You don’t need a fancy mic. You don’t need a full camera setup. Your phone works just fine. The hard part isn’t the equipment, it’ actually doing it. But if you’re serious about improving your speech, record yourself once a week. Here’s why.
You hear what others hear.
In your head, you’re fluent. Your timing is perfect. Your tone makes total sense. But when you play it back, you’ll notice the truth. That punchline didn’t land. That “emotional moment” actually sounded rushed. You said “like” 14 times in 30 seconds. When you record yourself, you step outside your own performance. You stop relying on how it felt and focus on how it actually sounded. That’s when you start fixing real problems, not imagined ones. You see what your judge sees. Blocking too wide? Leaning too far forward when you get intense? Weird hand movements you didn’t notice? All of that shows up on camera. A weekly video helps you catch distracting habits before they become permanent. Sometimes a small tweak, a pause, a shift, stillness, makes a huge difference. Your performance lives in the details. Video doesn’t miss them.
It forces you to go all out, every time.
When you record, you’re more likely to treat it like a real round. No stopping. No checking your script. No zoning out halfway through. You push yourself to do a full run. And doing that every week helps you stay tournament-ready, even when you haven’t competed in a while. If your first full-out run in two weeks happens at the tournament, you’re already behind.
You track real progress.
There’s something satisfying about comparing Week 2 you to Week 9 you. You hear the improvement. You see the confidence. You realize you’ve come further than you thought. That’s especially useful when you hit a plateau or lose motivation. Progress is hard to feel in the moment. Recordings help you see it with your own eyes. Plus, you’ll have a record of your work. You’ll thank yourself later.
You stop relying on vibes.
Sometimes a piece feels better, but judges say otherwise. Sometimes a new blocking idea sounds smart, but it kills your pacing. Recording gives you something objective to analyze. You’re not guessing. You’re watching. You’re listening. The best speech kids don’t just rehearse, they review. Athletes watch game tape. You should too.
You learn to coach yourself.
When you record often, you stop saying “that was bad” and start asking “why?” And then you start answering.
“This part drags, what if I cut that transition?”
“I keep rushing this section, what if I add a pause here?”
“My intro is boring, how do I make it hit harder?”
That mindset shift, from judging yourself to coaching yourself, is what levels you up. It makes you more independent. More self-aware. And better prepared to adjust on the fly.
You become your own best practice partner.
Not everyone has a coach available 24/7. Not everyone has teammates who will sit through three run-throughs a week. But your camera doesn’t get tired. Your recordings are always available. You can pause, rewind, slow down, study. It’s not about perfection. It’s about building a habit. And once you do, it sticks.
So how do you actually do it?
Pick a day, any day, and stick to it. Same time every week if you can. Set up your phone. Run your piece like you’re in-round. No stopping. No redoing. Full commitment. Then take 10 minutes to watch it. You don’t have to analyze every frame. Just ask yourself:
What worked?
What didn’t?
What do i want to try differently next time?
Write it down. Next week, check if you improved it. Repeat.
It’s not about being perfect.
It’s about building consistency. About showing up for yourself when no one’s watching. About taking your piece seriously enough to watch it grow.
And it only takes 10 minutes a week. That one habit can change your season. So record yourself. Every week. Starting now.
That’s all we have today. Stay Brilliant! - Forensic Funnel Team
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