Most kids have no clue how to talk on camera.
I’ve spent a lot of time on Zoo grounds with the news media when they are interviewing kids. I’ve even interviewed a lot of kids myself for MarylandZoo.TV. I’ve noticed that kids don’t really know what to do when a camera is pointed at them.
I was working with Channel 2 this morning in developing a story for the station and they interviewed a few children by the elephants. One little girl (about seven) was chatting up a storm with her mother and sister. Once the camera started rolling she froze up.
She began to stammer and stutter. Her mind went blank. All the expression left her face.
It was painful to watch.
We need to prepare kids to grow up in a media rich world.
Talking on camera should be something that kids learn from parents, teachers, and society at an early age. We teach children proper phone etiquette and how not to sound like a buffoon on the phone. We teach speech class in High School and College. Why not prepare students for talking on camera or behind a microphone?
At the Zoo, the animal staff gets formal media training. They learn how to talk on camera – what to do when given tough questions – and how to present themselves in a professional manner. This training works and has helped the animal staff and the Zoo look good to the community and television audience.
I am also working on preparing some of the Zoo staff to blog and communicate using social media tools. This is the next wave of media training and all companies and organizations should be focused on it.
Forget speech class – we should offer media training in school.
As modern day communicators, our kids will need to learn how to answer questions on the fly when the cameras roll. Why do High School speech classes still focus on giving a speech from a stage? Why don’t they focus on the little camera in the MacBook instead? Why a stage or the front of the class? Is this real world training?
Journalists, Hollywood, and the industrial media have created an aura around people who stand behind microphones and speak on camera.
Because media has traditionally been a one-way medium, no one felt like they had the skills to communicate like the “professionals.”
What happens when media is no longer a one-way medium? What if media became social and a two-way conversation? How would that change the way we present and speak on camera?
Welcome to the new millennium. The game has changed. Media is now a conversation.
Today’s currency is information. But with all the information in the world, the ones who know how to present themselves will be successful.
I am planning on preparing my sons to be fully functional in a digital media world.
I want my two sons to be well prepared to speak behind a microphone and on camera. I think it is important that they understand how to present themselves when presented with the opportunity. Just like we show them the proper phone etiquette or the way they should speak with a friend or someone they disagree with, we should also help them speak well using new media tools.
Leave the kids out of it for a minute. Are you and your organization prepared to communicate in a 24/7 media environment?
I’ve written this article about children. But children aren’t the only ones who need preparation for social media. Business leaders also need to be prepared to communicate using these new tools like Twitter, podcasts, online video, Facebook, MySpace, Linked-In, and blogs.
Don’t worry if you’ve never heard about these tools before. That’s what this blog is for.
Are you ready?
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Joel-Mark-Witt.com is a blog about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools to grow your business, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail.
Joel Mark Witt
