Can you feel it?
Hands are sweating…
Heartbeat is rising…
A sense of foreboding.. Worry.. fear… Anxiety kicks in.
If you are new to presenting on camera, pressing that LIVE button or trying to shoot that video, you always have wanted to do, you might feel a little panicked, but guess what:
THAT IS NORMAL!
There is something about being on camera that makes even the most confident person feel awkward.
Especially in the beginning.
It doesn’t have to be that way!
You can look more confident on video by following a few simple tips. They helped me a lot in beginning, and Yes, I was super scared and totally not confident to publish video or go live 3 years ago.
Took me 1 week to post video…
Lens Confidence tip Nr1 *LOOK SHARP*
There is no faster way to boost your confidence than getting ready. Celebrate it like going to fancy dinner or friends birthday party.
It seems obvious, but it is also easy to forget that looking your best is not just for your audience.
The biggest benefit to look amazing is to feel amazing.
When you think you look good, you will naturally feel more confident, and this will help your personality shine.
I totally suggest you get ready every morning, then you will be always ready to rock those videos, stories and short snaps.
Looking good can mean different things for each of us, for someone it is getting a new hairstyle, for some is to wear a favourite outfit, for some it might be quick shower & face mask. Whatever it is for you – do it. Pamper yourself and look sharp.
I remember when we had our photo studio, we offered makeup and hairstyle already included in the price of a photo shoot and trust me, the results were stunning. And not because of the makeup and smooth finish it gave, but because of the confidence boost, it provided.
Lens Confidence tip Nr2 *Don’t be lazy on Preparation*
There is nothing worse than raising your worries and getting you nervous by being completely unprepared.
If you are not prepared, you will talk around, you will not have a clear structure, most likely you will talk too fast or slow & will feel uncomfortable. That will lead to all those “like”, “you know”, “uhhh”, “emmm”, “so”and you don’t want that.
All those things will impact editing process and if you will do this LIVE, possibilities are that you will leave not so stunning first impression. People will skip over your video if you will not be able to get to the point. Video content is your clients first real feel interaction with your brand, you want to be it strong and good because they will associate the quality of your brand with the quality of your content.
I am not saying you need to write a script for everything you will want to say, no, in fact, that can make things even worse.
The best what works for me is to create bullet points of my thoughts and ideas. And then I think about each of them more, what story I will share, what tips I will give. Sometimes I write down keywords for each bullet point to remember everything. In this way, you will stay strict to the point, but you also will feel authentic and engaging as you will talk. If that is pre-recorded video, you can shoot each section separate as in case you mess up, you can reshoot just 1 part, not all video.
I also tend to prepare everything day before or a couple of hours before, not straight before the video or live.
Lens Confidence tip Nr3 *Find your Happy place*
Some enjoy excitement and adrenaline before speaking on camera, but for most of us those butterflies in tummy will increase stress level and we will get super nervous and it will be hard to focus and communicate your ideas clearly.
For me, finding the happy place works the best. I can do some workout or little dance, I can listen to music or go for a walk, I can play with my dog or meditate and it will make me centred and in harmony.
It can be anything – most importantly it should be not related to a video you are preparing & it should make you happy.
Lens Confidence tip Nr4 *have some fun*
While it is important to find a happy place and harmony, you definitely don’t want to be on your Relax mode when you start to shoot. A lot of people don’t realise that camera takes about 25% of your personality and character away. So you want to add them back by being little extra than you normally are.
You want to add more energy and personality than you think you need. It might feel awkward in beginning or over the top, but that is much better than super relaxed and boring video.
Allow yourself a little fun, a little adventure and craziness.
What is the worst what could happen? Hmm, you will have some fun bloopers. Best scenario – you will have an amazing, engaging video with passion and it will communicate so much better with your audience.
To do that, for me personally works singing out loud before I shoot video {I can’t really sing}, also telling silly jokes or reading book with Emily with a lot of expressions. Also watching some fun videos on YT have helped me before.
Experiment and find what works the best for you.
Lens Confidence tip Nr5 *Don’t be so hard on yourself*
I know, I know it is easier said, than done, but that doesn’t make it less true.
It is so easy to look back and say: “omg, my voice sounds terrible”, “I am looking silly” or “ohh I am repeating that phrase over and over again”…
It is easy to highlight your appearance and mistakes.
But let me tell you – your audience doesn’t know any better. They don’t know how you wanted it to be.
And in fact, they don’t really care either. Don’t overthink your appearance, because they won’t.
When it comes to your voice, it is a pain, it appears so different as we are used to hear, but for everyone else, it is how it sounds, it is normal. As long as your audio equipment is good and you share your stories, tips and ideas on what people want to hear, you are good.
Mistakes are harder to ignore, on live video it actually can help as it will show that you are a normal human, your audience will be able to relate. Being “too perfect” can actually work against you. On pre-recorded video, you will be able to edit.
For the longest time of my online entrepreneurship life I thought that my accent is the one who ruins all the jam, that because of my accent people can sometimes misunderstand something and I just sounds stupid, but after I did my brand audit {which I suggest to definitely do}, I realised that that is the Nr1 thing people are loving the most. Crazy right.
I hope you find these tips helpful and you will improve your level of comfort on camera. It takes practice, it takes going Live and shooting videos to get better. And in no time you will be killin’ it.
Do you have some more tips to add what makes you more confident on camera? Please tell.
“The biggest benefit to look amazing is to feel amazing.”
I just love this, Guna!
Wait, I love every single tip here.
Here’s one from me – take three deap breaths and push the button. And don’t overcomplicate what you’re talking about 🙂 Practice makes perfect.
Thank you, Svet! Appreciated. O, and I love yours – definitely making it simple, makes it more enjoyable! 😉