Great communicators stand out because they find ways to be creative
and wholehearted, whatever circumstance. When we coach them, we
rarely hear excuses — "I had to use the stick mic,"
"The lighting was lousy," "They didn’t give
me enough time," etc.
Instead, they tend to see situations like these as opportunities,
and they love to talk about how they handled them — "Here’s
what I did with the stick mic," "I had little time so
I had to say just the right thing," and on and on.
This week's tip features the live
shot/standup montage from the resume reel of Florida reporter,
Gary Widom.
Here is what to notice as you work your way through it:
- He
is as animated with the stick mic as he is without it.
Generally, we advise people not to use a stick, because most
talent become less physically and vocally animated with it in
hand. This reporter is the exception to that, and he makes it
work because he moves and speaks with as much energy as he would
without the stick. Note especially the commitment in his movement,
and the ease with which he switches the mic from one hand to
the other as he prepares to open the gate in the second example
on the reel.
- Even
when standing still, his body language and energy are aggressively
in the direction of the camera (viewer). Notice how
he actually shifts his weight to ward the camera as he begins
the first example. It’s as if he is leaning toward us,
and the sense you get is that he really wants your attention.
- He
plans his movement with a specific destination — a destination
intended to support his point. And he moves to it with
great conviction.
- His
breathing and his volume are always under control.
He is energized, but relaxed. And he is never louder than he
would need to be if were actually standing there with him. As
a result, his delivery is authentically urgent and never over-hyped.
- He’s
comfortable breaking eye contact with the camera. He
manages eye contact the way most of us do in everyday conversation,
looking away from time to time to gather a thought or to note
something in the environment.
- The
language is reactive and conversational. Note how he
begins the live shot on the auto auction — "Well,
it looks like a decent SUV." He begins with a very conversational
reaction to something he’s seeing and that we’re
able to see with him.
- He
can dress up and he can dress down. And he is just
as committed and animated either way.
- The
camerawork is as animated as his performance. Great
live shots and standups are almost always as much the work of
a great photographer as they are the work of a great reporters.
Learning to recruit your photographer to this kind of effort
on a consistent basis is one of the most important keys to consistently
great performance.
This
is exactly the kind of work that will be compelling — and
credible — in almost any newscast format.
As
always, we’d love to know what you think. If you have additional
questions or thoughts about any of this, please contact
us. We’d love your input!
The
Coaching Company offers a day of free coaching to stations that
have never used our services. If you work for a station that would
benefit from the industry's best training, ask your News Director
to look for the information
on free coaching on TCC's homepage.
Or, contact Barry Nash
at any time to learn more. Just be sure to put Talent Coaching
in the subject line of your message.
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