How To Speak With Confidence In Front Of A Camera

With the continued rise of platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, the way audiences consume news is changing dizzyingly fast. It’s not news to anyone working in a newsroom, but the 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report stresses an “accelerated shift” away from “institutional journalism”, against a backdrop of YouTubers, TikTokers, and podcasters.

As a result, even journalists working for established publications are often expected to have mastered multimedia content creation as standard. But, in an age where speaking in front of a camera of any size could be a vital part of your career, just how can you master speaking with confidence?

A TV Skill That’s Now Expected Of Everyone

Before social media, on-camera confidence was a skill saved for journalists working at TV stations. However, what used to take a team of people can now be done with just your smartphone and a tripod and, increasingly, audiences are favouring videos fronted by real people in a more informal style.

Yet, even with this seemingly straightforward way of broadcasting a story, there’s one challenge that can’t be accomplished overnight: being comfortable in front of the camera. It’s a part of the job that can be very daunting, and a huge mental barrier for both emerging reporters who want a career in broadcast journalism, as well as established reporters who might feel camerawork sits outside of their comfort zone and skillset.

Dr. Aurora Herrera is a lecturer in television journalism at London Metropolitan University with more than 20 years of experience broadcasting across Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, and Canada. The good news is that she believes it’s a skill anyone can learn with practice: “There are several simple ways to build that on-camera engagement.”

Rhanie Al-Alas (L), junior video producer at the iPaper and Dr. Aurora Herrera (R), Television Journalism lecturer at London Metropolitan University.

The first step, she says, is always being prepared — wisdom which could be applied to almost anything in life. Even as in her work now as a lecturer, Dr Aurora says she takes the same approach to preparation, which is the backbone of her entire job. “When I’m giving a lecture to my students, I agonise over the smallest details of what to put in the PowerPoint,” she explains, “I’m helping them craft their approach to their careers and I want them to have that confidence.”

For working on camera, this means doing your research on the topic at hand and writing scripts in advance. Dr. Aurora adds: “You must know your subject, even if it’s pre-recorded or live. If you don’t know your subject, then the public will see it, and reflect that value on you.”

Even if you’re in a rush to get something out quickly, make sure to read several sources and viewpoints, double-check your sources, and think about how you could explain the issue in the simplest way possible.

Script Your Videos In Advance

Rhanie Al-Alas, a junior video producer at the i Paper, says this is particularly important when it comes to the script. She explains: “You could be the best speaker, but if you have a terrible script, nobody will want to listen to that. You’ve got about three seconds to hook people into the story.”

Indeed, while it’s difficult to find solid statistics, the consensus of marketing wisdom says that the average user will scroll past a video in just a few seconds if they don’t find it instantly engaging, and, let’s be real, we’ve all been there. While conventional broadcast TV might not have quite the same problems, the rise of “second screening“, as users scroll while watching the big screen. In short, you need to think about how to explain your story in a consistently compelling way.

However, while preparation is always the key, it’s worth being aware of the differences between video formats. Social videos, for example, might be presented in a more informal or creative way, while traditional TV broadcasts will follow the style of the programme they’re sitting within.

Understand The Differences Between Live And Pre-Recorded

Similarly, while live and pre-recorded content both deliver stories to audiences, they require different approaches. Live recordings, for example, are typically shot in one take, and despite the impromptu nature of news interviews, there are actually a lot of things to prepare for behind the scenes.

Rhanie explains that, in reality, this first take needs to be perfect. She says: “There’s a lot of preparation that you have to do to make sure everything is running smoothly and it’s quite difficult. I did a live recording once when there was a doctors and nurses strike at Trafalgar Square […] I had to say: ‘I’m here at Trafalgar Square in London, where there’s a nurse strike happening, and I’m here to talk to the doctors and the nurses’. Then, I had to turn to the camera to speak to the doctors and the nurses.”

But, she stresses that this wasn’t a case of winging it: “So, before that, I’d have to find and brief some doctors and nurses and tell them what I was planning, so I didn’t need to scramble around to find them on the spot.”

Even if you don’t have a set script, if you’re running a live, you’ll still want to feel confident and knowledgeable about your topic, so take time to do your research and practice some key talking points. Similarly, make sure you’ve set up and are happy with your location in advance, as well as lined up interviewees and explained the process to them.

