How to overcome your fear of being on camera

How to overcome your fear of being on camera

Today’s blog I want to talk about how to overcome your fear of appearing on camera. Even though you’re an introvert and have concerns about being judged and you think you have a face for radio.

Now I get this. I think it’s tough to talk to a camera as it’s a static object and it feels very unnatural. And, as an introvert, I do find this hard to do. Often I think Will the audience want to hear what I got to say? “Do I have anything important to say? “What if they don’t like it?” There are loads of excuses not to do this. And actually, I think as you’re talking to a camera, you get used to it if you practice a lot. I think it’s easier than actually doing public speaking.

Video marketing is essential, especially if you have an important message and story to tell. And I also understand when you put yourself out there, you may think, “What will people think?” You have a fear of being judged. We live in a world if you’re going to put yourself out there online, you’re going to be judged. People are going to leave negative comments. They might not like the message that you have. And I think you just got to accept that. And realize that most of this are not personal. It’s about them and their issues. What you need to do is really just focus on your audience, the people who do resonate with your message, who do follow and like you. Concentrate on them and serve them and do not let the distractors, the haters get to you. Now I know it’s hard to do that sometimes. I like to be liked. But I think you got to realize that you won’t be liked by everybody. Your content will not resonate with everybody. So create content which is going to be valuable to your audience and build an audience who are going to like you, follow you, and leave positive comments.

The third thing is, I just see this a lot, is that people think that they are ugly. They have a face or a good voice for radio. I’ve done thousands of videos and most people do not like the way they look and sound on camera. It’s so common that is when you film with a camera, you’re used to seeing yourself in a mirror, so you look different and in your head, you probably also think you sound different. Yes, we all have an accent. Yes, we all do look different. And that’s what makes us uniquely human. In my experience, that people don’t comment, or very rarely comment, on the way you look and sound.

If your message is good and valuable, people will concentrate on that, not on the way you look and sound. And yes, there are tricks you can do. Location’s important. Lighting’s important. Sound is also important. So there are things you can do to help to make you look good. Editing your videos can help. You can put footage over what you’re saying. If you’re that concerned about the way you look. But I think part of it is you just got to do it, and you get used to it. The more you do this, the more comfortable you get on camera the easier it becomes. So I think the big tip is to practice. If I can do it, so can you.

 

Why asking about price is wrong

Why asking about price is wrong

When I get inquiries from potential clients who say “I want a video, how much?” I think this is the wrong first question to ask. Day 12 of my video challenge and this one is a little different. Apart from the different format (wide rather than square), and it’s shot on a DJI Osmo Pocket (apologies for the sound as just using the onboard mic), this video is a bit of a rant, a rant on how not giving any indication of a budget to a video company does not help.

 

Video is now

Video is now

Day 10 of my video challenge and today I want to talk about how surprised at the number of businesses who delay producing videos. I understand about maybe not being ready, not enough time or money and other priorities come along, I get all that. The response often is ‘video would be nice to have, but not yet’. Just want to point out video is massive now, driven by social media platforms and mobile devices.
A question for you. Is delaying using video to engage, educate, sell to your audience determinantal to your business?

 

Begin with the end in mind

Begin with the end in mind

Day 9 of my video challenge. The 7 habits of highly effective people. How Stephen R. Covey and his second habit taught me to ‘begin with the end in mind’. You may be familiar with this book. It must be in the top five of all most read personal development books in the world. It’s habit two, begin with the end in mind that really resonates with me and how I apply it to business.

 

 

How long should my video be?

How long should my video be?

What’s the optimal duration for a video? I do get asked this a lot, and unfortunately, there is no simple answer. The video needs to be as long as it needs to be for your audience. Day 4 of my video challenge and today I am in Richmond Park in South West London, enjoying the sunset and watching out for the deer who live in the Park. While the backdrop is beautiful, I think I do sound a little out of breath for the first part of the video as I was walking uphill (or maybe I am just unfit!). And as I went ‘cross country’, walking and talking became tricky as I was trying to avoid the rabbit holes, you can see me stumble a couple of times in the video.