How To Get Over Your Fear Of Being On Video 🎥 💪🏾😉

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overcome camera shyness

Did you know that video will exponentially benefit your business and make you more visible and relatable to your audience? I'm slowing trying to incorporate video into EVERYTHING, even FAQ sections of my sales pages.

What you may not know is that I'm not comfortable on video. 

If you've seen any of my videos on YouTube or livestreams on Social media you may come to the conclusion that I am a total natural on camera. At least that's the consensus I hear. But beyond that I am very Introverted and video is NOT my favorite thing to do. 

The list of reasons why I'm not comfortable doing videos especially live goes on and on and on. I mean it IS a LIVE recording. Anything could happen.

One day when feel like I've become comfortable, I will create part 2 of this article, but for now you get "just getting over it enough to start making videos" advice.

Never in a million years did I think that I would become a Youtuber. 🤔 Now I'm educating heart-centered service-based entrepreneurs how to grow a successful business, how to get started with webinars, and even doing product reviews.

They tell you to start before you’re ready and nothing could be more true.

But come on really?! Is there anything else helpful other than "just do it"? Well, I think so and in this article, I'm going to list how I got over my fear just enough to take action. 

I'm going to share with you 9 tips that helped me and hopefully, they will help you too!!!

How to Prepare for Video 

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1. Get comfortable being on camera.

Prior to recording any type of video I knew would be seen by the world wide web (do people even say those words together in order like that anymore?) I first recorded for only myself. You would think it would be easy because you're the only one who's going to see it but it's not. 

You have to get used to looking at the camera. You have to get used to talking to the camera. You have to get use to hitting the record button...

And probably the worst of them all, you have to get used to hearing your own voice (cue doom sound effect). Hey, inches lead to feet. These tiny wins are necessary and a great first step.

2. Post your video in a secret Facebook group. 

Once I got over the initial hump I posted my video in a private and secret Facebook group with only one member: me. I cringed as I watched the video. OMG, I hate my voice. However, this was great and you should do the same.

Posting many videos and even go live in a secret group with you only in it will have you get used to the camera. You're able to see which side is your “good” side, what lighting looks better, and test the sound quality.

And in my experience, good grief did I use a lot of filler words. Having this type of Intel is priceless. Because now I knew what to work on and so will you. I hear so many people accepting their first live interview, or doing their first video and it's literally the first time.

I have soooo much respect for those that just do it, crap or not, but if you can try to practice first in a private YouTube video, private Instagram account, private Facebook group or just about wherever.  

Even though you're the only one who's going to see it, train your mind with actually posting the video. Get if off of your camera and get used to posting it on social (privately). Remember these tiny wins are necessary and a great first step.

3. Stand up and loosen up.

This next advice may or may not be helpful for you. Stand up and loosen up. Personally, I learned that I’m more comfortable standing while doing videos. When you look at my videos you will notice that more times than not I am standing. But I'm slowly getting more comfortable with sitting. I'm more nervous when I'm sitting and I don't know why.

However, standing up allowed me to have more freedom and more flow, for whatever reason my brain started spitting out content.

Now I try to do all my lives and recorded videos standing. 

3 Things I did “Right” to get more comfortable

4. Choose a topic you know extremely well.

My first topic was about personal mistakes that I made in my business and what I learned from them. Any question I received I could guarantee that I knew the answer. How could I not? This was a personal experience that I went through, LIVE.

When you're just starting out in your area of expertise it can be intimidating. You may feel you know a lot but not every single thing about your topic.

  • What if someone asks a question you don't know.
  • What if someone comments who knows more than you.
  • What if you look like a fraud.
  • What if you feel like a fraud.
  • And what about the internet trolls.

By deciding to make your first few videos about you and your personal life yet sharing it in a way to help them get value, you will feel at more ease and more confident in your topic. 

5. Have an outline of the topic.

Have a script and practice, practice, practice. Review it prior to going live and run through it several times in order to get comfortable with the topic.

Make sure to include an introduction that hooks them in quickly, quick story of why your topic matters, the teaching content, and an engagement section to get people commenting, and lastly a call-to-action of what they'll do next.

If you find that your audience is the type to jump off during your call-to-action, try giving your call-to-action earlier in the content. For instance, you can give a call-to-action and then summarize what you just talked about. 

So why practice so much? Well, I can't stand when I record and edit the video or even go live, and then when I rewatch it, I think of something really cool I could have mention. A lot of times it's another video I wanted to point the viewers too or maybe a better analogy. 

So I find when I rehearse, I think of those little tidbits that I want to include. And the final product is better with a more thought-out explanation. But be careful not to add a lot of blah blah blah blah fluff. 

6. Ask your friends and family for support.

I told my friends I was going live so they could attend and give encouragement. There’s nothing more nerve-wrecking than going live, being viewed and all you hear are crickets?

Having friends to like, comment, and continue to engage really helped with first time nerves and gets the ball rolling for others to interact.

It just feels better when you feel like you're not talking to yourself. 

