TJ Walker explains how to sit on camera. Lean forward about 15 degrees toward the interviewer. Sitting back makes you look heavier and gives you a double chin. Rigid upright posture doesn't work either.
Questions this video answers
About 15 degrees.
Chapters
For starters, let's talk about how to sit. If you're doing a television interview, any sort of a video interview you've heard, you should be comfortable, confident, relaxed. That's right. Well, what's more comfortable than sort of sitting back, relaxed? The problem with this is even if you don't have a double chin, it's going to look like you have a double chin. The camera is going to be focused on your belly and make you look heavier, fatter than you are, even if you're not fat. And that for most people is uncomfortable. No one wants to look worse than they are. So my recommendation, never sit back. The camera's latching on to what it's closer to. It's closer to down here. My head is further away. It makes everyone look shorter, fatter, more rumpled, unprofessional. So my recommendation is never sit back on camera. Now the next thing you see people do all the time on major news networks and local TV stations all over the world is something like this. Hi, my name is TJ Walker and I help people communicate effectively to the media. And yes, I am being held hostage now and someone has a gun to my. That's what it looks like. So, so called perfect posture looks horrible on video. It makes you look stiff, uncomfortable, unrelaxed. So how do you sit? My recommendation, hold yourself high, lean forward about 15 degrees to the camera. Now it will give you a stronger jawline. The double chin typically disappears and it's not going to focus. The camera is not going to focus on your stomach. So you will look taller, thinner, leaner, more youthful, more vigorous. Everyone looks better. Now when you're looking at me like this, it doesn't look odd, but I'm going to turn here and you can see that it's a little bit odd looking, but it's not uncomfortable. You're simply holding yourself high, leaning forward. And I would lean forward towards the person talking to you. If there is a reporter or anchor, lean towards that person. If you're just speaking to a camera, then lean forward to the camera. That is how you will look your best. You'll look thinner, you'll look more comfortable, you'll feel more confident and it's not a natural thing. Naturally I want to sit back, prop my feet up, but that doesn't look good on video.
