Smile for the Cameras

Here's your tip of the week. Smile when you're on camera. Anytime you're on video doing a media interview, you need to smile. Here's the tricky part where it's somewhat counterintuitive. Even when you're talking about a serious subject, a depressing subject, even a crisis, some of you are saying, well, T.J. that doesn't make sense. We're talking about a massive flood. People's homes are being destroyed. You want me to smile? I'll look like an uncaring idiot. Here's the thing about television. If you have just a little bit of a smile, it won't look like you're smiling. You'll simply look more relaxed, more comfortable, more confident. Now, this is especially true when you're being introduced, the camera's on you, but you're not speaking the human nature thing to do, the natural thing to do, is to have your face go blank. When your face is blank on tv, you will look bored, boring, flat, uninterested. It's not a good look for most people. What I recommend is just a slight smile, a slight upturn. You don't even have to show teeth. It's not a gigantic toothy grin. You're not a TV evangelist. Just a little bit of an upturn. You do that, you look more comfortable, more confident, more relaxed, more authoritative, more believable, regardless of whether it's a good news story or a bad news story.