35: How to Feel Like a Natural In Front of the Camera

Last week's Democratic debate, viewers and voters got the chance to see 20 candidates over two nights vie for the top spot on the Dems ticket for the 2020 presidential election. The back to back debates in Miami last Wednesday and Thursday were critical in shaping the trajectories of all candidates who duked it out on live television. Now, were you watching? I watch. But if you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen my tweet. I started it by writing, I just can't. It's summer, it's heated outside, it's heated on the television screen. I found myself more focused on their presence rather than the candidates positions. And thanks to my teenagers, my daughters to be specific, I could not focus on the debate because I'm in more of a mindset of the Bachelorette and Big Brother than political television. But I did watch and it made me think, could someone pick the winning candidate by how comfortable they look on screen? And does it even matter? Well, now, no one would say that President Trump has a way with words. I don't even think he would say that, but he has a way of saying anything on camera that makes people notice. Why? Because he is very, very comfortable in that space. Fifteen years on the Apprentice helped Donald Trump become even more comfortable on camera. And that confidence does seem to translate into how he views himself as president. I give myself an A. I don't think any president has ever done what I've done in this short. We haven't even been two years. Okay, so if you had to Monday morning quarterback the Dem debates on Thursday and Friday respectively, you would note that most pundits said that the winner from both nights was Kamala Harris. Why? Well, for reasons like this. Listen to the senator. In this exchange, I would like to.

Speak on the issue of race. They're working two and three jobs. So when we talk about jobs, let's be really clear. In our America, no one should have to work more than one job to have a roof over their head and.

Food on the table.

The problem with this kind of policy, and I know it as a prosecutor, I want a rape victim to be able to run in the middle of. To run in the middle of the street and wave down a police officer and report the crime against her. I want anybody who has been the victim of any real crime to be able to do that and not be afraid that if they do that, they will be deported because the abuser will tell them it is they who is the criminal. It is wrong.

Now, no matter who you deem the winner or the loser, from the two nights, I think we can all agree the people who are most comfortable on stage and most comfortable in front of the camera are the ones that pundits ourselves deem winners. Charisma, being magnetic on camera. These are characteristics of people who can capture a moment. Sure, a good sound bite goes a long way, but if you can't sell it on camera looking comfortable, it doesn't.

Work for the rest of us. For the rest of America, that's what we call at home all foam and no beer. We got nothing out of it.

And speaking of all foam and no beer, that comment, it didn't work. And for the record, I am from Senator Klobuchar's home state of Minnesota and I have never, ever uttered that phrase until now. And frankly, I didn't even utter it. I transposed it. So for the Confident Communications podcast, I'm your host, Molly McPherson or Molly Baker from St. Paul, Minnesota, who would say how to feel natural in front of the camera or how to be all beer and no foam. When you find yourself in front of the camera, No matter your profession, there are plenty of opportunities to be in front of the camera. And many times you will find yourself in front of it. Right? Okay. Even though probably felt like everyone on the planet was on the podium last week on stage, but it was only 20 people. And most of the population will never find themselves on a debate stage, much less a presidential one. But could you be in a news interview perhaps? How about an interview for your job or a representative of some sort? Would someone ask you to be on camera? That could happen. Maybe you're not a candidate for the President United States, but what if you are running for a local office or filming an ad for your business, a television commercial, or creating a video for a special event or for social media? I get asked to go on camera a lot for a lot of the talks that I do, and they almost never give me any prep time whatsoever. I just have to do it. And I find this happens a lot. And I think it may happen to a lot of you as well. And you see, now that I mention it, it turns out there are a lot of reasons why you could find yourself on the camera. I'm sure sitting there listening, you've already come up with some instances. So if you are someone who is not comfortable in this space, this episode will give you simple tips for relax and being yourself. How simple? Well, there's 30 of them, but they're all simple. And like I say, they're sticky. You're going to remember