4 tips for recording conference presentations at home

It’s conference season, which means that in any other year, many of us would be flying across the country to present our latest research and connect with colleagues, old and new. Now with COVID, the conferences that haven’t been cancelled or re-scheduled have gone completely virtual.

If you’re like me and submitted any conference presentations earlier this year before COVID hit, you may now be asked to present work virtually that you had originally planned to present in person. While some conferences are still having folks present their work live via Zoom or other live-streaming software, some are asking that presenters pre-record their sessions so that attendees can watch them at their convenience.

Recording a conference presentation may feel pretty nerve-wracking! In a lot of ways it can be harder than presenting in front of a crowd of people. You don’t get the same kind of feedback you’d get with an audience there, like people smiling or nodding their heads (one of my least favorite parts of presenting virtually is not being able to see people laugh at my jokes!).

If you’re working on recording a conference presentation remotely, here’s some tips you can try to improve the quality of your video:

Make a standing desk with whatever you have on hand!

1) Use as much natural light as you can

Natural light is always, always better than artificial. If you can, use a room in your home that gets a good amount of natural light and try to record your video during the time of day that the room is most lit up. Also try to record with the light in front of you (behind your camera) rather than behind you. If you have to record in a room with only one window, you can use a poster board or other foam board to reflect the light and improve your lighting.

2) Stand while you speak

Stand up while recording your presentation and make sure your camera is at eye-level. If you have to, elevate your laptop or camera by stacking some books underneath (I recently did this for a conference presentation and used a laundry basket and some board games!).

3) Record in one take without a rigid script

This may be more challenging for lengthy presentations, but if you can try to record in one take without using a rigid script. I find that recording videos with a strict script makes me more nervous and more likely to flub a line. Having a rough sketch of points to speak about is much more natural and allows you to add in extra things you think of in the moment, much like an in-person presentation.

4) Batch with other work

If you can, batch your recording with other work. Try not to record first thing in the morning when your voice isn’t warmed up yet. Try recording your presentation after another meeting or after doing something relaxing. If you have to record several presentations or other videos, try recording them in succession to allow yourself to get into the flow of things.