9 tips to fake on camera confidence
I'm standing center stage.
The lights are shining down on me, blinding me, really, except for I can see dust floating through the air of the theater.
I've got a costume on, and my hair is a mile high. My makeup is smeared under my eyes, but that's sort of part of the costume. It's supposed to be that way. And the music starts. And I start singing.
And I stop singing. And the lyrics to the song, completely effing Escape me. And I stand there on stage in front of an audience for nine bars of silence until my accompanist on the piano shouts out the lyrics to remind me how this song goes.
And guess what? I survived. And if I can live through that amount of humiliation and an embarrassing moment in front of an audience, you can make a reel
Here's the thing, in this episode I'm going to give you practical tips to harness slash fake on camera confidence because sometimes picturing the audience in their underwear just doesn't cut it. And I know that if you know my history and you know that I used to be an actor, you might be thinking, oh Jenna, like you were born with this confidence, what could you possibly teach me, or you just don't get it, or whatever.
And I hear you. And you know what? I, I don't get it. I don't suffer from anxiety. I have been on stage my whole life, but I have also suffered wild embarrassment on stage, and I have performed in some very high Stakes environments, which I imagine is pretty comparable to how you're feeling when you turn on your iPhone camera and try and talk to the camera and make content for social media.
So although I don't understand exactly how you're feeling, please trust me that I'm with you and I have some super practical tips that I think are really going to help you feel more secure showing up on camera because your followers want to see your beautiful face and listen, you, your personality, your isms, the way you talk, The passion that you show when you talk about your business, that is uncopyable and it is one of your greatest assets.
If you can wrap your head around showing up on camera, I really think it's going to make a huge difference in your business. I bet when you talk about the stuff that you love that you're passionate about and the reason that you got into this business that you have, you are so attractive. I bet that when people see you talk about those things, your eyes light up and people are drawn to you even if they don't even know what it is that you offer.
There's lots to be won, lots of reward for conquering this fear of being on camera. So let's get into some super practical tips.
The first tip I sort of just alluded to, it's talk about what you love. Talk about things that you care about. Don't talk about the things on camera that you think you're supposed to talk about when you're just starting out.
Maybe you saw a formula for a real, heck, maybe I gave you a formula where it's like hook, bullet point, one, two, three, introduce yourself, call to action, something like that. I mean, sometimes templates and structures like that are, really make us feel secure and they can be really helpful. But when you're first starting out and you're a little bit nervous, it's actually way better to just riff about something that you care about.
Try this. Next time you're talking to a client and you hear yourself go off on a tangent about something that you're passionate about, pay attention to that, write it down, and make that the video. Because if you're just jumping in and you try and use like a template or structure and you're actually horrified, you're gonna sound robotic and then you're gonna judge yourself for sounding robotic and then you're gonna give up and not do it anymore.
Right, even if it's a little bit messy. It's a little bit sloppy. That's okay We're just ripping the band aid off here. And like I said people are going to love watching you be passionate I had a friend and her dad come over here Because we needed help mounting a satellite on the roof of our house and my friend's dad is a roofer Okay, I don't know if you could name a more perceived boring occupation than roofing.
It's pretty straightforward, right? But what I didn't realize until they got here for dinner is that he's, like, passionate about roofing. I kid you not. Our whole family. sat around in a circle while he talked to us about the structure of our roof and how we have a roof that's optimized for heat retention and how, um, attics are something that came over from Europe and then Canada started using them, but only because it was trendy when really it's not the most optimal for like heating your home.
Like, listen, I have told these stories. I have recounted these stories. He told me about my roof to future guests. That's how much his passion impacted me because he's super passionate about rooves. So I just wanted to listen to him and now I'm passionate about rooves based on his passion.
And who would have thunk that would have ever happened? All because he was talking about something that he loved. It sounds silly, but trust me, it's going to work for you.
Next up, like I said, you're going to riff. You're going to riff, which means you're going to be off the cuff. You're not going to try and use a template or a script or a structure. You are not going to download an app that has a... What are they called, like a newscaster looks into?
Teleprompter. There's all these teleprompter apps on the internet. Don't use that. The way you write is probably not the way you talk, and people are going to wonder why you're talking funny. And you're going to judge yourself again. And I'm going to be able to see your eyes panning across the screen.
Just don't use a teleprompter. I promise you, it'll be better if you're loose and conversational and riffing.
Okay, next up, if you're walking through a crowded space with your lover, your lover, your partner, or your best friend, and you start to feel a little bit uncomfortable, what do you do? You grab their hand. If you're at a networking event. and you're starting to feel a little overwhelmed, what do you do?
You get a drink and you hold it in your hand, guarding your stomach. You hold it in front of yourself with your elbow bent, guarding your stomach. This is a tactic that we use all the time in daily life, and we are grounding ourselves on something that will protect us. So, if you're feeling anxious standing out in the middle of space in front of a camera, You can ground yourself by putting a hand on a countertop or leaning your hip against the back of a chair or sitting.
