MEMORISING THE TEXT
Simply reading on camera is not effective, you need to be able to say it from memory, or much more naturally. It looks more professional and it also allows you to develop your skills at saying these phrases at a moment’s notice without having to scramble for your notes.
I use a combination of several famous anchoring memory techniques, combined with my favourite music-phrase-learning technique (explained in one of the free chapters of the Language Hacking Guide you get if you sign up to the e-mail list on the top right of the site). So take the first word(s) of each sentence and assign an image to them of whatever comes to mind (the more illogical, loud and crazier the better). Here are some suggestions for how I use image association with foreign words. Make a story with these first words in the right order so you won’t miss out on a sentence. This way you know where to start each time, based on what you have just said.
Now take each phrase and sing it out to the tune of some music you like, as described in the free chapter I mentioned. I do this to learn phrases in general, but it’s very effective for learning components of a speech too. Sing it out several times, remembering the word and sound for each beat. After a few repetitions it should be applied to memory.
You should have the components ready to say the entire part of the video without any help from the paper. Start with the first word, think of how the phrase is sung out, and then simply say it. The singing is only for recall purposes, you don’t have to actually sing on camera. (But that could be fun too!) Now you’ll remember from the story you imagined what the second word is, and will recall the song also from that second sentence. Speak that out, and continue in the same way until you finish.
Do this a few times and you should have the whole text memorised. Now say it with feeling. Seriously – remember what you are actually saying – the content should come easier now and you can focus on the meaning so it comes across as much more natural. This last stage is crucial so the language becomes more natural to you rather than just memorising some noise.