TJ Walker explains when to wear glasses during speeches and on camera. Skip them if you only need them for reading, avoid glare on video, and consider them part of your image like Churchill did.
Questions this video answers
March 17, 2017.
About $3 per pair.
Six reading glasses for $18.
Chapters
Should you wear glasses when giving a speech or doing media interview? Well, right now, for those of you listening on itunes, I am wearing sort of thick plastic reading glasses. These are the kind you get from the grocery store for $3. I get them on Amazon, six in a pack for 18. This is what I use if I'm at my home office reading on an airplane. Otherwise, I like the flexibility of it. If I lose it, break it, it doesn't matter. And I tend to be hard on my glasses. Now, if I am creating a video and I have to be able to look at keys on the keyboard and I have to wear glasses, but I don't want it to be noticeable, I'll wear some that are plain plastic so they don't cast shadows. The problem with the first pair of glasses I had is they're so dominant. The thick plastic, it casts shadows on the eyes and the face. It becomes dominant. And then people are wondering, oh, is he trying to be Mr. Nerd? Is he trying to be Clark Kent? Now, there's nothing wrong with wearing glasses if you wear them all the time. Here's the rule of thumb I have for speaking. If you always wear glasses, you need them for distance, then by all means, wear your glasses. You don't want to have an inconsistent image. But if you only need glasses for reading, then I would not wear glasses. Glasses when you're giving a speech. Now, I need glasses to read, and I do read notes when I speak. But I never wear glasses when giving a speech. Not because I'm excessively vain, although maybe I am extra vain. It does seem to be something that afflicts my profession a little higher than average. But I'm not avoiding glasses out of vanity. I'm avoiding glasses because I don't want to create a barrier between me and the audience. I want them to see my eyes. I want to see them. I also don't want to physically take the time to put glasses on and off because that is putting a spotlight on the fact that I'm looking at notes. And I want people to feel as though I'm just having a conversation with them when I'm giving a speech or a presentation. So here's what I'd recommend. If you always wear glasses, by all means, continue wearing glasses when you speak. Some of the best speakers ever wear glasses. Winston Churchill wore glasses, and he actually had big, round, heavy framed ones. For him, it was a part of his image. So even though I said about the plastic glasses, for me, you can break the rules sometimes, I do want you to give some thought to it and make sure it's consistent with your image. John McLaughlin, the famed TV political pundit, has big, often red glasses that are dominant. They're part of his image, they're part of his caricature. But if it's not a part of who you are and you don't always wear glasses, I would opt with not having the glasses on. It's just one fewer thing to distract your audience, one fewer thing to have shadows on your face. Now, one other issue with glasses. If you're going to be speaking in front of large audiences and you might have an image magnification, a camera on you and people are seeing you up on a bigger screen, you can get glasses that are glare proofed. So you can either have your existing glasses dipped in something that will glare proof them or when you're purchasing your glasses, ask the doctor or the lens crafter that you're dealing with for glare proof glasses and it will be easier for when you're on any kind of a video camera. So those are the tips on wearing glasses when speaking.