There's no rule that you have to be standing in front of the camera. Ground yourself, even just grab a pen and hold it in your hand, and fiddle with it if you need to. If you feel like you're just standing out in space, like I was in front of the microphone when I forgot all my lyrics to that song, it makes it way scarier.
Even if you just find something to put your hand on, it suddenly, it's like that chair is your guardian angel. That chair is like protecting you and you are now safe.
Here's another one actually, if you ever need to talk in front of a group of people, you can hide behind a podium or again, the back of a chair or a desk or a table and suddenly having that barrier between you and your audience is going to make you feel so much safer.
This one is specific to creating social media content. Well, that's mainly what I'm talking about here,
I think this tip is going to really be a game changer for you if you aren't already doing this. It's to stop looking at yourself on your screen on your phone, make eye contact with the camera. And that's for two reasons. One, because then you won't have an opportunity to judge yourself. Because it's going to make the, it's camera read as if you're making eye contact with the person who is watching it.
People often tell me that they feel really connected to me when they see my videos and or they feel like i'm just hanging Out in their living room. Someone said to me once or that Uh, we're almost like on a FaceTime call together. It's because I'm looking directly at the camera on my phone, and you're perceiving that as us making eye contact.
Plus, I don't have time to be looking at myself and judging myself. Look enough to know that you're in the frame and that the camera can see you, and then that's it. You can even cover it. with a sticky note, like with a post it note. I worked with a client this summer and I helped her record a whole bunch of reels. She was really nervous at the beginning, but one of the things we did was we put a sticky note over herself. So she couldn't see herself. Another option is you could put a photo of someone who you love and feel safe with there.
Kind of spinning off of that. Think about who you are specifically talking to and instead of envisioning that as the billions of people on the internet, picture it as that one person who cares about you, who cares what you have to say, who would never judge you. And when you're talking to the tiny little lens on your phone, believe and tell yourself and picture that you are talking to that person and you're looking into their eyes and they love you and they want you to succeed and they're smiling back at you.
You could even say their name. before you start and edit it out after. You could look at the camera and say, Hi Lucy, thanks for being here. And then get into the hook of your video or the beginning of your video. And then you just edit it out. Doot, doot, doot. Just edit it out after. But anything like that can also help to ground you.
It can help to ground your breath. So that you don't have your breath up high in your chest. Uh, I have so many tips. I don't want to overwhelm you. I'm only giving you a few of them. But I want to give you some of the most practical ones. So here's another one. Start with your Instagram stories. That's where you want to start because a story only lasts 24 hours and then it disappears.
Start with your stories. It's very casual. No one expects stories to be like fancy and beautiful and pretty. It's really supposed to just kind of be like a document of your day. It just you've whipped your phone out and you've Quickly filmed something stories came from Snapchat, right?
So Snapchat existed with a bunch of teenagers just snapping like pictures of their feet and stuff like weird, weird, messy photos on Snapchat and then Instagram started doing stories to sort of combat Snapchat. So. Historically, and still, stories aren't that fancy. They're a little bit dimly lit. They're not the most beautiful content you're ever going to put out.
And again, they disappear in 24 hours. So it's low stakes, which means low pressure, which means if you're nervous, start with stories. Another place to start is a reel where you don't need to talk. So there's so many reels on the internet where all you have to do is film yourself sitting at your desk and then add text and music.
That's a really good place to start if you're feeling nervous. Listen, at the end of the day, there's one thing that is the solution to all of this that will immediately give you all the on camera confidence in the world so you don't need any tips or tactics or strategies. There's just one thing. Do you know what I'm going to say?
You gotta be nicer to yourself. No, you don't have a weird voice. No, everyone from high school isn't watching all your videos and judging you.
No, everyone isn't staring at your nose thinking your nose is so big and they can't even hear what you're saying because they're just looking at your nose. That's not happening!
People are looking at your beautiful eyes, and they're listening to the value that you're offering, and they're listening to you talk, and they're getting to know you, and honestly, nine times out of ten, the people who are watching you are judging themselves. Actively, because that's what humans do. We're so selfish, we're so self involved, it's probably some sort of evolutionary instinct.
But nine times out of ten, when people are watching you, they're not judging you, they're judging themselves, okay? There is so much opportunity here when you get on camera. Please don't dash it away because your skin is oily. Please don't dash it away because you think that you did your eyeliner a little bit uneven this day, and so that means you can't go on camera because your makeup's not perfect.
It's just not true! You're beautiful. You have a lot to say, what you have to say is 📍 important, and going on camera is a skill, and when you practice it, you will continue to get better at it, and attract clients, and grow, and have all sorts of people be like, wow, looks like your business is doing so well.
Just the best compliment.
And if there's anybody out there who you think needs to hear that too, please feel free to send them this episode.
Okay, that's all from me. I'll see you next time.
