“Hey guys! Welcome back, this is a day in the life of an entitled person. Let’s watch!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, today I want to show you the future of travel with our new, all-electric vehicle.”

“Hi everyone! I’m going to show you how to make authentic, Mexican tortillas today.”

“Top o’ the morning to you laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye and today we’re playing Subnautica!”

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A recent report from YouTube (2023) showed that from 2010 to 2020, the greeting “Hey guys” was the #1 way that content creators started their videos. However, the use of the phrase wasn’t uniform across the different content areas. For example, Fitness channels used “What’s up,” Travel channels used “Good morning,” Tech channels used “Ladies and gentlemen,” and sports channels used “What is going on?” Of course, YouTube channels come in a variety of languages, so phrases such as “Oi gents” (“Hey guys,” Brazil), “Bonjour à tous” (“Hello to all,” France), “Hallo ihr” (“Hello you,” Germany), and “Hola hola” (“Hi, hi,” Mexico) are common as well. The convergence of certain types of greetings to specific genres of content creation suggests that even something as simple as a greeting ca be a powerful way to identify and create an audience for your content.

Digital public speaking has been on the rise for decades, but the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the amount of time people spend engaged in digital public speaking. In 2020, Zoom surpassed 300 million daily Zoom meeting participants, which was a substantial increase from the 10 million participants reported in 2019 (54 Zoom statistic, 2021). Now barely a day goes by without a person attending a virtual meeting, webinar, or online course or without watching a person speak on YouTube or TikTok.

Although digital public speaking does require unique communication skills, there are commonalities between traditional public speaking and digital public speaking. Edwards (2021) argues that digital communication is public speaking when it requires the same core competencies. She explained:

Online discussion forums, live streaming monologues or dialogues, and asynchronous messages on platforms like TED and YouTube are public speaking when communicators develop intentional messages on topics of social or public consequence, even when interaction between speaker and audience may be mediated by time and technology. (p. 337)

From the boardroom to the banquet hall, you will always need to develop your public speaking skills for face-to-face environments. However, the advent of social media platforms, and the ease by which everyday people can upload videos to the Internet, have made digital public skills all the more valuable.

In this chapter, we will prepare you to master the art of digital public speaking. First, you will need to determine if your speaking engagement will occur synchronously, asynchronously, or as a combination of the two. Then you will consider who your audience is and how you will need to adapt your presentation to meet your audiences’ needs. Second, we will discuss verbal and nonverbal skills as well as general guidelines to aid you as you strive to be an effective communicator in digital contexts. Third, we’ll summarize some principles for how to best create, edit, and promote your video content. We’ll conclude by talking about the promises and pitfalls of digital public speaking.

Nayte registered for an online webinar to learn about real estate photography. A few minutes before the webinar was scheduled to begin, Nayte promptly opened his laptop and took out a pen and paper in his home office. He clicked on the link to the webinar and watched as hundreds of participants from around the world did the same. The chat box was a flurry of entries as each participant said hello and listed where they were steaming in from. When the webinar began, Nayte was surprised to learn that it had been pre-recorded. However, the instructor seemed very responsive in the chat box, answering as many questions as possible in real time. By the end of the webinar, Nayte was excited to jump into his side gig: real estate photography.

Throughout this textbook, we have emphasized the importance of considering your audience. What does my audience already know about this subject? What do they need to know? Do aspects of their identity or their experiences influence the way I ought to present the material? Digital public speaking also requires speakers to analyze and care for their audience.

Some digital public speaking situations have clear and specific audiences. If you are attending a Zoom meeting as part of your job, it is likely that you know the purpose of the meeting as well as who will be attending. In the example of Nayte going to a webinar on photography, the audience was composed of individuals from all over the world. And yet, they were all gathering with a clear purpose: to learn real estate photography. While the demographics of the webinar audience may be diverse, they were all gathering with a common purpose, which can guide the webinar instructor in preparing for the event. Knowing that the audience will be from all over the world is also helpful. The instructor can assume that not everyone speaks the same first language or has the same cultural background and adjust tempo, presentational aids, and examples to better meet the needs of this diverse audience.

