How to get over the nervousness of being on camera so that you can be more confident, so that you can show up big time and connect with your audience on a deeper level, get your message heard and not feel so freakin uncomfortable on camera.

 

I hear you. I understand how uncomfortable being on camera can be when I started doing videos 15 years ago.

 

I will tell you this.

 

I did my first video and I immediately called my mom crying my eyes out, saying I am terrible, nobody is ever going to watch me, I don’t know what I’m doing. I suck.

 

That was 15 years ago, plus, and to this day I think I suck. But, but I am confident on camera. I learn as I go and I have conquered the fear. And I’m going to do that for you today as well.

 

So I’ve got five tips for you today.

 

And I would love, love, love for you to chime in in the comments. Say new if you’re new around here so that we can meet you.

 

Also, tell us, what is your biggest fear when it comes to being on camera or showing up on stage of some kind.

 

So drop that in the comments.

 

And welcome to Go Live Now, the show I do in partnership with Ecamm Live, my favorite Mac streaming software, you can get a tutorial and free trial right in the description.

 

OK, so let’s dive in.

 

The first tip that we want to talk about. No, sorry, I hit the wrong button and that’s the thing that things are going to go wrong, right?

 

And you are going to conquer the fear and the nerves because what happens when you have the nerves, you freak out when things happen that go wrong, right?

 

You freak out when you forget where you were going to say, I forget what I say all the time, I just make fun of myself and move on.

 

So tip number one is to harness the nerves.

 

And you do this by realizing that you really have to…A couple of things. You have to be honest with yourself and understanding that you are where you are and where you are is perfectly acceptable and it is just where you need to be.

 

So do not compare yourself to anyone else. Do not see me after fifteen years when you’re just getting started and think I’m not like her or I’m not like him or whatever, do not… Don’t get into that trap of comparison where you’re looking at somebody who has a lot more experience.

 

Everybody starts out uncomfortable on camera, I’m pretty sure. I think the stats are in, a hundred percent of people start out uncomfortable on camera in some form or fashion.

 

And so you are where you are.

 

Remember that that is exactly where you need to be and you are going to conquer those fears.

 

So be honest with yourself, but also realize that the people who have conquered the fear and the nervousness, guess what they’ve learned.

 

They have learned how to harness the nerves into something positive. The nerves are there only because you desire to do good. The nerves are there because you want to perform and and rise to your expectations. And that is a super positive thing.

 

So use those nerves. When I step up on stage.

 

I don’t get nervous in front of the camera so much anymore unless I’m doing something new or different or interviewing somebody like that’s my hero, right?

 

Things like that. So I still feel those nerves on camera. But I definitely even after 15 years of speaking on stage, I do feel those nerves because I do it less often than speaking right here in my studio, right.

 

But I still feel those nerves and what I’ve learned to realize is that that’s going to be energy.

 

So I change the nerves into energy that I then put out there for the audience to connect with them, to laugh, to enjoy the process, and to allow us to allow them to see my energy, right. So I’m taking nerves, turning it into energy that I then put into my speech or my live presentation or live show or whatever it is that you’re doing on camera. So harness those nerves and you can 100 percent do it.

 

It just takes a mindset shift to understand that nerves are not a bad thing. And that is all at the end of the day that you need to understand.

 

And once that clicks in your brain, you are going to be more confident on camera.

 

Paul says. Good point, Luria. I only get nervous talking with people I admire to. That’s why I can’t ever speak in front of a mirror. I’m so glad that you admire yourself so much, Paul.

 

It is all about the energy. People respond to your energy.

 

So if you’re nervous and you’re doing this…And I want to say this…If you’re doing those things, that’s all subconscious stuff coming out, but it also is directly affecting the way people react to you, right?

 

So it’s all about that energy. It’s all about the what you’re putting out that people are going to take in.

 

So just remember that.

 

All right, number 2… Posture Alert!

 

OK, this is why I love standing it when I do my streams versus sitting. Remember, that posture does everything for your energy and for your confidence. So when you’re sitting at a desk and you’re kind of slouched over, you’re not really paying attention to your posture that actually is affecting your energy level and it’s affecting your the way you feel about yourself as well.

 

So if you’re slouching and you’re just kind of like, well, uhhh…I don’t know anybody who does that, but if you do, I actually have seen it.

 

But if you stand up or at least sit up in your chair, guess what?

 

You are going to do so much better because you’re going to feel better about yourself.

 

And it’s also going into that energy that I talked about. And you’re putting yourself out there, right?

 

My dad, I mean, I have to say, even if I’m at the park or wherever, people comment on my posture because I sit up straight and I always thought it was because I was a dancer, blah, blah, not a good dancer, but I did ballet for a few years.

 

So I always thought it was kind of like that. And then I thought more about it. And because my dad, when I was growing up, my dad was constantly on me, not in an annoying way really, but just constantly on me.

 

Posture, posture, posture, sit up straight, sit up straight, sit up straight.

