Book review: A handbook for the chief executive on camera

Learning to communicate effectively in front of the camera is a 'necessity' for leaders today, says Vern Oakley, author of Leadership in Focus.

Stepping in front of the camera is hard for the everyday business leader. Actors may be good, but they spend their entire careers learning how to do it well, says the author and filmmaker Vern Oakley.

Oakley, the founder of Tribe Pictures and writer-director of 1995 Stanley Tucci romantic comedy A Modern Affair, also makes corporate videos and has now written a book on the subject, Leadership in Focus: Bringing Out Your Best on Camera.

With 82 per cent of all internet traffic forecast by Cisco to be in video form by 2020, he says that learning to communicate effectively on camera is a “necessity” for leaders today because “we live in a digital video world”.

To bond, you need to “take off the mask” so viewers can see the “vulnerable, human person” behind the message – a game-changer, says Oakley.

In a 2010 survey by Forbes magazine and Google, three-quarters of 300 executives surveyed said they watch work-related videos on business websites and half on YouTube every week.

Oakley argues that it is worth using a professional team who will cut together several camera angles and edit hours of footage and B-roll – footage of the interviewee interacting with colleagues or even playing with their kids – “to craft a brief, powerful final piece”.

“If the idea of stepping in front of a camera and being real sounds hard, you’re right,” he says. “Actors spend their careers learning how to do it well.”

Like an actor, you are performing – but “capturing the elements of your best self on a good day”.

“Showing a certain side of yourself is a lot like playing a character in a film, only it’s you every time,” says the author.

And in case you doubt the need to get it right, a cautionary tale and “PR nightmare” comes from the BP chief executive Tony Hayward, who sincerely apologised for the 2010 Gulf Coast oil slick but lost credibility by ending: “There’s no one who wants this over more than I do. I’d like my life back.”

It’s an easy read and I’m left convinced there’s a need for professional corporate videos, but unless you’re in the extremely niche and fortunate position of being a chief executive you probably don’t need this book.

Leadership in Focus: Bringing Out Your Best on Camera is published by Greenleaf Book Group and is available in hardback for US$21.00 from Amazon.

q&a composure always key

Suzanne Locke reveals more insights from Vern Oakley's Leadership in Focus:

Who was the first leader to tap into video?

John F Kennedy, says Oakley, was a film first when he went up against Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential debates. He turned to film director Arthur Penn (Oakley’s own teacher) and was taught to be himself, to relax, to look into the camera and keep his responses “brief and pithy”. Radio listeners thought Nixon had it in the bag, yet on TV he came across as “nervous and sweaty” while Kennedy was “personable and confident”. Oakley also lists other leaders who’ve got it right – from George VI to Winston Churchill, SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Apple’s Steve Jobs.

What are some top tips leaders can tune into?

Media training can be counter-intuitive, says Oakley, as viewers “don’t want a polished sound bite machine”. Don’t slump and don’t over-exaggerate your movements – this is a rare time when extroverts have it tougher than introverts. Smile with your eyes (it should build for three seconds and last as long, to look genuine) and, if you can, speak directly into the camera. Finally, be prepared, he warns – “there’s too much at stake” not to be.

Are we really watching so much video content online?

Yes, according to Cisco, which says that in the Middle East and Africa, we already consume 119 billion minutes of video per month, with that due to rise to 169bn by 2020. YouTube has almost a billion users – almost a third of all the people online.

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