Practicing for Clips and Recording Your First Response

9 May 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:52

TJ Walker explains how to practice crisis communication by recording yourself responding to a fake emergency, then editing the clip down to 10-15 seconds. Review the footage as an audience member would to check if you sound trustworthy and clear. Repeat until you're comfortable with how you come across, so a real crisis doesn't catch you improvising.

Chapters

Ultimize. Most people practice for a conversation. That's not what they'll face in a crisis. They will face a moment that gets turned into a clip. So you have to practice differently. You have to practice for how you will sound when everything is reduced to 10 or 15 seconds or maybe even less. And the only way to do that is to record yourself. Not once, multiple times. Take your phone, turn on the camera, deliver your first response as if the situation were happening right now. Then watch it back, not as the speaker, but as the audience. Ask yourself a simple question: If I saw this as a short clip online, how would I react? Would I trust this person? Would I feel reassured, or would I have doubts? This is where most people get surprised. They think they sound calm. They look tense, though. They think they're being clear. They sound complicated. They think they're being confident, they come across as defensive. That gap matters because in a crisis, perception is reality. I know it's a cliché, but unfortunately it's true. Now take it a step further. Edit your own clip. Cut it down to 10 seconds, 15 seconds at most. What remains? Is it strong? Is it clear? Does it reflect the message you want associated with you? If not, you need to adjust it. Shorten your sentences, simplify your language, focus on your key messages, and record again. This isn't about perfection. It's about familiarity. The more you practice this process, the more natural it becomes. And when a real crisis happens, you'll not be figuring it out for the first time. You'll already know how you sound and more important, how you will be seen.