Crush Your Fear of Video: 5 Simple Strategies for Boosting Confidence

If you want to stand out on social media, grow your audience, build connections and get clients, video is a must. When you think about who you follow and the people you feel connected to the most, it’s most likely those who you get to see on video; that’s because it feels like you’re seeing them in real time, even if it’s a recording.

Most people feel nervous on camera when they start out, so if this is how you’re feeling, you are not alone and today we are going to help you feel more confident with our 5 insider tips.

A few weeks ago, I posted a survey inside my Health Coach Biz Support Facebook group asking coaches if they weren’t doing video yet, what was their top reason.  One of the top answers was Fear of Being on Video. This roadblock can stop you in your tracks when it comes to showing up in a way that really allows your audience to get to know you.

Here are 5 Simple Strategies for Boosting Your Confidence on Video

1. Get familiar with your tech options.   

The first step in calming the nerves is knowing what tech to use, so you feel good about how you will look and sound.  The great news is all your need is your smartphone, good sound and adequate lighting. 

If you can record your videos near a window with lighting, that is usually best for more flattering/natural light. If you need more lighting, using a ring light is great.  You can find a variety of ring lights on Amazon, starting at around $30.  There are lights that can sit on your desk, and lights that come with an adjustable tripod stand if you plan to record in different places in your house, and you don’t want to have to use props to get the right height. The tripod stands also start at just $30.

As far as sound, if you’re recording video indoors with your phone fairly close to you (within a few feet) a separate mic isn’t necessary.  If you want better quality audio and/or you plan to record further away from your phone or outside, having a wireless mic is important. You can also find wireless microphones on Amazon, starting at $25. I rarely use a separate microphone when recording video on my smart phone, so you can do without this for a while as you get started – as long as you’re recording within a few feet of your phone, so the audio quality is good.   

2. Start small with short videos.

How great is it that short-form video is so popular right now?  This means you can record 30-60 second videos and not worry that you have to be on camera for a long time. Feeling like you have to record a 5–10-minute video can feel overwhelming when you’re starting out, so by recording shorter videos, you’ll be done before you know it, and you can do more of them if you want because they aren’t as time consuming.  Just write out a few bullet points about what you want to cover and hit the record button. 

3. Use B-roll.

This is another great way to ease into doing video and build your confidence. B-roll is video of you doing something, but you aren’t talking. It could be you working at your desk or laptop, going for a walk, making coffee or tea, meal prepping, grocery shopping – almost anything really. It’s stock footage you take, and you add music or voice over and text to convey your message.  These videos can be as short as 10 seconds. The benefit of this is you’re showing up on video, but it’s not as intimidating because you don’t also have to memorize what you’re going to say.

4. Practice. 

This probably sounds obvious, but practice is the #1 thing that’s going to help you get better, and really help you feel more confident.  You will likely not be amazing on video when you start out, and that’s okay because no one is. I was horrible at video when I started a few years ago and now it’s easy and I feel confident about it – it took a while to get there, and practice is just part of the process for anything we want to improve.

My best tip for recording video is to be sure to look at the camera and not the screen, and imagine you are talking to your best friend when you’re recording. You are only talking to that one person to convey what you want to say. Oh, and be sure to smile because that makes you feel relatable and look relaxed.

5. Build confidence with recorded video and the next step is live video

This is about baby steps, building your skills and your confidence.  Recorded video is easiest because you can re-record and/or edit where needed.  Live video can feel more challenging, but it’s also what helps you come across as very genuine when people get to interact with you in real time so it’s worth conquering your fear by practicing.

A great way to practice live video is to start by going live in a Facebook group you create just for that purpose, so you can see how things work and get a feel for the process.  You can set up a group that you use for practice only, and then you’ll be ready to go live in your other groups or on your page or anywhere you want.  You can do this on Instagram too by selecting “private” as the option for the audience you want to see your livestream. 

The goal is to get as much practice as you can, so the more often you can get in front of the camera the better.

Karen has a great free resource to help make this even easier for you and it’s her “Livestream Video Checklist.” You can download this step-by-step PDF, that shares the 8 steps you need in place when you’re planning to go live, you’ll know what to include in your video, and how to promote it to get people to show up live. 

BONUS TIP

How to outline your videos to maximize watch time:

You want to grab people’s attention right away, so they stick around to watch the whole video. A common mistake we see being made is starting the video by saying who you are and what you do, or starting with a greeting and thanking people for watching, rather than kicking it off by getting right into the information.  Using a hook right from the start helps reel people in. So, instead of starting with who you are, say “One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they want to _________ is _______________.   That rarely works because ___________Here’s what you want to do instead ___________.”   So, get into the heart of the info and if you want at the end, you can say who you are and who you help. 

A simple 3-part outline for an effective video can be as follows:

  1. Your hook to grab attention and let people know the topic you’re covering
  2. Share the tip, insight, common mistake or other info
  3. Call to action – what should they do next – like, comment, listen to your podcast, read blog post, sign up for your free resource, join your program, etc. 

Based on what we covered today, what is one step you can take with video?  Whether you are brand new at it, or you’re ready to go to the next level, decide what you’re going to work on, put it on your calendar and commit to doing it.  Before you know it, you’ll feel more at ease and more confident.

We can’t wait to hear how it goes!

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