George Kao explains why he chooses to make his videos live despite discomfort and perfectionism, describing how live video forces practice, authentic expression, and audience-facing vulnerability. He also names and normalizes the emotional cost he calls "visibility hangover" after publishing, and argues that human imperfection and authenticity will become more important as AI-generated content increases.
Chapters
Right now I'm doing this video as an Instagram live. The other type of video I make are Facebook Lives. And sometimes I record videos based on my group coaching clients. I'm recording a segment for them. But the point I'm trying to make is why when I make videos, do I make them live? It's because I wouldn't make videos otherwise. I don't like making videos. I mean, some of you might like making videos and you should consider that a superpower and you should make more of them. Congratulations. But then there are many people like myself who don't naturally like making videos. I had the greatest judgments about my how I look and how I sounded for the longest time. Yeah, I just didn't think I was good, good looking enough for video. I thought I sounded strange. The first time you heard yourself on a recording for your voice, didn't it sound strange because it sounds different than the sound of your voice in your own head. So for the first couple years of my marketing training, I told people that video was never going to be a thing. From 2009, 2014, I said, yeah, there's no way that video will be a thing. You know, it's people, you know, search engines like TE and just do it that way you'll be more polished, etc. And it's because I was really embarrassed to be on video. I didn't like to be on video. And still today I've now made over a thousand videos, so I'm more used to it now. But it's like I said, it's still not a natural. Gosh, I can't wait to make my next video, kind of feeling. So I just want to let you know that that's normal. For a lot of us especially, making video means you have to practice looking at the camera lens. And it's not a natural thing to practice seeing the soul of your ideal viewer in the camera lens. It's just not natural. And it takes a lot of practice. And to be able to show up and speak authentically, explore your truth and to really show up and try to serve others with whatever is showing up for you at the moment. That takes practice as well. But I'll tell you, because of all that practice, I found that it's really, really worthwhile. Why? Well, yes, of course it does help with business growth, audience growth and business nurturing and all that stuff. It does help with business. But I find that the more profound benefit is the practice of showing up and exploring your authentic voice. I mean literally your voice. If you're making video. But if you're doing writing or any other kind of public content, you are being vulnerable and being courageous and willing to say, maybe this is what I really believe. And oftentimes you don't really know what you believe until you say it or write it. It's not clear to you yet. And also, when you show up as authentically as you can, there's always the risk that others do not get it, or if they get it, they don't like it. Okay? And that's totally fine. I mean, you practice being fine about it. Which leads me to the topic of visibility hangover. You know, after I make a video, I need to go and do something else. I need to go on a walk or I need. Need to kind of decompress. It's normal to feel that way. And for the first, you know, 50 videos I've made, after I published a video, I looked at it, I'm like, I want to take it down. It's normal. And I just want you to know that even those of us who look like we're expert video creators, we show up, you know, thousands of times. We still feel the inklings of fear, anxiety, visibility hangover afterwards, wanting to just remove the video. So sometimes I say to my clients, post and then get therapy. Okay, Post and then go get therapy or publish and then go on a walk and don't delete it. And the last thing I'll say as to kind of wrap this up is as we move more and more into an age where content will be created by artificial intelligence, it's just inevitable. It's too convenient for so many people to just quickly create not just articles anymore, but even videos. It will look like a human being speaking and it will be AI. And the more that happens, you know what we human beings are left to do? We human beings are left to express our foibles, our imperfections, our authentic voice and our authentic presence. And it's going to be those of us who are the most courageous and practiced at showing up as humanly as possible, as passionately and in service to our own exploration and in service to the upliftment. Upliftment of our every mistake. Whatever mistakes are authentic to us. That is what will become truly human content in the near future, not even far future, in the next two, three years. So it's like, start now. Start practicing your authentic expression now. Through writing is wonderful, of course, through images, it's great. But through video has a particular power. And you know, there's is unparalleled with any other means of communication. Video shows your energy signature the strongest. So start practicing your energy signature today and don't worry about the mistakes. Don't worry and know that you know it's natural to not want to do it number one. And it's number two. It's natural to feel that hangover feeling afterwards just like I'm going to feel right now after I press publish or end this live video and press share. So anyway, thank you for joining me for this journey. I hope this was helpful.