them. You don't have to write them down in notes. And you've heard me say this before, that authenticity can help you sell anything. If people know you, if they like you, if they trust you, they will do business with you or they will vote for you. Whatever it is getting comfortable in front of this medium, television, video cameras, it can always help you. After you listen to these tips, I know you will feel a lot more chill when you see that red recording light turn on. Now, perhaps you're someone who speaks too quickly or too flat or you stutter or you use too many filler words. You don't know what to say when you see that red light go on. We can all use help in this area because no one is perfect on camera, but there are a lot of people who make it look easy. As I mentioned, Senator Kamala Harris, she made it look pretty easy. President Trump, President Obama, Michelle Obama for that matter. Oprah. I just watched a video of Oprah interviewing Michelle and they both seemed incredibly comfortable on camera. Joe Biden, all people who are comfortable on camera but not goof proof. And I'm looking at you, Joe Biden. But that comfort factor is key. And there are times when I am a one take wonder. No prep, no flubs. The script just pops in my head and comes out of my mouth a second later. But other times I've choked, I'll sputter, I, I can't think of what I need to say. You know what, we all do it. For me, practice does make perfect. But I am comfortable on camera. Why? Well, just because I do it a lot. But the benefit of being yourself, now that's another way of saying how to be natural. And that's what this podcast is all about. It will build your know, like and trust factor. Now I know some of you might be saying to yourself, well, well, this does not matter because I will never ever be on camera. But I think almost every single person I deal with in my work eventually finds themselves on camera for one reason or another. So how can you be a Natural? Here are 30 tips. Let's go. Let's start with your looks. Because if you look good, you will feel good on camera. So that is number one, if you are comfortable, you will look comfortable. Point number two, make a point of choosing an outfit that you feel comfortable in and looks put together. If you feel stuffy in an outfit, it will show on camera. So tailor your clothes, keep them clean. Wrinkle free is always a good start. I remember doing a video promo for a talk I was giving At a communication conference and I was with a co host and we were going to do this talk on Facebook Live and the co host looked good. He was wearing a suit. He looked very natural. I looked like crap. I had on a black blouse and I had to tuck it in a too tight skirt. And my hair looked bad. My part looked bad. It's just blech. And you could see it even in the outtakes. It was just kind of a mess. Like I just. And it all started from the fact that I didn't feel good. I wasn't prepared to do the video at that time. And if you looked at all the outtakes, it shows. But every time that I felt more put together and I was wearing something that was comfortable, like in the case of the Facebook Live talk that I did, I look good. So in other words, I felt good and I spoke well. Now, in general, solid colors, dark tones, no white or busy patterns, no logos. And if you really want to get into that media training zone, you don't want to wear anything that's too busy or too distracting, but in general, you just want to look solid. You know what I mean? Next tip. Wear an outfit that will conceal sweat stains in case the spotlight is a little bright and your nerves make you sweat. One of my favorite scenes from my favorite movie was the flop sweat scene with Albert Brooks. He was on camera and he was quite nervous. So don't be afraid to know that you're going to sweat. So blot your face with blotting paper or use powder to avoid a shine. And guys, you too. This isn't just for females. There is nothing wrong being a male and asking for makeup or some blotting paper. And if you are a sweater, wear one. Put a sweater on or wear a jacket because you don't want the sweat to be seen on camera. Next tip. Going back to the powder ties in with makeup, you don't want to overdo it and you don't want to underdo it either. And guys, that applies to you too. Don't be afraid to use it. And if you do wear makeup, make sure you have an objective second opinion on how you look in front of that camera. Check it in different lighting. Ask your videographer, ask your hairstylist or someone that was helping you. Or ask someone in the room, how does this makeup look? They'll give you an honest answer. The next tip, Watch for any distracting or loud jewelry. Metal bracelets can be, you know, a nightmare, especially for people doing your audio. Or if you have a watch that might Tap against a cufflink. We don't want to hear any clinging on that video. And it will be distracting to you as well. And it won't let you look comfortable. Next tip. The most important thing that you must feel on the day of