# Should I record myself when I practice speaking?

By [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)

I don't treat recording as something to add immediately. In one conversation, Don was talking about practicing with strangers and building his confidence back up. I suggested getting some of that confidence back before recording it.

My concern was a thought arriving in the middle of the exchange: “Fuck, I'm recording.” I knew how quickly another thing to worry about could pull attention away from speaking.

That was the situation I was addressing. He was trying to regain confidence, and I didn't want the camera to become another part of the problem at that moment.

## Why do I record myself now?

I want people to see what I do in ordinary places. In the grocery store, a man looks at cookies and gives me an answer I haven't prepared for. At the market, somebody misses a trash can and I comment. In the bookstore, I make a comment and the interaction stays short.

The camera gives me a way to show those moments and explain them. What did I notice? What did I say? What happened next? That is [the teaching I want the recordings to carry](/stuttering-demonstrations).

## Watching and practicing together had another purpose

When I talked with Don about going out together, I wanted him to watch me approach someone. Then I wanted to come back and explain what I did and why I said it. He could try too, and we could discuss what happened.

I said the time before the approach and the time afterward could be especially valuable. An idea can be quick to describe and take longer to practice. Seeing a particular attempt gives us something specific to discuss.

That conversation was a proposal for an outing. It is a different use of observation from asking someone to manage a camera while they are still trying to regain confidence.

## A recording can have preparation around it too

In my older account of making a coffee recording, I described knowing the employee, asking permission and returning to record again. That is part of the production context of the example I discussed.

I also described how draining a long public recording could be. Walking, talking, explaining what I am doing and dealing with the place around me involve work too.

## The decision depends on the job the camera has

When I suggested waiting, the immediate job was practicing conversation and rebuilding confidence. When I record my public teaching, the job is to let someone see the situation and hear my explanation of it.

I had spent years working on my speech before making those recordings. Watching me use a camera at that stage doesn't mean adding one was the first thing I suggested to Don.

The speaking still has to happen with the person in front of us. I want the recording to help explain that experience, rather than become the only thing someone thinks about while trying to have it.

## Related answers

- [How can I prepare without scripting every word?](/preparing-without-scripting)
- [Why did I sometimes leave filler words alone?](/filler-words-and-stuttering)
- [Who would I practice with, and what would we work on?](/finding-a-stuttering-practice-partner)

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