I Beat Camera Anxiety as an INTROVERT | Siddharth Rajsekar | Episode 12

I never knew that I would be able to face a camera and speak because I'm an introvert by nature. And the more I did this and the more I built this skill over the years, I was able to build not only my presence, but I was also able to build my authority and most importantly, my connection with my audience. And I tell you, this is a skill that I learned over the years. It is not something that I've been born with because as I mentioned before, I'm a super duper introvert, even till today. And what happens when I. When anyone hits the record button on the camera, something switches and I just get into this mode of going with free flow thought and connecting with my audience. And after doing more than 1,000 videos and multiple thousands of webinars, I'm going to decode what does it take to build that confidence on camera and what does it take to build quality confidence to grow your business? Because to build a digital business, you got to be able to connect with the camera. And if you can't connect with the camera and communicate like how you're communicating to a friend, then people are not going to connect with you. And when people don't connect with you, you won't be able to build a business. So in this video, I'm going to go deep into what does it take to build that connection, how do you gain that confidence, how do you build presence, how do you build authority, and most importantly, how do you build connection? I'm going to share with you all the things that I did in my journey and what I went through. So go back in 2011, I was just running my agency, just started my agency, and I was not very confident on video. In fact, video was just getting started. But since I've done quite a bit of sound engineering work before that, I've done some basic video editing work before that. I used to understand the other side, like behind the camera, what needs to be done. And that was a time where I had to send a video proposal to one of my clients. An inquiry came in and then instead of me traveling to the other place to actually go and explain to them how they could use our services, I just opened up my webcam, I opened up a software, I hit the record button and then I demonstrated the entire proposal in a 10 minute video format and I sent it to that person. And to my surprise, that person saw the video within 24 hours and they confirmed the order. Now, what would have taken me maybe one hour to travel from one place to the other again, one hour to have a discussion with him. And then after coming back, they would, you know, decide whether they wanted to be a client or not. Instead of going through that old traditional process of doing business, I cut short that entire time by just sending a 15 to 20 minute video. And I was able to close that deal really fast because of the video proposal. And that was the first taste that I had of converting a deal or getting business through a video. And that boosted my confidence. And when I was recording that video, I was not even looking into the camera like this. I was just looking into my ppt. I was looking into the screen and just speaking. And I just, I was just going like how I was going to speak, like how I would speak to one person. But what really worked through that experience was I gained the ability to make things crisp and short because most people don't have much time. And if I had gone for a one to one meeting with him on a one to one basis, it would have taken at least one hour to go through that entire thing and for me to then explain the proposal. But here I was going straight into it. This is who you are, this is what you want, this is what we can provide you, this is what the price is. And if you confirm within this time, you can get this discount. So Please confirm within 24 hours. And I gave that kind of a call to action and I got the response. So the ability to concise information, the ability to keep things clear and crisp was one of the factors that actually helped me win that deal. And that was the starting point of me building confidence. And then what happened is I started to do many videos. I started to record videos on YouTube and I still remember the initial videos that I did. I was really, really bad. I would not even look into the lens and speak. I was looking down and speaking. I was looking there left and right and speaking. Because I never had that training before. And then the more I did the videos, by the time I came to video number 10, video number 15, video number 20, I just started to get into the flow. Just like even this video, I've not scripted anything. I just have an idea of what I need to speak. But whatever I'm speaking right now is just coming through a free flowing thought. Because before I started recording this video, I closed my eyes for 30 seconds and I set an intention. And what was the intention? I closed my eyes and I said, okay, every person who's going to watch this video is going to get inspired by this information and they're going to move forward and take Action based on what I'm going to share. I set that intention in my own mind. And the best part is when you set intentions before you get on video, get on camera, or even if you're going to go on stage, close your eyes for 30 seconds. When you set an intention, what happens is you will channel to a place from where you get information from. Just like how a radio, when you tune into a particular frequency, you can start to listen to the songs coming from that particular frequency or that particular channel. Similarly, most people don't understand that if you truly set the intention when you align yourself and when you allow yourself to be a channel, you will start to speak things that you would have never even thought about. And