Synchronous events

Digital public speaking contexts are diverse. Webinars, TEDtalks, YouTube videos, Zoom meetings–each content calls for specific preparations. When we think of public speaking, we usually think of a synchronous communication event. Synchronous speaking events are scheduled and occur in real time. The courses you take in-person are synchronous communication events. You attend class at the same time as your classmates and complete assignments at the same time as them as well. If you watch a YouTube Live with other followers, you are also attending a synchronous communication event, because you are all experiencing the same thing at the same time. Synchronous public speaking requires many of the same skills as traditional public speaking because it is ephemeral, meaning that it lasts a very short time. If a synchronous public speaking event is not being recorded, it requires that you speak slowly, explain things clearly, and use repetition to guide your listeners throughout your speech, because they will not have an opportunity to pause or rewatch your presentation.

Asynchronous events

Asynchronous communication events are not scheduled and happen on your own time. Many fully online courses function asynchronously. The materials for the course are posted and you are allowed to move through the materials and assignments at your own pace. Asynchronous public speaking is often pre-recorded, which allows the speaker to edit any errors or re-record. However, in these speaking contexts, the speaker is unable to adapt to feedback from audience members. Viewers of asynchronous public speaking have the ability to pause, rewatch, skip over, and even adjust the speed of the video. They do not, however, have the ability to interact with the speaker or offer any real-time feedback.

There are now many platforms that allow both synchronous and asynchronous communication to occur simultaneously. Some speeches are pre-recorded but then shown to an audience at a scheduled time. The audience experienced an asynchronous public speaking event synchronously. The recording of the speech can then be shared on various websites, allowing people to watch it asynchronously. The example of the webinar offered at the start of this section is another example of an experience that combines asynchronous and synchronous communication. The event itself is synchronous, as all attendees arrive at a scheduled time. They are also communicating with each other synchronously in the chat box. However, the webinar lesson itself was pre-recorded.

Gathering whether your digital public speaking event will occur asynchronously, synchronously, or a combination of the two is important. How you approach preparing for the public speaking event as well as what skills you will need to be successful are based on the context. Imagine you are speaking synchronously on Zoom while your audience is responding in the chat box in real time. You will want to address your audience’s comments and use their feedback to adapt your presentation as you go. This requires you to have a plan for how to address the comments without losing your focus as a speaker.

Some digital public speaking contexts may make determining your audience more difficult. When creating videos for social media, it may be difficult to predict who will see your video. In these situations, it is helpful for you, as the speaker, to have a target audience in mind and then develop your digital content appropriately. Even when pre-recorded and asynchronous, your presentations would help create a dialogue between you and your audience.

She smiles as she appears on the screen and immediately lifts her hands and begins telling a story about being called a storyteller as opposed to a researcher. She expresses her discomfort with this. Would she seem less credible or intelligent if she was described as a storyteller? Her delivery is conversational and poignant, serious, and playful. She goes on to talk about her research on human connection and the role courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy play in helping humans connect to each other.

In 2010, shame researcher Brené Brown gave a TEDtalk on the power of vulnerability. Unbeknownst to her, the video would go viral and her work would become famous. The video currently has 59,984,380 views on TED’s website alone (Brown, 2010). After this talk, she would go on to write top selling books on topics spanning from courage to leadership. She has multiple podcasts, is a highly sought after speaker, and even has a Netflix special. Of course, the content of Brown’s speech is valuable and interesting, but her ability to deliver the content in a way that connects to her digital audience contributes to its success. In this section, we will discuss specific verbal and nonverbal delivery challenges you may face in digital speaking settings.

Many of the qualities that define good public speaking also apply to digital speaking environments. As a speaker, you still need to enunciate, use correct pronunciation, pause appropriately, speak conversationally with vocal variety, utilize facial expressions, dress appropriately, and avoid fillers.