your video or when you're on camera is you need to feel like yourself. And you also need to look like yourself. So when you go on camera, this is not the day that you want to try a new outfit. Or if you're a guy that normally wears long ties, don't throw out a bow tie for the first time. It's very difficult to feel genuine on camera if you're not dressed how you normally would look. You wanna feel genuine and authentic and by doing that you want to look like yourself. Now you don't wanna be too comfortable. So the next tip is you wanna get the blood moving, your juices flowing. So jump around if you have to do jumping jacks. Just do anything to get your heart rate up and your blood flowing. You do wanna jazz it up a little. You wanna get things moving, get animated. Most people, when they stand on camera and they get nervous and they start to speak monotone, they get very, very blah, you know, and that's why it is easy to speak in public. Because you are moving around, your juices are flowing, so it's easier to look more comfortable. But on camera, people tend to clam up. So try and move around if you can. All right, Moving on to your performance. The next tip. Number eight, be prepared, but not over prepared. What this means, you have to plan out what you're going to talk about. But don't Write out a 10 page script and follow it. Number nine, start with what you know. No matter if you're giving a talk or if you're giving a speech or if you're on camera doing something on camera, start out by speaking about something that you're passionate about or something that you know about. Something that just turns you on and turns on that speaker Persona. That's what I always do. I always start with the easy, natural stuff. Because then if you get a little off track later on or you get a little nervous, you're not as prepared. People remember how you looked right off the bat. For example, back to the debates. If you watch Beto, when he started speaking, what did he do? He spoke in Spanish. He Now I know, I know the Spanish that bombed. But Beto o' Rourke was comfortable enough to speak Spanish for the answer to the first question in the debate. The problem with the Spanish answer wasn't the Spanish. It was that he wasn't answering the question, but he knew he was the only candidate who could pull that off. Next, tip number 10. Where to start prepping to be natural on camera. Well, you start by talking to yourself. I always do this tip when I know that I have to be on camera, or at least someone's given me warning that I am going to be. You could talk to yourself in your car on your way to work. You can do it in the shower, you can do it at home, maybe even out on a walk. I do it with a walk with my dog all the time. You know, I'll pick my topic and that's when I'll start to speak. And I always have to look to make sure that people aren't seeing me. My dog, I think, is absolutely accustomed to me talking, and he knows when to tune me out when I'm prepping for a talk. I do it all the time because the more you get used to hearing yourself speak and hearing your cadence, when you're not with a group or no one else is around except your dog or your shower, you're speaking without interruption and you're speaking without input. And you're also speaking without the pressure of someone judging you in that room or on a walk. Like, my dog I know isn't going to judge me. So it's easier and it's more natural to speak because you're not intimidated. So you are going to be more articulate, and you're going to be more likely to use more impressive words and more impressive language because no one is there to judge it. So go ahead and give it a try. Next, number 11. When you first jump in front of the camera, it can be very, very intimidating. So watch your posture. When people get intimidated, they tend to close in and shrink. If you stand up, chin up, and look up, you are going to be more focused on what you're saying. And when you do speak, you want to own every single thing you say. So own it and look confident. Tip number 12, keep in mind, when you are on camera, you're on camera the whole time, so make every single moment count. Yes, people can edit it out, but that's a pain. You want to make sure that every word you say, every line you deliver is a good one. And if it's not, then do it again. But you don't want to look bored. You don't want to look like you're not, you know, involved in the film. You want to look 100% every single time. So your first line has to be as excitable as your last line. Next tip, lucky number 13. Note the best time of day where you're really on. Okay? You could be a morning person, and if that's the case, schedule it first thing in the morning. But if you're better later on in the afternoon, then film it then. But only you know when you're at your best. So schedule it when you can. If you're allowed to schedule it when you're at your best. Number 14. Teleprompter or no teleprompter. Me, I don't like them. Doesn't mean that I haven't used them. In fact, if you look