Overcoming the fear of talking to the camera
How to Speak better on Camera?
I wasn’t always able to be confident on camera. These are a few ways I was able to turn that around and become a natural speaker on camera.
Public speaking and speaking to the camera is a skill. The average person is afraid of public speaking. I'm going to share some ways I was able to overcome that fear of talking to the camera. These tips will help record better YouTube videos, become more confident with public speaking, crush that zoom meeting and so much more. Wherever there is a camera, you’ll be ready!
Now for the record I'm your average guy. I'm not a YouTube specialist and I never thought I would be able to be transparent on camera. I knew I wanted to give it a shot and share my experience and opinions as a photographer.
For starts my videos sucked, but I've noticed that i’ve gotten better over time by applying what i’m about to share with you.
It's only a camera, It doesn’t have a personality, it cannot judge you. It's simply a piece of equipment.
Fear holds us back from so many things. If this is something you want to attempt you cannot be afraid. You have to tackle that fear head on. It's funny how we overthink things, Think about it like this… It's only a camera, It doesn’t have a personality, it cannot judge you. It's simply a piece of equipment. So why do we get so uncomfortable when the red light goes on? Like really thing about that. Be a bulldog, shake it off and be confident. Get what you have to say out.
If you're nervous about vlogging, I have news for you… nobody cares. Not in a bad way but people aren’t going to point at you like "Omg he’s vlogging". We pull out our phones FaceTime and take selfies all the time. Once you take the time to dissect what you're really afraid of, which may be expressing yourself in public or to a camera, you’ll be less afraid.
Just like anything else, Whatever you practice you'll literally get better. Practice in the mirror. Make your first 5 or 10 videos just to get in the habit of talking to the camera. This will help you warm up and find your rhythm. You don’t have to publish them. Archive them to always have as an reference.
3. It's ok to pause
It's not a sprint it's a marathon. It's ok to pause and think about what you want to say. People do this in Interviews all the time. Think about your favorite muscian, actress, entertainer, and watch a interview of that person. Observe and see how they conduct their interviews. Everyone’s personality differs, but study and see what you can pull from watching the interview. Me personally I watch a lot of interviews including 50 cent & Nipsey hussle. Will Smith is another great speaker. See what you can pull and apply to make yourself more comfortable when you're speaking to the camera. No one is perfect, you don’t have to be perfect. But it’s important to just be yourself.
This relates to us sometimes getting in our own way and building anxiety about things. Once I stopped caring about any judgment I can potentially receive from my videos, I noticed they started to get a lot better. Being nervous is normal.. But fear, doubt, and overthinking can hold you back from so much. Throw all of that away, Reset, and simply just be yourself.
Act like you're talking on the phone. When you're on the phone you're not second guessing yourself or overthinking things. Treat talking to the camera the same way.
In Conclusion
These are literally a few things that helped me thus far on making better YouTube videos. I hope they can help you as well. For others that have any tips on making better videos feel free to leave them down below in the comments.