There are unique aspects of digital public speaking that you should consider when preparing:

Sustain Energy

Sitting may affect your energy levels and your tone. One way to keep your energy up is by paying attention to your posture as you sit. Also, because you are not able to signal transitions with movement, you will need to find alternative ways to indicate as you shift from one idea to another. Another consideration when presenting from a sitting position, is the placement of the camera. Usually, it is best to set the camera so that your arms and hands are still visible. This allows you to use gestures, which are vital to your nonverbal delivery. If sitting results in poor delivery, consider possible ways to stand during your public speaking event.

Reduce Distractions

Choose your background carefully, avoiding anything that may divert the attention of your audience. Some content creators speak with a simple, white, others use rainbow lights, and other use a green screen where they can animate the background Whatever you do, make sure it is clear of clutter and items that might distract your viewers. You also want to make sure that you choose clothing that does not blend into your background. For example, if you are using a dark background and wear dark clothes, it may look like your disembodied head is floating on the screen! Many of the same considerations apply to auditory distractions. Choose a space to record, stream, or meet that is free of sounds or noises that could disturb your speaking. If necessary, use a microphone to obtain the best sound quality

Maintain Eye Contact

Good eye contact with your webcam is key to effective digital public speaking. It creates a feeling of closeness which is even more important when you are physically distant from your audience. Because of how your eyes track when you read, reading directly from your screen is usually very apparent to your viewers. We recommend using sticky notes around your computer or downloading a teleprompter app so that you can maintain eye contact with your webcam at least 80% of the time. If speaking using software such as Zoom, consider hiding self-view. This helps minimize Zoom fatigue and distractions!

Verbal and nonverbal delivery skills are important whether you are speaking in-person or in a digital environment. Digital communication situations do require more specific approaches and techniques. In the next section, we will discuss some general guidelines for digital public speaking to aid you in becoming a successful and engaging digital communicator.

 

From the outside, content creation looks like a fun and easy way to make a career. You just need to film yourself reacting to something, selling some product, or playing a video game, right? Although it is certainly possible to do any of these things without much planning or forethought, if you want to do them well enough to profit from them, you will need to start developing your content creation skills. Whether you are on a Zoom conference call with investors from around the world or developing “Let’s Play” videos for your YouTube channel, there are principles you should know before you even start:

Choose Audience/Topic

When developing online video content, the first and most important question you can ask is, “Who is my audience?” A recent report showed that nearly 90% of content on YouTube never receives more than 1,000 views and that .77% of videos account for nearly 83% of all views (Newman, 2020). In other words, there is a LOT of content on the platform and, with all that choice, it is increasingly difficult to reach one’s audience. Creating content because it is interesting, fun, or humorous to you doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be engaging to your audience. You need to figure out what your content’s topic will be by researching where your interests and audiences’ interests intersect. Some places to start are: Reacting to Trends, Let’s Plays, Shorts, Unboxing or Product Demos, Tutorials, and Educational videos.

Competitor Research

One of the most effective ways to figure out your audience, topic, tone, and approach is to do competitor research. That is, find other content creators who you will be competing with for audience engagement. Watch their content for their video techniques, read the comments, and/or join Reddit groups on the topic or specific competitor. All of these can be a way for you to figure out what your audience wants and how you will deliver it. Remember, just because there is another person doing the content you want doesn’t mean you can’t do it. In fact, collaborations with other video makers in the same content area can promote cross-engagement. By investigating what works well for other competitors at the beginning, you reduce the likelihood that you will waste time creating content that doesn’t meet your audience’s needs.