at certain videos of mine, you can absolutely tell when I'm using a teleprompter because I have to follow some specific order, but I don't like it one bit. And sometimes it's just unavoidable. If you're a news anchor, I mean, yes, you're going to use a teleprompter. It's expected and there are pros at it. The same thing with notes. If you use notes or a teleprompter, it robs you of that authentic, genuine conversation, natural look, because think about it. When you're speaking to someone, when you're speaking with notes, you can tell. I can tell on a podcast when someone is reading a script or reading notes. I can hear it. I can hear it in my ears and it kind of puts a little dull on the podcast itself. But when someone doesn't have a note in front of them, like me right now, I'm not looking at my notes at all. You can tell it's a little more authentic. Next tip ties in number 15. So you should memorize, but you should also speak from the heart. So familiarize yourself with your script, but don't over memorize it word for word. You're going to sound stiff and you're going to speak in a monotone. Recite from memory if you can. Talking points. Talking points. Just like in media training, that's the key to anything. And if you have to memorize, memorize in threes. Most people can memorize three things. So remember your three points, but talk naturally about those three points. Next, tip 16. Remember to take it slow. People tend to speed up their speech when they are very, very nervous and they talk too fast. So aim to speak a little slower than normal and then you will be spot on. Perfect. Now, here's the part that I do recognize and I do want to spend a little bit more Time on it. When it comes to video and being on camera, this idea of the script, what do you do now? I have done everything when it comes to a script. I have written everything out. I have put things on note cards, I put things on post it notes. I've had people hold up notebooks for me. I've done the teleprompter. But try and divide your script just into little bits and pieces. And again, those three, those three blurbs, those three talking points will help you not struggle when you have to. The next one and this is a biggie. And most people forget this smile. I always have to remind myself to do it. So it's okay, we all do it. And no fake smiles, genuine ones, because if you smile, that's natural because that's a really, really difficult one to fake. Tip number 18. Do not let perfection get in the way of completion. It's important that you just finish what you're doing. If you do it too much and take too many takes, you're never gonna get it. So don't go for per perfect. You can go off script a bit, it's fine. It will still make sense. But you don't want to stop in the middle of a talk and say, oh, I forgot something. You know, your audience will never know if you forget something, so just keep Speaking. Tip number 19. Be aware of any of the tics that you do have. A lot of people have nervous tics. We all know what they are. So watch video of yourself ahead of time. What are you doing more inclined to do on camera when you're nervous? Some people might. They'll, they'll clear their throat a lot. They might scrunch their eyebrows. I know people that are over blinkers. They might wring their hands. They might, you know, start tapping their feet or shifting back and forth. A lot of people love to use filler words. That is the big tell when it comes to people who are nervous on camera or they don't know what to say. If you catch yourself tensing up or if you have any type of tic, just take a deep breath and relax and just pull yourself out of it. Tip number 20 comes from episode number 18. You know, come to think of it, I should have made this. Tip 18. Oh, well, it's from my episode and it is, I think my top second. No, my top episode is how to spot a Liar. My second most popular episode, the Secret to being a Great speaker with Gina Raison. She is a TedX coach and she gave me one of the best tips ever and it is such common sense. But ever since I interviewed her for the podcast, I have used it in front of every talk. I've done it every time I go on camera, even before I do a podcast. And I tell every single person I know I just told my kids to do this. Before my daughter had to take her driver's test, the last tip I gave her was this. Breathe. Breathing will always calm you down. That breath in has this tremendous calming effect on your brain. So it doesn't matter what you're doing. If you're speaking on stage, if you're speaking on camera, or if you're taking your driver's test, just take a deep breath in and keep those breaths in, and that will help you be natural on camera. Tip 21. Watch your hands. Take them out of your pocket. Because especially on camera, if the camera is not showing your pockets, then you're going to have these slouchy shoulders or shoulders that are going to be up to your ears. Stand up or sit up straight. Use your hands, but don't use them too much. And no pointing. Watch your gestures. You're