How to Relax In Front of a Camera as a Business Owner?
Introduction
A lot of us have been there before, it’s your first time going on camera, you’ve looked over your notes as much as you can, you’ve dressed yourself immaculately, you sit down in front of the camera for the first time and boom you completely freeze, don’t know where to look, the whole thing becomes a disaster and you never want to go on camera again. Sound familiar?
You might be surprised because as a Business Owner or Managing Director you’re perhaps used to communicating with lots of employees and clients on a regular basis, and you’re used to standing in front of dozens of people and delivering presentations. Yet when a camera is pointing at you, you can’t help but make a botch of it.
Let us explore in this blog post some ways in which you can learn how to relax in front of a camera as a business owner.
Why might a Business Owner go on Camera?
Now chances are as a business owner there’s a few reasons why you might appear on camera. Maybe this is something you yourself have wanted to implement for your business after learning about the benefits of video marketing, or perhaps your Marketing staff have expressed an eagerness for you to deliver visual messages for the good of the company. Finally, maybe a video production company has pitched you an idea for a video/s that will help you to grow your business, and you wish to start working with them.
You might be being interviewed as part of a promotional video for the business, perhaps your delivering important company update messages to camera for your employees, or you’re addressing how you’re moving forward as a business with a sustainability strategy, to help the planet, and to help your potential customers learn more about your business. You may wish to view a previous blog post of ours where we talk about the benefits of video production for businesses.
Either way here are some ways you can relax in front of a camera as a Business Owner.
Preparation is key
We’ve all heard of the saying, if you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail. Unless you’re extremely talented at absolutely winging it then kudos to you but for the vast majority of us, we will need to put in the preparation work.
Now the attention to detail you implement is up to you, maybe you might need 10 minutes to just write down a few key bullet points, and from there you can elaborate. Or you might need one evening, or several, putting research into a subject you’re going to talk about.
You know how you work best, but either way, put in the work! Ultimately the preparation you do beforehand will help you build your confidence and have you better ready to be efficient on camera.
Ultimately the more we practice at something the better we become, so practice, practice, and practice.
Be yourself
Also it’s important to just focus on being yourself rather than being perfect. We have all been guilty of comparing ourselves to others, but comparison is the theft of joy. Focus on delivering the value to your audience. Have faith in being you, because there is only one you and you have unique traits about you, and you are authentic so embrace that instead of trying to be like someone else.
However, of course there are some fundamental things we need to consider, such as make sure that you’re sitting up, or standing up straight, make yourself look presentable before hand, speak clearly and with enthusiasm. Nobody wants to listen to somebody talk about something with no passion or enthusiasm for the subject.
Lastly don’t worry about what other people will think. The fact is every person will have their own opinion of you and you can’t control the perception that others will have. All you can do is be true to yourself, and embrace who you are. You are never going to please everyone or have everyone like you, but by being yourself at least you can stay true to who you are.
Exercise and breathe
It sounds obvious but life can be all consuming. We’re on the run from one thing to the next, and particularly as a Business Owner your list of responsibilities are going to be particularly long! Nonetheless, we must make time for our health, both physical and mental.
If you’re nervous or apprehensive about appearing on camera for the first time, then do something to help you relax. Make time to go, even for, a 20 minute walk round the block, the exercise will help your blood flow and put you in a better state. Not to mention movement literally helps put the brain’s creative part into action. By simply walking we can help spark our creativity, and perhaps that will help you deliver better messages to camera.
While on the subject of obvious points, take time out to do some deep breathing exercises. By taking deep breaths, and focusing only on our breath, helps to take our mind off the 100+ things we have whizzing around our minds. Therefore you’ll be much more relaxed and better focused.
Have trust in the experts
Don’t worry, it is definitely not just yourself who has experienced this feeling of complete and utter discomfort in front of a camera. It certainly can be intimidating, if you’re not use it. The lights, the cameras, the set, the interviewer, it can feel like you’re really being put in the spotlight, and before you know it the nerves really start kicking in, you get a tickle in your throat, and you want to escape!
Alongside the advice already given, make sure that you put trust in the experts and take on board their direction. Chances are the people who are on set with you have been on dozens, sometimes hundreds of sets, getting the best out of people on camera. From them knowing how best to light you, to knowing the best position to have the mics and cameras in place. Moreover they may help by tweaking your vocabulary slightly as they have knowledge on words that can have greater impact.
Furthermore, depending on the type of video, the Video Producer may ask you a series of questions. Have confidence in understanding why they might have asked you this particular set of questions. Producers will often spend a significant amount of time preparing these so they can get important messages and the right answers from you delivered to your audience.
It’s important to have respect for those who are experts in their fields and deliver this line of work regularly, they know how to get the best results for you. So relax, know that you’re in good hands and the Director/Crew on set will be more than happy to guide you.
On a more practical point, if the video you are participating in involves you looking down the camera lens, then of course practice delivering your points to a camera at home, even if it’s your mobile phone. It’s easy to look away when we are thinking of something, but try your best to maintain eye contact with the lens, because that will help keep your audience engaged with what you are saying. Something you may also wish to consider, is to imagine your delivering your message to a friendly person you know, at the other end of the lens, that will help make you feel more relaxed.
Moreover, to help reduce your worries about going on camera, it is typical with video production companies, although you may wish to double check first, that many will have a multiple camera set up. So if you fluff your lines at certain points, it’s possible that you do not need to start again, and you can just pick up from before you messed it up. Because of the extra camera angle/s your speech can be cut from one angle to the next so it seamlessly looks like one take.
The evidence
We recently created a video for Sue Cox the owner of a Yoga Class business. She herself admitted she was very hesitant about going on camera, and nearly didn’t agree to it. However, after some reassurance she decided to take the leap and go for it. After the process and seeing the finished video she was so happy, and even stated she didn’t cringe at herself when she watched herself back. She left us a video testimonial which you can find on our Instagram Highlights section, should you wish to see firsthand, what she had to say about the whole process.
Summary
So there you have it, these have been some ways to help you relax as a business owner in front of camera. Remember to move, get the heart pumping and brain stimulating so that you’re in a better state. Put in the preparation, it’s going to dramatically improve the end product. Focus on being you, delivering value, and listen to the experts advice.
If you would like some help growing your business with video production, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Do drop us an email here.