Title/Keyword/SEO Search

Content titles and keywords are the way you connect you to your content to your audience. Since your audience will look for your content (or, will be guided to your content by the platform’s algorithm), you need to pick terms that will connect to the broadest audience for your topic while not diluting your ability to target a specific audience by using too many terms (i.e., overstuffing). When you engage in title or keyword research, you are trying to find the search terms that people use with the goal of using that data for search engine optimization (SEO). You can use free tools, such as KeywordTool.io to see which terms are oversaturated with big competitors and which may be better fits for a beginner content creator. If you pick the keywords that best characterize your content and the content users might want, you will dramatically increase the chances of generating more traffic to your content. Nearly 55% of web traffic occurs in the first three links of Google search (Southern, 2020), so it’s especially important to get your title/keywords correct for maximum SEO.

Decide on Tone

You need to decide on a tone that matches your content, personality, and direction. Will your content be humorous, light-hearted, bubbly, commanding, reserved, relaxed, or agitated? Although certainly you can be all these things throughout the course of a long career in content creation, a successful content creator often relies on one overarching tone for their channel or outlet. Again, look to your audience’s needs and work backward. Are they looking for a credible information sources about what products to buy? To relax and laugh while they watch you play video games? Deciding early what kind of tone matches your audience/content will also help you develop your keywords for SEO.

Write Script/Storyboard

Although certainly some regular content creators improvise their videos, most develop materials before they film. For some, this might be storyboarding, where they write out major plot points, jokes, or events in the content and develop a loose script around each one. Or, they script out a close approximation or an exact script of what they are going to say. Developing and practicing a script/storyboard (especially early in your career) will help you feel less nervous, reduce dead-air (i.e., times when the content is silent because you can’t think of what to say next), and ensure that you don’t say something off-handedly that is ill-conceived or harmful. Most importantly, it provides you an artifact to return to and develop better content from. Maybe a joke didn’t land well, or a story went too long—these are things that can be learned from and altered for future content creation.

Get Equipment

Perhaps one of the most daunting challenges to content creation is the cost of equipment. Purchasing high-end equipment on a college student budget maybe impossible for many people. Luckily, a great deal of equipment can be obtained of relatively little. The most important pieces of equipment you will need are. First, a camera that shoots in at least 1080p (high-quality) video and, ideally, can film at 4k (ultra-high quality). Second, a dedicated microphone—built-in laptop or camera/phone microphones are usually not sufficient for good audio. Third, you may need a tripod/stand/stabilizer, to ensure that your camera or smartphone doesn’t fall over or shoot crooked video. Finally, you will need to purchase lighting if you are recording indoors or in an area with a lot of ambient light (e.g., outside).

Download/Purchase Software

Once you have shot your video or photographs, it is time to edit them. Luckily, digital editing of your content has never been easier. Many universities’ Department of Communication and Media (including ours!) have subscriptions to high-end video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Elements 2023, DaVinci Resolve 18, or Final Cut Pro. However, you may wish to learn more about how to use many of the free video editing software programs which are available.

Now that you have prepared your space and procured the necessary equipment, it’s time to start shooting your video footage. But wait! It’s not as simple as turning on your smartphone’s camera and uploading whatever you end up getting. Good video content is a complex process, and the tips below will ensure you maximize your effectiveness:

Practice/Rehearse

Unless you are doing a live video shoot, there is no justification for verbal pauses, mistakes, or misstatements in recorded footage. You should be practiced and rehearsed long before you turn on your equipment. You should also rehearse with your equipment on before doing the final take to ensure you feel comfortable in your performance. If you mess up during a video recording, you should either re-shoot the entire shot or scene (depending on its placement) or address the error through editing. Never publish video content that with mistakes that you can fix!

Test Lighting/Audio

When you practice/rehearse, make sure you do at least one full run with the equipment on to test your lighting and audio. After recording watch/listen to your recording—is everything exactly the way you want it? If not, change it! There is nothing worse than having a clean, perfect take on a video shot only to find out it was ruined because you didn’t account for lighting (e.g., the sun’s placement throughout the day) or audio (e.g., traffic or passing helicopter) issues.