right now you may be on the other side thinking, okay, this guy is just talking something. It may not be really true, but I want you to experiment and try this for yourself. Close your eyes for 30 seconds, pull out your phone, record a one minute reel without any script. I don't like to use teleprompters and stuff though I've done it for ads and everything else. But I don't like to use teleprompters because I know that it is not natural, it is not my natural language. And some of you may be thinking, okay, I don't speak so fluently in English. I don't speak so fluently in my other mother tongue or language. I'll tell you, it is not about fluency. Even now I mumble, I fumble sometimes. I'm not like a, like a toastmaster speaker who is getting everything perfect all the time. And people don't like that kind of perfect thing. People like the raw, real, slightly imperfect, because that's how we are as a human being. So when you set the right intention and when you understand that you are a channel, something will flow through you. And that is the factor that's going to help you boost your confidence. And there's one more factor to presence. Because right now I'm speaking to you. I know you're fully present on the other side. And the reason you're fully present on the other side is because I'm fully present over here. I'm here, right here, right now. I'm looking into your eyes and I'm speaking because I want you to connect with me. And normally people, they don't get it when it comes to videos because their mind is either in the past or in the future. Yes, I am also thinking about what I'm going to say next, but I'm more in the present than in the future. I've already chalked that out in my head right now on what's going to come next and after. Presence is going to be authority. I already have that in my mind, but I'm not really thinking too much about it. I'm just thinking about what can I say right now at this moment to help you be more present. So presence building is a practice. Presence building is a what I want to call as an attunement, where you're tuning into the frequency. And presence building is also something that. It's a muscle that can be built, just like how you go into a gym and you exercise in the gym and you build that muscle. Similarly, even your presence muscle can be built, whether it be camera presence or even presence in a meeting, presence in a. If you're going to be speaking from a stage. Because once you're able to build this communication skill or the skill of being able to deliver a message in a powerful and impactful way within a short period of time in a concise and crisp way, without beating around the bush, point shooter style, the way people will be able to connect with you will be on a totally different level. And I've seen so many people in my community who came in with absolutely no experience in training, coaching, or any of these communication skills. And by just watching my videos and modeling what I'm doing, just like how I've been modeling my mentors, by doing that, they've been able to build that skill really fast. But they did not build the skill by just watching my videos. They built the skill by recording videos. They built the skill by pulling out their phone and actually doing something about it. And that leads me to the next point, which is authority. Now, what does authority mean? Authority means that you are having something substantial to give to others. Like if you've written a book, you're called as an author. If you've recorded a video, then you are the author of that video. Even though it may not be like a book, but it. It is your thoughts that are coming into it. Whether you're recording a podcast, you're the author or the creator of that podcast. So authority has a direct correlation to creation. Because when you create something based on your own experience, based on your own ideas, you might have learned things from various different places, but when you put it all together and give it your own flavor, that piece of creation is what creates authority. Many people think that authority means the ability to control others. It's not about controlling others. Authority is your ability to build that confidence in yourself. By creating more and more and more and more. Like by the time I came to video number 800, 900, I was. I mean, even now, this is probably my maybe 1,500 video or something like that. If I look at the number of videos I've created over the last seven years. But this confidence in the authority, like whatever I'm speaking right now, it is coming through my practical experience. It is not coming by through some textbook that I have read or some YouTube video that I watched. There are many people who do that. They do copy paste stuff. Even many influencers and creators, they do copy paste. They go and learn from some video. They make notes and then they just record it. They use teleprompters and they just, you know, the typical creators, they do that kind of stuff just to gain the attention of the audience. And they have some great editors, but if you actually put them on a stage, they'll fall flat. And I've seen this practically. I've seen some big creators who came on a few stages and they were not able to hold the attention of the audience. They were not able to connect with an audience because they were just creating behind the scenes. They were only creating as from a space of. From a space which is not in their flow. They created something for the market by reading a script, by reading something and getting it edited in such a way and getting those eyeballs and getting those views. But actually in their natural flow, they are not that. So authority, according to me, is not just being an influencer, because an influencer is somebody who may get a lot of likes and views and