not on stage when you're on camera. Unless you're being filmed on stage, that's one thing. But if you're speaking on camera, keep in mind that you're usually only being filmed from the waist up in most cases, unless you're walking around. So you can use your hands, but don't rely on them when you're on camera. Next, tip number 22. If you're someone that has to move your legs a lot, like you get the jimmy legs, or you shift back and forth, you know, despite your effort, not wanting to do that, a lot of women, you know, when they get complacent or when they get nervous, they'll rock back and forth like they're holding a kid. I think a lot of mothers are wired to do this. You want to make sure that you are standing stable. What I tend to do is I spread my legs out and I get shorter and I distribute my weight right in the middle between my legs, because I don't even want to think about my legs. I want to think about what I'm doing above the waist. Another piece about being on camera is, you don't want to sit down. There are many cases where people will sit on video, but if anyone who's ever heard me talk in person or in any of my trainings, they'll hear me say this in almost every single one of them. Do not do an interview. Do not do any type of Video while you are sitting down. Because I feel that a desk is a barrier. It kind of erodes that trust. If you have something in front of you because it's you something and then the camera you want. The only thing between you and the camera is just to be your trust building with the viewer. Now, if you have a prop there, let's say there is a desk, or if you're a leader and you want to film in an office or a boardroom, then it's okay to lean on something if you want to be standing or if you want to be in that relaxed state. But sitting, I don't. There's not a lot of arguments for why you should do a video if you're sitting down. Unless it's a video on how to sit, I suppose. Next, step 23. Schedule plenty of time to film as many takes as necessary. You do not want to feel rushed when you're doing video. This has happened to me before. And if you are rushed or if you're under that time crunch, it is going to show and it's going to be the most unnatural look for you. It's going to be a rushed one. Next, let's talk about camera placement. Because you've learned a lot, obviously from selfies. You know how you look good on camera. I just discovered in the last two weeks I was filming a selfie video. And during the video, it was kind of like a walk and a talk and I was just sending it to someone because I was talking about something and I noticed when I look to the left and to the right that I definitely do have a better side and I never even noticed it. But know where your good side is and your bad side is because it turns out, I guess we all have one. But when it comes to that camera placement, you want to look the best in the best light that you can. So tall or short, try to keep your lens just above your eyeline because this placement is going to help prevent that double chin, which some people do have, and it will yield a more flattering angle if it's above. So this rule applies if you're shooting from a webcam, from your from your laptop or from your desktop. Make sure that you raise it just off the table on your desk and angle it down towards your face. So ensure that the camera is just above your eyeline. And another little pro tip for you is that if you are standing during your video, keep a stool or some type of a step with you. So in case that you. You can't raise a camera, you don't have anything to put a camera on. Put yourself on the step or the stool. The next tip for looking natural on camera, let's talk about lighting. So when you are being lit for a video, what you want to try and do is remove all the harsh shadows from your face that you can, because shadows make you look devious. So consider the environment that you're shooting in. Are you inside? Are you outside? Where are these unwanted shadows located? If you are directly underneath any type of overhead office lighting, like that horrible fluorescent lighting, shut the lights off or open up a window or move out from under the light because you don't want to have the lights hit you in your eyes and kind of create that raccoon eye effect. If you're using video lights, just make sure that they're placed just in front of the camera and but off to your side. You don't want them directly in your eyeline. Slightly above, just like we had mentioned with the camera is best for the lighting results. And I'm going to have a link in my show notes for the lighting that I use when I film myself in the office. Now, for those of you who wear glasses, I know that glares with glasses can be a problem. So if you can use fake lenses, if you still want to have the look of someone who's wearing glasses, you know, they just have plastic in there. Or, or if you have to wear your glasses, let's say you're reading something or you need to wear them, you can tilt your glasses down and it will