You can even give them questions to ask so you can respond. If you're going to do this tip be strategic. Give them questions that are common and help combat limiting beliefs or objections for working with you.

You do not have to do this for every video. As a matter of fact I wouldn't. This is a strategy you can do to help with those first time jitters. 

3 Things I did “Wrong”

7. Trying to memorize the script.

The first time I went live I had a script with a few bullet points to guide me on what I was going to talk about next. I thought I had to memorize everything or act like I was not using a script.

I tried so desperately not to look at it because I thought you just went with the flow and knew exactly what you were going to say next.

It wasn’t until I started looking at other people’s Facebook Live videos and saw that they were looking at their notes. I was like “what the heck, you mean I can look at my notes?!” 🤯 Don't laugh I was new to this guys. 

So now, I’m not ashamed to glance at my notes in order to stay on track.

8. Not sticking to Facebook Live topics.

I would schedule out eight weeks worth of topics that I was going to go live on, but at the last minute I would switch to a different topic that I felt more “inspired” to talk about. You might be thinking, “Why what’s wrong with that?”

If you’re inspired to talk about something then just go for it, right? Yes, true.

However, going impromptu got me off track with my scheduled topics, so every week I always had anxiety because I didn’t know what I was going to talk about the following week. I was on an impromptu train and I couldn’t get off.

My advice is to create a content schedule that is aligned with your goals and stick to them. If you feel inspired to talk about something do a Facebook Live on another day.

Also, you can record a video and then post it whenever you don’t feel like going live or when you need content in the future.

9. Not having a designated Facebook Live recording area.

In the beginning, several of my live videos were anywhere and everywhere. I would choose places where the Wi-Fi signal was extremely weak and I didn’t know it was weak until it was time to go live. So embarrassing when you're already a nervous wreck. 

I wish I would’ve taken the time to figure out my designated recording area. Where I knew the Wi-Fi worked, the lighting was perfect, the noise level was low or nonexistent and whatever stand or tripod I used to hold the phone was at the right height on my desk or wherever I was.

Fast-forward with this whole Covid-19 thing happening now and all the kids at home, it's hard to have a designated time and designated location. So I still get nervous if my lighting sucks (in my opinion) or I'm not totally liking my location. 

Create a designated location to host all your videos. It's also not a bad idea to even have 2 areas for variety if you like. But totally up to you. 

You're Ready as you'll ever be!

10. What platform should you be on?

Facebook and YouTube are the only two places I have produced video content and gone live. Although I did do my first Instagram live as a guest in March 2020. I have yet to go live on Instagram on my own channel. Send me some love and encouragement to do so please. I know it will help my business. 

Ok, with that said I am loving YouTube. More so than Facebook. I get way more engagement on YouTube than Facebook, but before you decide to start a YouTube channel I should warn you of the hard work that comes with it. 

Oh sure as with anything you can put in as little or as much effort as you want. But if you want to be successful on YouTube, it takes a lot of work. You have to:

  • Decide on your topic(s). You want to just braindump topic ideas
  • Script the video (not verbatim but know how you want to structure your content)
  • Record the video (or go YouTube live). 
  • Edit the video. Include a 3-7 second intro, b-roll, and other cool things.
  • Post the video. Make your video keyword heavy, add captions, like and comment first (Just like you would do Facebook).
  • Lastly, share the heck out of that video within the first 24 hours so that you can capitalize on YouTube's algorithm. 

Sorry, I wasn't trying to make this about YouTube. You want to know a free resource that really helped me? Download this freebie from my mentor Sunny Lenarduzzi she's a boss of YouTube for Bosses. It's an excellent program. But this isn't a plug. Just start with the free AMAZING resource first to get your channel on the right foot.

So maybe I should ACTUALLY answer your question LOL.

Producing content on social media tends to be easier because it's not as expected to do a lot of editing.

So if you're just starting out you may want to test the waters with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or any of the other social platforms out there. Oh wait. Maybe not TikTok. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

You'll be a PRO in no time!

Going live is so much fun! NOT! But with practice and these tips you can reduce the level of resistance you have on making more video and going live. If the only thing holding you back from taking the plunge is fear, then please use my advice and choose topics that you know like the back of your hand for your first few recording or live sessions. 

Your first video is always the hardest and by your fourth you’ll start to find your groove

By the way, don't know why I wanted till nearly the end to mention another resource that will help you overcome your fear of video. It's called Webinar Marketing Mind Drama | OVERCOME YOUR FEAR. Don't let the title fool you. There's some great tips in that article that can help you overcome video fear as well and not just webinars. 

Whatever you decide be consistent. Being consistent will build your confidence a lot faster. And don't worry too much about not having a lot of people watching or views because if this is new to you, your first few videos may suck anyway.

And if they do suck in your opinion, DO NOT DELETE THEM. Leave them. Show the world your growth and you actually weren't this success overnight. Yes, you will be successful. I just know it. Hopefully this was helpful.

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