Need camera confidence? Here are my strategies to help you get comfortable on camera.
I’ve been doing YouTube videos for several years now and at first I was pretty uncomfortable on camera.
I’ve been asked, “how do you get comfortable on camera? How do you know what to say, where to look, and how not to get flustered or have to do 75 different takes?”
Sometimes it does take me a few takes in order to get the actual lines out that I want to say.
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I don’t use a teleprompter, I just look at the camera and I start talking. I tend to say UM, and AH, and SO a lot and I try to not say that, but then I also just talk the way that I normally talk.
Gain Camera Confidence Tip #1: Be Yourself
My number one way to get comfortable on camera is to just be yourself. If, for example, if you say ‘so’ at the beginning of a lot of your sentences, just be okay with that. As you continue to do more videos, you’ll watch yourself and notice those things that you do. Then you’ll either change it up or you’ll just get comfortable with the way that you talk. I used to say ‘um’ a lot. I used to say, ‘so’ a lot more and I used to say ‘like’ a whole lot more than what I do now.
Now I know to pay attention to those filler words before I say them. It has become much easier for me to say what I want to say. But in order to get comfortable on camera, you have to be yourself.
Gain Camera Confidence Tip #2: Be Friendly
The second thing I would suggest in order to get comfortable on camera is to imagine that you are chatting with someone that you know. When I first started doing my YouTube videos, I was very shy and I was a little scared because I thought, “who’s going to be watching this?” And for some reason I started to think of my sister on the other side of the camera. As I was recording the videos, I would just try to make her laugh and it made me feel really comfortable.
I started getting comfortable on camera by pretending that I was chatting with my sister. When I did that, my videos showed more of my personality. I would recommend in order for you to get comfortable on camera to imagine that you’re talking to someone that you already know and are comfortable being around. Once again, being comfortable on camera is really just being comfortable in your own skin in front of a lens.
Gain Camera Confidence Tip #3: Be Prepared
My final tip to help you to get comfortable on camera is to be prepared. Typically I have a list of videos that I’d like to shoot. In advance of recording day, I’ll create a list of videos on my phone that I want to shoot and I’ll have notes for each video.
When I’m more prepared, it’s much easier for feel comfortable on camera and say what I want to say. I prepare my notes a few days in advance. Some will use a teleprompter, but I recommend that if you really want personality in your videos, be ok with flubbing a few lines. Perfection is boring.
I hope this has been helpful. If you would like more help with getting comfortable on camera so you can identify and attract your ideal client, then you should read this post.