take a little bit of luck and perseverance and work too, but you will get there. So that's it for today's episode of Dear Comms. If you found it helpful, share it with your team. Leave us a comment. If you've got a comms challenge of your own, why not send it our way and we'll help you [00:09:24.580] tackle it, coffee cup in hand. See you next time.
[00:09:28.770] - Amanda
See ya.
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