Dr. Aurora explains: “The studio is a very controlled environment, so you can predict what’s going to happen. You’ve practised and the conditions are probably nearly the same. You can count the number of steps you want to walk towards the camera, or which camera to look at, depending on the story.” It goes without saying that this isn’t true in a live environment like a protest.

Pre-recorded content has a different approach. Adhya Anwari is the foreign correspondent for news programmes at TVOne, an Indonesian national news channel. She explains: “For pre-records, [broadcast channels] expect more [from] the coverage. They want more details, more angles and stock shots. In a way, it’s more flexible to do pre-recorded content, but you have to do more than what you do on your live report,” she adds.

In either case, though, Adhya recommends taking time to organise your thoughts, thinking about the mood and approach of the story: “I have to prepare myself around 10 or 15 minutes before, to calm myself. I don’t talk to other people — I just need 10 minutes with myself.”

Gathering your thoughts can be tricky, especially when the environment you’re recording is not conducive to a shoot. Reading your surroundings plays a big part when shooting in hostile or unstable places, but in calmer situations, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones can also work wonders when you’re in need of some quiet prep time.

However, it’s important to make sure your videos don’t come across as overly scripted or as if they’re being simply read aloud.

Dr. Aurora explains: “There’s obviously spontaneity that comes from both pre-recording and live. So, if you’re the type of person that doesn’t mind not having much control and welcomes things that happen all of a sudden, you can definitely roll with it — as long as you remember that your audience is your priority and you need to remain accountable to them.”

Take Time To Rehearse Your Voice

Finding the right tone of voice to deliver stories effectively can boost your confidence when speaking in front of the camera, bearing in mind that the news that you present might not always be clearly positive or negative. It’s important to note that this isn’t about changing your accent or how you speak, but about understanding your tone of voice.

In fact, accent diversity is key to ensuring a more representative media industry. Rhanie explains: “There have been so many people with different accents in the newsroom. As long as you are well-spoken, accent doesn’t matter at all.”

“[However], my voice and expression in a story about somebody that’s been killed or assaulted is completely different to my voice and expression in a story that is light-hearted.

“If it’s a really sad story, read that in a calmer and slower tone and voice,” she suggests. “And, when you come to the happy story, take a moment to pause and reflect.”

Dr. Aurora also prepares her students for a broadcasting job by training them with “camera voice”. She recommends “speaking from your diaphragm, having a lower register and projecting” as these make the delivery more pronounced.

Adhya Anwari at work as a foreign correspondent for the Indonesian national news channel, TVOne.

It’s also crucial to pronounce details correctly, especially when it comes to names. Rhanie recalls a time when she pronounced the name of Akshata Murty, the wife of former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, incorrectly. “Everyone in the comments mentioned, ‘You’re saying it wrong’. So, you have to get your pronunciations right.”

She now recommends practising how to pronounce any name before going in front of the camera, and always clarifying any difficult pronunciations with the interviewee or a trusted colleague. You can also write words you’re unfamiliar with phonetically, in a way that works for your brain.

Accept That You Will Make Mistakes

Much of this piece has focused on preparation — but it’s worth ending by saying that mistakes are inevitable, even when you have practised and checked everything is in place. Try to embrace the lesson and learn from it.

Dr Aurora says: “I always tell my students you can make mistakes here because this is your learning ground. By failing, they actually learn so much and then the next time, it’s better.”

The most important aspect when you make a mistake is the ability to reflect. Rhanie says: “You should be able to look back and feel: ‘This was a big lesson for me.’” At times, she says, you might feel embarrassed, but it’s better to see those mistakes as a learning curve rather than drowning in them.

Adhya adds that keeping calm when she makes mistakes has helped to build her confidence in front of the camera. “I was really afraid of getting something wrong, because I used to think that the audience knew more than me,” she explains. “Then I changed my thinking to: ‘I’m here in the field and the first person to know about this story is me.’”

Dr Aurora concludes: “I can teach all the technical aspects of how to be a good presenter. I can share my stories and I can give you tips, but confidence comes from a very personal, internal place that you need to nurture and grow.

“Trust that the more broadcast experience you have, the more your confidence will grow.”

HEADER IMAGE BY RICARDO LOAIZA VIA UNSPLASH.