The 5-Minute Natural-on-Camera Checklist

Run through these ten steps right before you press record. They fix the three things that give away "reading voice" — eye line, pacing, and flat melody. You don't need to lose your accent to look great on camera; on the right melody, an accent is charming. The full checklist is right here on this page, free, no email needed. If you'd like the printable one-page version to keep next to your camera, there's a form at the bottom.

Before you touch the camera

1. Read your script aloud twice. Your mouth needs the rehearsal, not your eyes. If you stumble on a sentence twice, rewrite it the way you'd actually say it.
2. Mark 2–4 stress words per sentence. Nouns, main verbs, adjectives. Your voice punches what your eyes see marked — this is the melody fix.
3. Narrow your text column and move it near the lens. A narrow column at the top of the screen keeps your eyes in a small zone by the camera. Wide text creates visible "typing eyes."
4. Step back from the camera if you can. Distance shrinks your eye-angle error. At two meters, a small glance off-lens is invisible.

The moment you record

1. Press record, then take one slow breath before speaking. It drops your shoulders, deepens your voice, and gives you a clean pause to trim later.
2. Do a throwaway take first. Take one "doesn't count" — which removes the tension that makes take one stiff. Half the time it turns out usable.
3. Pause fully at every period. Say the sentence, let it land, silently count "one," continue. Feels slow inside; looks confident on camera.
4. Let your pitch fall at the end of statements. Flat endings are the #1 leftover of reading voice. A small drop at each period sounds sure of itself.
5. Unlock your hands and let your head move a little. Forearms on the desk or hands loose at waist height. Tiny nods on stressed words are what real conversation looks like.
6. Stop after two or three real takes. Takes four through ten are rarely better — just more tired. Pick the best and move on.

Get the printable version

Want this as a clean one-page PDF to print and keep by your camera? Leave your email and we'll send it over. No newsletter tricks — you get the checklist, and occasionally a note when SayItLikeThat launches. That's it.