Getting in front of the camera

Most of us in machine vision are engineers of some description, and that means generally we prefer to be behind the camera rather than in front of it. But if you’re in a Sales or Marketing type of role, at some point Andy Wilson or one of his people is going to point a camera at you and invite you to talk about your products.

That’s a great opportunity to promote both yourself and your company or employer – if you do it well. Sadly though, few engineers are natural performers, so we, the viewers, get to watch a lot of awkward shuffling and hear a lot mumbling, stumbling and “um’s” and “er’s”.

I don’t mean to be Simon Cowell-harsh - this is intended as constructive criticism. If you are in a role that requires you to present, get some coaching. And let me also mention that oftentimes it’s the people who think they are great presenters that need the most coaching.

Hopefully you’ll take my advice on-board, but then where do you go for feedback? Spouse? Co-workers? Well those are good, but what might be better is to find a semi-pro through the Toastmasters organization. No, they don’t propose toasts, and neither do they eat grilled bread, not in public anyway. What they do is help people become better presenters.

Seriously, please get some coaching before the next round of Vision System Design show videos.