that's fine. But an authority, according to me, is somebody who can truly influence the other person to take action, truly influence the other person to move forward, truly inspire the other person on the other side to take some step towards their goals. Or even if you're an entertainer, let's say if you're somebody who's a YouTube entertainer or you're. Or an Instagram entertainer and some, you know, many stand up comedians, they are amazing at this. Even though they're entertainers, their connection is so strong, they may not be teaching stuff or like what I'm doing right now, but their connection is so strong because they understand human psychology, they understand emotions, they understand what triggers emotions, and they're able to evoke those emotions with words, to make people laugh, to make people cry, to make people connect. And that also takes practice. So authority has a direct correlation to creativity. And creativity can be expressed through video, through text, through audio. And it all begins with you taking out your phone and recording that first piece of content, it could be a one minute reel. Just open up your camera and record. It could be just a voice note that you record on your WhatsApp groups and share and collate your ideas and do. Could just be a piece of text that you write. And that's one more aspect of expression. Words contribute to more than 80% of your business, whether you know it or not. Just like how our body is made up of 80% of water. Words make up 80% of your business because you're using words as a text format. When you're writing emails, when you're putting out WhatsApp messages, when you're typing stuff on social media, when you're recording videos like this, when you're conducting webinars, everything is words coming out of your mouth. So irrespective of what language that you speak, each one of you have your own style and your own way of expressing yourself. And the more you practice it in the beginning, it will be a little bit rusty. Okay, you may not be so good in the beginning. Like when I started, like I said, I was never even looking into the camera and speaking. I was looking down and speaking. I was looking here and there. I wasn't able to connect because my mind was all over the place. I was too bothered about what other people will think about me. And the minute I dropped all of that and I got centered and I set the intention and I have the practice and I've done so many trainings that in my brain, whenever I want, I can recall whatever information that I want at this point of time on this particular topic. Because of that practice and the creations that I've done over the years, it becomes very easy after a point of time. And that leads me to the third aspect, which is connection. How do you connect with an audience? And I want to share with you what I went through in the year 2016, where I actually understood how to communicate and how to connect with my audience. So I did a training program called Train the Trainer. So there they give different templates and they made us do a lot of drills and disciplines and how to communicate and how to set the context. And this is by my mentor, Blair Singer. And I went into that room just thinking that it is going to be a training program like how to train the trainer, how to use the right words, how to present yourself, how to stand on stage, how to use your expressions and some bit of nlp, neuro linguistic programming. I thought all of that stuff, but then I Realized at the end of the day, at the end of that train, the trainer program, I realized that it was not so much about all of that external techniques, it was all about internal congruence. When you're congruent within, when you really are connecting with yourself as a person, when you love yourself as a human being, when you love yourself for who you are and you operate from that space, you're not going to judge anyone, nobody's going to judge you. Even if others judge you, you're not going to care about that because you're going to operate from that space of the truth, what is true to you. So when I walked out of that room, I realized that I had a power inside me that I did not know I had inside me. Because coming before that, all of you know I was an introvert. Even now I'm an introvert. But I was not able to communicate so fluently. Something shifted inside me. There were a few processes that we did where they pushed me to the limit, where I had to express myself more. And then I went into another program for five days where I got chiseled by five of some of the world's best trainers. What happened in those five days, I cannot tell you the details, but on day one, I learned how to take tell stories. We were made to practice. The event would start at 8, 9am in the morning. It would go on till 2am in the night. Like a whole day of very intensive training. On day two, I learned more about how to use my power. I learned more about body language, how to use my hands, how to connect with people. And because my body language was totally different before that, and the trainer there made me do specific things that broke me out of my own shell. And on day three, I went deep into expressing my emotions. There were specific activities that we had to do to express our emotions. Anger, sadness, happiness, joy, on demand. Like we had to do an exercise where they would just tell the emotion and we had to express that using our body and our words and our expressions, our facial expression expressions. And this is what most actors go through to bring out those expressions. And then on day number four, I learned on how to sell, I learned a selling template on how to deliver an offer from the stage, how to connect with your audience in such way where they connect with your story, they connect with your