How to sharpen your online teaching presence
There are a lot of online teaching performances that — thanks to lecture capture — are finding more viewers than they deserve. Students have to learn with these videos to pass their exams. What could teachers do to make the viewing experience better? What does it mean for a lecturer’s teaching presence when he or she cannot “read the room”, but when they have to squeeze their authority, expertise, and care through a webcam?
Remote teaching means that lecturers become professionals working with video.
A key insight from conversations with experienced and aspiring educational content creators on YouTube is about developing an online presence. Is it similar to on stage presence — just digital? Yes and No. So many different elements factor into your online teaching presence.
The often conversational tone of YouTubers is remarkable different than a lecturer addressing a classroom. It is more like a chat across a coffee table. And this works well, because usually, videos are consumed in a private setting. Which is different than sitting in a lecture hall with many others.
What can we learn from educational YouTubers such as Ali Abdaal for online teaching? A lot. Scripting, for example. When you start the video, you get thrown a hook that seeks to catch your attention. It is a promise on value to be delivered. Then comes an introduction to who is speaking. Followed by the delivery on the promise with the actual content on what the video is about. Often, the value is a mix of education and entertainment. And of course, there is an end screen when you are asked to “hit like and subscribe to the channel”, often paired with a suggestion for a next video to watch. Audience retention matters.
Embedded into such frameworks, the skilled interpersonal communication goes digital. Body language, gestures, mimics, and articulation, posture, the modulation of your voice, gaze and eye contact — all of these and more are part of your communication repertoire that translate relatively well to video if you add more energy.
But you need to add framing, meaning what viewers can see of you and your background. The lighting of the talent and the scene is even more relevant. Especially the illumination of your face with a key light is a dealbreaker. Ultimately, the audio quality and video quality are important.
Although the medium is video, audio quality matters most. Get a good microphone. And also having a good DSLR camera and lens with a bokeh effect and a nicely blurred background directly helps to stand out, because the viewer’s attention is guided to what is in focus.
What’s to learn for your online teaching presence? Hone your skills in storytelling and improve the production quality of your audio and video signal. Make your on-stage moments matter with more impact. And make it conversational, allow yourself to smile.
