There are many out there who will write a script before they say anything to the camera. I don’t recommend this. There is some research that suggests that going down this path makes presenting more difficult. When you must memorize a script, you are thinking about more. You can tend to come across as flat, not present.
When you are thinking ‘on the fly’ it helps and adds a bit of energy into the way that you are thinking. When you are just remembering a script, your voice could be more monotone. One technique that I really like to use goes like this: ⁃ I ask the client to talk using a full script. ⁃ I then take the script away. They still have an idea about roughly what they should be saying. ⁃ By doing this, we almost always find that the second version i.e. without the script, is a lot easier for them.
They start to include a bit of interest in what they are talking about, which results in a more interesting presentation. I know that there are some people out there who really do want to work from a script. That’s fine, however, do not dive into that script right away. Instead, record what you want to say. Talk about the main points into a recorder (if you have a phone, you will have a recorder on that). Be as natural as possible. You want it almost conversational in tone. When it comes to writing your script, you are going to find that the script you produce is so much nicer! It sounds better. And less formal. This is because you will allow for those ‘natural’ thoughts.
When you are writing what you want to say, you will want to put notes into the script about where you should be emphasizing certain points and the overall tone that you want to convey. As a result, you are going to sound less monotone. It is a technique that many of the top presenters out there do. Of course, this is not the only factor in being a good presenter. However, it is going to help! I have found that many of my clients go from good to fabulous presenters from this.
