Record Your Next Speaking Engagement With Ease
Go On The Record
If you’re talking about a subject in front of others, then it’s important to get a copy of it. There are many reasons you should record your next speaking engagement, least of which it to watch it again so you can give that talk better and more consistently the next time you’re asked to discuss it.
The other reasons are to make sure you can share that talk in other ways. Whether you post it on YouTube, upload it to your LinkedIn profile, or just use it internally to train new employees and referral partners, having a recording of your speaking engagements handy is a great way of building a library of content to use in the future.
You can also slice your talk into smaller segments and share it out piecemeal over time, creating a bigger audience, or using it to get other speaking engagements with other companies or groups. The options are nearly endless.
The Tools of the Trade
You don’t need a fancy camera, or an expensive sound system to get started. When you first record your next speaking engagement, you just need your phone, and a couple of inexpensive items from Amazon.
For as little as $12.99 you can get a Lavalier Microphone that can connect to your smart phone. (If you’re using an iPhone, you’ll probably need a Lightning Port Adapter as well.) To get a decent recording just open your voice notes app, and record your talk. Take that file and either have someone transcribe it, or use a program like Otter.ai to do the transcription work for you.
Now you have both a audio recording you can use wherever you’d like and the written copy for your speech. The audio could be used for a podcast, or alongside a video you create if it makes sense. The written copy could be made into blogs, social media posts, or converted into an eBook or White Paper.
Going All In With VIdeo
If you want to go to the next step, then consider starting out with video. Again, you don’t have to go super high-end unless you really want to (and know what you’re doing.) You can get started with your cellphone again. Just make sure you get a good Directional Microphone or a Wireless Lavalier Microphone that can be used with your cell phone. I’d recommend going a little higher-end if you’re going to start shooting video as people will expect in in video.
If you need your cellphone or don’t want to use it for your video production, there are plenty of decent point-and-shoot cameras from Canon, Sony, Nikon, and others that will shoot video in HD, Full HD, and even in 4K. Again, I would highly recommend getting a Directional or Wireless Lav Mic to get the best possible sound quality.
Spin Your Video
Once you have your video recorded, you can take that and put it on YouTube, Vimeo, or whatever other platform you want. Like you did with your audio content, you can spin in into several different, shorter videos, spin it out into a series to bring in more watchers, or even split the video and the audio apart to share in every way possible.
Take the audio and throw it into Otter again and download the SRT file to create your closed captions to increase the visibility and likelihood of your video being featured and shared. Publish it as a podcast episode as well, or use it in your other training and marketing efforts.
Don’t Be Afraid to Start Today
The most important thing is to get started on the next talk you give. Even if the original audio quality isn’t what you expected, you’ve tried something new and succeeded in the effort. You learned something and can try again the next time.
If you’re looking for help or have questions about what tools to use, or whether this microphone is better than that one, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to discuss what you’re considering and how you can use the tools you have right now to get started.
