Whether you’ve been podcasting for years or are just jumping in, you’ll undoubtedly need to make a decision whether or not to incorporate video. Video podcasts can maximize your content, grow your audience, and help you create efficient and effective workflows. However, in order to start a video podcast or incorporate video into your podcast, you’ll need to overcome your fear of video and build camera confidence.
Let’s face it. Talking into a camera can feel really strange and may even cause a bit of anxiety. But don’t worry! We’re here to share some helpful tips and tricks to help you overcome your fear of video and build camera confidence.
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It’s not about you
For many of us, our fear of video stems from how we feel about ourselves. We’re worried about how we look, how we sound, and how we generally appear to people watching.
One of the first steps you can take to building camera confidence is to remember your purpose. Why is it that you’re creating the video? Once you realize that the content isn’t about you, but rather helping the people who are watching, it becomes a lot less important what you look like. Focus instead on the value that you’re bringing. That’s what matters most.
Camera confidence coach, Rosie Faulkner says: “I tell my clients to make a list. What can you change about yourself? Because honestly, sometimes they want to lose weight before they jump in front of the camera and that’s holding them back. So make a list and the things that you can change, change them. The things you can’t, you’ll have to accept them.”
People love seeing the real you
With the rise in popularity of live streaming, viewers are less and less focused on perfect presentations. Rather, they want to see a real person that they can relate to. This is great news for those who are trying to get more comfortable on camera. In this new world of live video and video-centric platforms, it’s totally fine to trip over words sometimes or have your kids or cats pop up in the background. In fact, your viewers will likely find it charming.
Giving a behind-the-scenes or letting your viewers into your world helps to set you apart from the sea of sameness. Get real with your viewers. You’ll find it both puts you at ease and makes everything a lot more enjoyable for everyone.
Practice makes perfect
One of the best ways to get comfortable on camera is to turn the camera on. Obvious, but true. The more you practice being in front of the camera, the better you’ll get. Luckily, there are lots of ways you can do this from recording video memos to creating Instagram Reels. Every time you hit that record or go live button, you’ll get better (and more confident) on video.
Rosie says: “Just turn the camera on when you’re recording your podcast. You may not use the video, but turn it on anyway and try positioning it. And then watch it. What did you like? What didn’t you like? Critique it and keep moving the camera around till you find a location that works.
“And eventually you may wanna say, okay, I like this. You know, I can use this audio clip, but then they actually could see my facial expression because I was saying something that meant something and so people could connect with you better. So I would just say start off slow with positioning. Turn on a camera at first and don’t use it. Get comfortable and then, you know, work your way to, putting it out there.”
Get Into The Flow with Ecamm
Want to catch The Flow live? Join us every Tuesday at 12pm Eastern on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
If you have any questions for us, please send them to flow@ecamm.com or join us live.
