Viewers forgive a plain background and a simple camera. They do not forgive sound they have to strain to hear. If you only have energy to improve one thing about your recording, make it the audio.
Sound comes first
Record in the quietest room you can find, and turn off fans, generators and notifications. Hard, empty rooms echo, so a bedroom with a bed, curtains and a wardrobe often sounds better than a large living room. Wired earphones with a built-in microphone, held close to your mouth, usually sound clearer than a laptop microphone across the desk.
Before you record for real, say a sentence, play it back with headphones on, and listen for hiss, echo and background noise. This takes one minute and saves you from re-recording a whole session.
Let the light come from the front
Sit facing a window so the daylight falls on your face. If the window is behind you, you become a silhouette. If you record in the evening, put a lamp slightly behind your screen so it lights you evenly, and avoid a bulb directly above you, which casts shadows under your eyes.
Frame yourself like a person, not a security camera
- Raise the camera to eye level with a stack of books if you are on a laptop.
- Leave a little space above your head, and keep your shoulders in the shot.
- Keep the background simple and tidy. A wall, a shelf or a plant is plenty.
- On a phone, record in landscape and rest it against something steady.
Plan three parts, not one long take
Speaking for forty-five minutes without a mistake is hard, and you do not have to. Think of the session as three or four short sections: the promise, the lesson, the offer. Record each as its own take and join them later, or simply start a section again when you stumble. Viewers will not notice a clean pause, and your energy will stay higher.
Slides: fewer words, larger type
Most people will watch on a phone. If the text on a slide is small enough to need squinting on your laptop, it will be unreadable for them. Aim for one idea per slide, large letters and plenty of empty space.
Watch the first minute back
Before you share a recording with anyone, watch the first minute and the last minute on a phone, with the volume at a normal level. If you can hear and see yourself comfortably there, the middle will almost always be fine.