feel that it looks awkward, but on camera it won't look awkward. You can also use a polarizing filter that could help get rid of some of the glare. Or you could use larger, softer light sources, but you're definitely going to want to tweak it because you don't want that glare in the center of your lens in your glasses because it will look totally unnatural. All right, the next tip, number 26, stay hydrated and you want to use water or hot tea. Whenever I film a podcast, especially when I'm interviewing a guest, I always, always have water with me because when my throat gets parched, I can tell, you know, and it gets a little scratchy and it can ruin a really, really good take if you're. If you're having throat problems. And one of my secret tips is I use a spray, and it's called Entertainer's Secret Throat Spray. I will include the link within the show notes. I just get it from Amazon and I bring it with me on the road as well, and I use it before podcasts and every single time that I do a video. Tip number 27. If you can place a mirror a few feet behind the camera so you can check out your body language and you can kind of get a sense and the vibe with for how you're doing, if you look unnatural to yourself, well, then you're gonna look unnatural to everyone else. And you could also pretend, if you wanted to, I suppose, that that reflection is someone else. So speak to that person in the mirror and guess what? Here's a hint. That person is not gonna judge you. Get it? Because it's you. You're not gonna judge yourself. Okay, now that is a tip that can be distracting to some people. I suppose if you have a mirror, you'll be looking back and forth, oh, it's me. But some people, if you think about a mirror, think about, like, when you're exercising, kind of how you're checking yourself out. You're not checking yourself out to see how great you look. You're checking yourself out to see, you know, how you're holding that weight or, you know, how you look as you're doing some type of exercise. The same applies when you're doing a video. Number 28. If it is necessary for you to move around in your video, you wanna do it as naturally as possible. So know where your marks are. So if you're walking across an office, know that, oh, when I come up to this chair, I need to put my hand on that chair, and this is where I'm going to stop. Or you can place some type of tape or marker on the floor in front of the camera so you know precisely where you need to go as you're walking in and out of the frame. Tip number 29, and this is a really important one too, is speak with friendly faces in the room. The people that you're most comfortable speaking with are the ones that you're going to be most natural with. For example, I work with an association and one of the camera operators, the videographers, the producers. His name is Stefan. He's in a lot of the video productions that I do, and he's great. I feel super comfortable with him because he always gives me constructive feedback. So I know I can rely on him. And I know he's not too judgmental. He's not saying, wow, you truly suck at this. Because there are times when I've had great video shoots with him and he'll tell me, he's like, that was a great take. And if it's not so good. He'll say, you know what, let's try that one over again. But no matter what he tells me, I'm always comfortable with him. So if I ever have to do a video with them, if I see him, I think, okay, I'm going to be good. And that's going to lead into my last tip. Number 30 for how to feel like a natural in front of the camera is have fun. Because if you're not having fun, it shows. And speaking on camera, no matter who you are, if you're a presidential candidate, heck, if you're the President of the United States, everyone gets nervous speaking on camera. But the key to feeling natural in front of the camera is to naturally be yourself. And most times when you speak, you are naturally enjoying it. So try and capture that moment as much as you can. Because the more natural you are, the more magnetic you are, the more charismatic you are. So have fun with it. Woohoo. Now that's the entire list. 30 tips for feeling like a natural in front of the camera. I hope you feel more comfortable already. If you want even more information on how to become an even more powerful speaker, I have a special download to help you. I've given this opt in before on the podcast, but I thought this is a good one for this episode. If you text the word power, speak all one word, P O W E R S P E A K 2345345. Again, that's a sticky number. You can memorize that. 345345. And I will give you a special link to a download on how to become an even more powerful speaker. So that's all for this week. Thank you so much for listening to the Confident Communications podcast. Remember, I want to help you become a modern age communicator and I want to help you in your business and but today it was the business of being on camera and I hope you are feeling more confident already. So until next week, bye for now.