message, they connect with your emotions. And then you're going to give them something that they're ready to buy from, buy from you. And then on day number five, all of that comes together. I put it all Together and I had to do a 30 to 45 minute presentation where there were other people who are watching me and they gave me feedback and I improved. And that was my first taste of becoming the new version of me in my communication and my stage skills and my presence and my camera confidence improved after I came back from that. So connection has a lot to do with first, your inner connection. Are you connected with yourself? The second connection is are you connected with your audience? Like, do you really care for other people? Ask yourself that question. Because there are many people who look at this training and coaching business as a performance. They think it is a stage. They think that they are some superstar and they start to be a performer on the stage. They look, they, they become like an actor on the stage. But this is not a game for acting. This is a game to really have a conversation. It is not a performance, it's a conversation with your audience. Even now as I'm speaking, I'm thinking, what are you thinking in your mind? What are the things that are which you'll be asking yourself at this very moment? And I'm trying to address that with what am I? Whatever I'm sharing over here, it is not a performance, it's a conversation. So when you connect with yourself and then you connect with your audience and then you connect with your purpose, whatever your purpose may be like, my purpose is to redefine our education system by creating a new breed of teachers and leaders and revive that spirit of Nalanda University that what it used to be there. And to really build spiritually grounded tribes and communities, vibrant learning communities. So that's my purpose. Now, each one of you would have your purpose. So when you connect with your purpose, connect with your audience, connect with yourself, this creates a magical connection in your communication. The words that you speak, the analogies that you would give, the pace at which you would speak. All of you are noticing I'm pausing right now, I'm not going fast. And the way you would be able to connect with a fellow human being, it would be really, really deep. And once you get this into practice, like I mentioned before, no matter how many courses you buy on communication skills, no matter how many books you read on communication skills, nothing is going to work until you actually start doing it. I give the example. No matter how many books you read on swimming, until you jump into the pool, you're not going to be a swimmer. No matter how many books you read on martial arts, until you go into the dojo and fight with somebody, you can't call yourself As a martial artist, the same applies with communication. I know there are many people even in our community who love attending my calls, they love attending my webinars, they have so many books of notes, but they have still not taken out their phone and recorded that one video. And if you are that person watching, I challenge you at this point of time, stop getting high on knowledge and start getting high on implementation. Because it's only that implementation that's going to build your skill to become a better communicator, to build better camera presence. And it's not just, not just about camera over here, it's also stage presence. Because once you start to build the skill of connecting with your camera. And I know many people who have joined my community, they were born into the coaching world online. They have never done anything offline. So what I've observed is people who are good at connecting with a camera, they are also great at connecting with an audience. Whether it's a 50 people audience, 100 person audience, a 200 person audience, even a thousand people in the room, you'll be able to manage that. Once you get congruent on all these three areas, the number one area is your ability to get congruent with your presence, your ability to get congruent with your authority, and your ability to get congruent with your connection with your audience. In the next video, I want to share with you more about how you can take this idea here. And I'm going to give you the digital entrepreneur blueprint on what does it really take to become a digital entrepreneur? It's not like running a traditional business. Traditional businesses have a particular way that you need to operate. But when you take this ability to communicate on camera and connect on camera and even on stage and apply that into your business in a digital business format, you can create magic, you can create millions, you can create multiple crores leveraging the power of videos. I just want to tell you that you can do this. I don't care what your background is, what language you speak, where you come from, what education level that you are, all of that is secondary. I just want to tell you that whether you believe in yourself or not, I believe in you. You can do this. Take out that phone and my action for you is this. Take out that phone, record a one minute video and post on Instagram and just share your heart out. Any message, any lesson that you want to share, do that immediately after you stop watching this video. That way I will know that you are committed to this journey. And once you have done that, I would like you to share in the comments that you actually did it, and I'll respond to you in the comments. If you've not subscribed to this channel, please do that because you want to get more videos like this. And the next video, I'm going to give you the digital entrepreneur blueprint on how you can build confidence and build wealth along with it. I'll see you in the next video.