Today, I want to talk with you about how to get confident in front of the camera and share some tips.
Now, as with doing anything new, there’s this thing called resistance. If you haven’t read the book, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, I highly recommend you check it out because it really covers the struggles that creative entrepreneurs face when they’re looking to express or share valuable content online. I know I faced this when I first started creating content, both with videos and written content.
A lot more people and content creators face and struggle with this because we are in the video age in multimedia. Videos are so cheap to make, and now, we’ve got 4G and maybe 5G soon with networks. So, almost everyone has the bandwidth to create and devour livestreaming content. Real time video content is where it’s at, but how do you get comfortable on camera?
Watch the video:
How do you get comfortable on camera?
Getting comfortable on camera is really the first hurdle when it comes to creating video content. The short answer to this dilemma is, you have to show up each and every day and create something new. But, I’ll dig a little bit deeper…
1 – Start by making it a habit to talk to the camera
When I first started doing videos and whatnot a couple of years ago, I was dead scared of sharing anything online, on YouTube or on my Facebook page. So, what did I do?
Every day, I would wake up and drive to the gym in the morning. During the drive, I would record myself talking to the camera every single day. I did this is for several months. I didn’t share one video online. Out of all those videos, I’ve watched a few, maybe a handful. I didn’t watch all of them, but it got me comfortable talking to the camera.
When I first watched the videos, I was like, “Err, yeah”, because you’re not used to hearing yourself talk and seeing yourself on camera. It could be a little bit overwhelming at first, but it’s just like any other skill. You have to practice doing it before you can get comfortable and confident doing it. After I did this, I then started uploading videos to YouTube and Facebook.
Now, this is before livestreaming got really popular. Then, when livestreaming became popular, the fear that came into mind was, “Well, I can’t edit this. What if I screw up? People are going to see that?” That was a hurdle to get over. The truth is this. It’s just like having a real conversation with someone, and when you get into that mindset, it doesn’t matter. It’s like public speaking. When you get up in front of a crowd, you can’t hit the end button or the undo button if something happens. It happens, and you just have to roll with it. You have to get comfortable with adjusting when things don’t go as you planned.
2 – Challenge yourself
Once you start creating and uploading videos, I highly suggest that you also start challenging yourself. I did a 30-day content creation challenge earlier last year. I created one brand new piece of content every single day in the form of a video. Then, I had that multi-purposed and put on my blog, my YouTube channel, and my Facebook page. So, each and every day, I was creating something.
I highly recommend that you challenge yourself, so you can develop that habit of creating content. Start simple and just say, “I’m going to spend the next 14 days creating content”. I read somewhere that it takes about 2 to 3 weeks before you really develop a habit.
When I started to work out again after a long time, it took exactly 3 weeks to get back into the habit. After week 3, I was so into the routine that it felt foreign to me to abandon it or skip a day of working out.
It’s just like anything. You’ve got to build that habit and exercise that muscle to make sure that you show up each and every day.
3 – Keep it simple and start delivering value
If you’re just starting out, you don’t need expensive equipment. You don’t need props. You don’t need that other stuff that a lot of people online recommend you use. Now, I think that there are definitely products that make sense, but more importantly, it’s about showing up and delivering value.
So, take out your phone and just start recording something. Do it on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram, just choose a platform and start today.
At the end of the day, when you have value and provide that at a massive scale, you have an opportunity to help people and reap the rewards. So, go ahead and do just that.
Are you currently recording videos for YouTube, Facebook or Livestreaming? If not, what’s holding you back? Drop your comments below along with a link to your latest video or channel!
