TJ Walker explains how small facial habits like sticking out your tongue look exaggerated on camera and make people distrust you. He recommends keeping water nearby and using lip balm before speaking to avoid dry mouth and nervous habits.
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Have you ever seen someone, politician perhaps, who you've seen on tv? You're not quite sure why, but something just seems weird about that person. You don't know why, but you don't trust that person. Quite often it's as simple as they're sticking their tongue out. William F. Buckley, the conservative commentator, is no longer with us. Famously did that. It worked for him. But for most people, it looks weird. You'll look like a lizard or worse. There's some things, if you do it in person, aren't noticeable, but if people are seeing you on a TV screen, it dominates the image much more. If you're giving a speech at a convention, you might have a giant image magnification on you where there's a camera on you and it's projected on big screens throughout the convention hall, so anyone in the front part of the room looking at you directly on stage would never notice it. But people looking at you on the screen see, and it just looks weird. You look like Lizard man or Lizard Woman. It's not a good look. So here's my recommendation. Before you speak, make sure you have plenty of water. And number two, use some lip balm. I'm not going to endorse any particular brand, but chapstick lip balm. Any other. Any other type of lip balm. Because when you get nervous, your mouth dries up more and then you're more tempted to, and that makes it worse. Also, when you're speaking and you're doing public speaking, you tend to speak a little louder. So there's more air going out through your mouth over your lips. That dries out your mouth more. Dries out your lips, so you're even more likely to. And it just doesn't look good. So keep that in mind. Extra lip balm. Even if you normally never use any extra water before you speak, do that and no one will call you Lizard man or Lizard Woman. I'm TJ Walker. Thanks for joining me. If you'd like to become a better speaker, please come back to this page regularly for tips every single day, seven days a week, on how to be a better speaker. Facebook.com tjwalkerspeaktoinfluence.