Second Source for Sound

Having additional sources of sound can ensure that you are always using the clearest audio for your content. This is especially true if you are recording a talk between you and someone else on a video call. If you have a condenser mic and they are using a webcam mic, your audio will sound crisp and theirs will be poor. Additionally, having a digital audio recorder running while you are using a mic on your computer will ensure that you have two audio files in case one gets corrupted or accidentally deleted. Better safe than sorry!

Scout Location

Often, you want your video shooting location to be controllable (e.g., your home). However, in instances where that is impossible (e.g., in a local park), you will need to scout the location to find the best times to shoot. Traffic from others, the sun’s placement, wind, and a variety of other factors can make shooting video frustrating. By scouting the location ahead of time, you ensure that you will be able to have the most optimum time for your content creation.

Develop Virtual Listening Skills

If you are on a Zoom call, doing an interview, or creating content where you collaborate with someone else, you need to make sure you are using good listening skills. Staying present and engaged during online meetings or webinars can be challenging. However, learning to listen in these situations is important not only for acquiring information but for maintaining relationships. The easiest and first key to effective listening is to remove any distractions. Do not multitask. Next, offering verbal feedback, such as saying “mmm” and “yeah,” as someone speaks does not work in digital speaking situations. It is best to turn your microphone off and increase your nonverbal feedback. Head nods and facial expressions are an important way to communicate that you are listening. As a digital public speaker, you can encourage good listening skills by being lively and engaging, asking questions, giving participants tasks, and monitoring your audience’s interest levels. Every five to ten minutes, engage your audience in some way (e.g., tell a story or make them laugh) to re-engage their attention.

Rule of Thirds

When shooting your video or video editing, you should always strive to follow the rule of thirds; that is, the idea that if you take a shot and divide it into a 3×3 grid, your audience’s eyes are naturally drawn to the lines of the grid. Having important movement, figures, or items outside of those gridlines can minimize their impact. This idea is particularly true if you are looking into a webcam for a video conference—make sure your eyes are at the line of the top third and look into the camera (not the screen) to maximize your effectiveness. Of course, you can sometimes break the rule for important exceptions. Learning when to follow it, and when to break it, is a defining characteristic of a good videographer.

You’ve shot your video, but there were a lot of flubs, mistakes, misstatements, or verbal pauses. No worries! The best part of digital public speaking when it is asynchronous is that you can use a variety of editing tools to perfect your video before your audience ever has the chance to see it:

Zoom In/Out

Although it seems like a basic technique, zooming in or out can convey a great deal of meaning. Zooming in can encourage your audience to focus on a specific part (e.g., facial expression) that you want. Also, zooming in can feature can help you achieve crop the video by enlarging the scale of the clip. Conversely, zooming out can give your audience a since of scale or reveal a character or background that was hidden while zoomed in.

Adding Graphics/Animations

Many video editing software packages have graphics or animations you can insert in your video. The best times to use them are in transitions from one scene to another and/or when you have done a jump cut (see below) that looks jarring. Adding a graphic or animation, instead of keeping the speaker in frame, can hide these imperfections while maintaining a consistent audio.

Overlaying Sounds/Music

One of the most fun components of video editing is adding sounds and music. You may be interested in open source or free sounds or music samples to do transitions, intros, or endings of your video. You can usually only use copyrighted music if you get permission from the copyright holder (usually the publisher). Using copyrighted music without permission can get your content de-monetizes, taken down, or banned. When you are overlaying sounds or music, make sure you are fitting the audio to the tone or mood of the video content. For example, stopping music in a dramatic part of the video or having high-tempo, uplifting music during a reunion can be the difference between a “good” and “great” video. You may consider downloading a Digital Audio Workstation to have more control over splicing sounds or music.

