TJ Walker argues that speakers who avoid video because they dislike their face or voice are making a mistake. The same face and voice appear on stage, and event organizers now discover speakers through online video. MrBeast's evolution shows how consistent video creation builds confidence and charisma.
Chapters
Ultimize. Let me deal with something I hear all the time, and I mean all the time. If I'm at a National Speakers Association event or some conference, someone comes up to me and says, 'TJ Walker, I love motivational speaking. I want to be on stage. I just don't want to do video and this social media stuff.' And I'll say, 'Well, why not?' And eventually, usually after a little hesitation, they'll say something like, 'Well, I don't really have a face for video,' or, 'I I don't like my voice on recordings, or I'm not a techie. Okay, let's pause for a second because this is where the logic completely breaks down. The same face you're worried about on video is the same face people will see up on the stage. The same voice you don't like hearing on a recording is exactly the same voice people will hear through a microphone and speakers when you're up on a stage. So what am I actually saying? I want to be seen and heard, just not in a way I can practice? That makes no sense whatsoever. Let me show you the bad version of this thinking. I'm not comfortable on video, so I'll wait until I get on a stage. So you avoid the one tool that lets you practice every day, and you wait for a rare opportunity to be invited up on a stage somewhere. Where the stakes are higher and you have less experience. That's backward. Now here's the better version: I'm not comfortable on video, which is exactly why I need to do it every day and share it with people around the whole world using social media. Now you're using the tool that exposes your weaknesses so you can improve them. Let me be very direct but polite because this matters. Nobody cares what you want. And I don't mean that harshly. I mean it realistically. Your audience doesn't wake up and think, I really hope I get to drive to a convention center, sit in a big room and listen to someone I've never heard of. That's not how the world works anymore. People want to know you first. They want to see you. They want to hear you. They want to feel familiar with you before they ever commit to seeing you in person. That's what's hugely different between motivational speaking in the current era versus 20, 30, 50 years ago. So how does this happen? How do people get to know you? How do they become familiar with you? Through video on this cell phone, on a laptop, on an iPad. That's how they get to know you. Now let me give you a real scenario. Two speakers are being considered for the same event. One has a great resume, the other has 50 videos online where you can see exactly how they think, speak, and connect. Who do you book? It's not even close because one is an idea, the other is proof. Now let's go back to this exercise. I don't like how I look, I don't like how I sound. Of course you don't, nobody does at first. But here's the key difference. Some people use that as a reason to stop. Other people use that as a reason to improve. And improvement only comes from exposure, seeing it, hearing it, adjusting it, repeating it. Nobody's great at first. Look at the most successful YouTuber of all time, Jimmy Donaldson, MrBeast. When you see him speak, he exudes confidence. Charisma. He's completely in charge. But if you go back to his first videos when he was 12 years old, he was kind of soft-spoken and meek and mild and low energy. It didn't happen on the first video or the second or the third. It happened because he did it daily and weekly for year after year after year. Now, if you are not 12, it might even happen faster for you. This is why you need to start now. Don't wait. Here is the idea I want to install. If I want to be seen and heard, I practice by being seen and heard. I realize that doesn't sound that profound, but it is true. You got to be seen and heard, not someday, but now, because avoiding video doesn't protect you. You can't wait until, oh, my hair is going to get better, or I'm going to get thinner. Just start now. You're trying to protect yourself if you're not sending out your motivational messages to the world in a video format today, and it's just delaying you. And the people who move forward in this space are not the ones who feel the most comfortable at the beginning. They're the ones who decide, "I'm going to get over myself because my motivational message matters more." That's the shift from self-focus to audience focus. If you're serious about becoming a motivational speaker, you don't get to opt out of doing video. You use it, you improve with it, you grow through it. And once you do, you'll realize something. The thing you were avoiding was actually the fastest path forward.