Transitions/Cuts

Having transitions/cuts in your video shots can signal a great deal of information to your audience, such as conveying the passing of time or a narrative change. After adding your clips or video scenes to your editing software’s editing timeline, you can begin adding transitions/cuts to your content in ways that can make it interesting, engaging, or informative. Although transitions can provide dynamism to your video, over suing them can make you content look rushed, jumbled, or unplanned. Learning not just how, but when, to use transitions/cuts will go a long way to make sure your content is interesting and effective.

Templates/Presets/B-Roll

Many early-career content creators think that they need to fill every second with original footage that they have shot. This isn’t true! You can and should add templates and B-roll to your content. Templates are premade short video clips that you can add as transitions or to emphasize a point, or to save money/time by not shooting that footage yourself. B-roll refers to video footage that you shoot that may be supplemental or alternate to the main shot. For example, shooting a video of a deer in a meadow may be used while a narrator is talking about the importance of environmental conservation. When editing your footage, you can use presets, which are visual or audio effects that have already been used or created that you can import into your video content for the same effect. For example, if you like the lighting on a particular shot, you may be able to obtain the preset rather than try to duplicate it yourself. There’s no need to reinvent the effects that you like when you can find and import existing presets.

After shooting and editing your video, you need to make sure that people actually watch it! Most media content platforms use a variety of ways to promote your content as well as way to review if you content is connecting to your audience. For you to extend your reach, it is important that you learn how to read your engagement reports and use that information to grow your audience:

Thumbnail

The thumbnail is the small picture that is the clickable link for your content. Make sure your thumbnail accurately portrays your content while also being interesting and engaging. For example, in reaction videos, often the content creator will have a thumbnail that suggests movement or dynamism (e.g., pointing to something) or portray excitement, disgust, or embarrassment. You may also wish to have your brand logo on it. Some platforms such as YouTube will automatically suggest a thumbnail for your video which you can use. Alternatively, you can create your own through graphic design software, such as Canva.

Promote Yourself Widely

No one will watch your content if they don’t know you exist! Do not be afraid to ask your friends and family to engage with your content. The more people who interact with your content, the more likely media platforms’ algorithms will push your content to new audiences. Collaborate with other content creators if possible. Ask your audience to send you questions then answer them in the next content drop. Make content that has sequels to keep persistent engagement. Always ask for audience engagement (e.g., “Like, comment, and subscribe!”) and respond as much as possible. Many platforms offer ways for you to pay for extended reach, which may make sense, especially if you start generating some income from your content creation. Most of all have fun and create a community around the things you are passionate about!

Review Analytics

Many content creation sites provide a robust set of tools to understand your audience’s engagement with your content (e.g., videos) and overall presence (e.g., your channel). Obviously, metrics such as views, engagement (e.g., likes/comments/subscribers), and view time are important. These metrics let you know which videos engage your audience the most or extend into new audiences. You should review how people are finding your content (e.g., what search terms do they use, what search engines do they use, or similar content creators do they watch?), audience retention (i.e., how many new or long-time fans do you have), or (if applicable) what products they buy based on your embedded links/advertisements. All these metrics can help you understand how to best grow your audience and maximize your monetization.

In 2014, feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and video game developers Zoë Quinn and Briana Wu were doxxed, meaning that their private information was maliciously and publicly shared on the internet. They also received rape and death threats. This harassment campaign became known as Gamergate and reminds us of the dark side of digital public speaking. By publicly speaking online, you open yourself up to potential trolling and harassment. Consider ways to moderate who has access to your digital public speaking event, keep things professional, and do not feed the trolls. You cannot fully control how people respond to your public speaking event and you are not responsible for others harassing or trolling you. Should these situations occur, block, ban, and report when possible.

Digital public speaking skills will only become more important as the world becomes increasingly connected through the internet and social media platforms. Whether you are going to be a content creator or consumer, it is vital that you can recognize the best practices of this form of public engagement. Doing so will enable you to create content for yourself or on behalf of an organization in ways that are effective and engaging or it will help you identify and avoid channels that do not support its audience’s needs. Either way, you will influence how content creation is planned, rehearsed, created, and consumed for years to come.