 

And that has made such a massive difference for me in my life in all kinds of ways, but definitely on camera.

 

Yes, it is better to stand up when you’re presenting even at your home, in my personal opinion and in lots of other people’s opinions as well. I find that it helps so much with that confidence. When I’m sitting. I if you see me sitting because sometimes

 

I will come, I will take my highchair, my bar stool and sit.

 

But that is happening only…Now I got to put it back, hold on…That’s only happening when I’m feeling bad or I’m really tired.

 

And that is a direct relation to how, you know, that energy that I’m putting out.

 

When you see me sitting, you see a lower energy from me. All right.

 

Number 3.

 

Practice never makes perfect, and that’s a good thing.

 

So we want to focus on practice. We want to do do do, do, do.

 

The more you do, the better you’re going to be. The less nerves you’re going to feel, the more confident you’re going to be. But I also want you to realize this very, very important thing.

 

Practice does not make perfect because I’ve been doing this for fifteen years and still I screw things up and that’s OK.

 

You know why? Because it makes me human. When I screwed up this morning during the countdown timer, people were just making fun of me right in a good, positive, fun, community based way.

 

Not a harsh trolling kind of way when I allow myself to screw up and I don’t freak out about it or I don’t apologize for it and I just move on and I deal with it and I laugh about it and I have fun with it, then it makes the entire experience for my viewers so much better.

 

And we can all enjoy the experience as opposed to being worried or nervous about those things.

 

So when you are practicing and you’re doing and you’re doing and you’re doing, just know that this is never going to be perfect, and that’s really allowing yourself to connect with your audience on that human level, that’s so, so, so very important for people actually hearing your message and for people to stay loyal to you, right.

 

When you build a loyal community who are there for you and not just your content, because they don’t expect you to be perfect, because you don’t expect yourself to be perfect, that’s when you create something magical.

 

All right, number five…four! I don’t know what number we’re on…

 

PUMP IT UP!

 

This is one of the reasons, one of the reasons why I do a dance countdown timer to pump us all up, including myself.

 

I guarantee you, when I start a live stream and I’m having a really bad day, I don’t feel like dancing. There are days like that, but I do it anyway because it puts me in the mood and it gets me into the right mindset and energetic place to show up and to be here for you and to put all of that behind me.

 

I’m not asking you to dance. I’m asking you to pump it up.

 

I’m asking you to do whatever it is before you stream and before you start talking to get yourself into that right mindset, whether that’s meditation or jumping jacks or pushups or running around your house or petting your dog or whatever it is, what puts you in the right mindset to show up for your audience big time.

 

That’s what you want to do. For me, it’s dancing. I’ve always done that before.

 

I before I do a speech, I will be in my hotel room dancing up a storm.

 

And then I go downstairs and then I do it. That’s how I get into the zone.

 

So what is that for you? I would love, love, love for you to post that in the comments. What is that thing for you that helps you get in the zone so that you can show up and create that adrenaline and that motion inside of you to be confident on camera?

 

Hold on, I just have to post this one. Paul says, “If I did that, I would need a camera above because I would be on the floor.”

 

You do you, right? Also, I totally forgot to grab this clip, but we can post a link in the comments right now to this.

 

Turns out I have not…Dancing is not a new thing for me. I actually was kind of in the mindset that my dancing countdown that I’ve become so well known for, that it was a fairly new thing for me, right?

 

Like a year or two old.

 

But actually, I didn’t remember, Daniel on our team found a clip of me. I’m not sure how he found this, but an old old video I did way back in the day called Digg the Code that I danced on camera.

 

And then there was a dancing redo of the video that was popular at a bar in Nashville with Geoff Smith.

 

And I just those were the days. But that is a really important thing.

 

I tell you that not to tell you about my dancing, but I tell you that because putting yourself out there and challenging yourself and doing something outwardly instead of internally actually creates so much momentum when it comes to confidence on camera.

 

Did I want to do that dance in that video years ago?

 

I think it was back in 2006 or 2007?

 

No, I didn’t. But I was feeling awkward. I was feeling uncomfortable.

 

But I will always, always, always, always, always challenge myself that when I feel that uncomfortableness, I will step over the line and do it anyway, because that’s what gets you results.

 

And that leads us to the tip five, join the LEDA Challenge.

 

This is a challenge, a free challenge that I run every well every year, but twice a year in April and August, live every day in August, even if you don’t ever want to do live streaming, doing live will make you a better at any kind of video you do, because it’s the most nerve racking kind of video you can do.

 

And so when you are uncomfortable and when you are feeling like you don’t want to step over that line, I ask you to join this challenge that we do completely for free.

 

I give you a prompt every day to follow. You do that prompt inside of the group.

 

And it is a private, safe environment where there’s no judgment allowed.

 

Abso-freakin-lutely no judgment of you, it’s a place for you to soar. For you to shine. For you to discover your on camera presence and your confidence.

 

And I would love to walk you through that process. And that is the key takeaway here, guys.

 

If you didn’t hear me when you feel like you’re hitting up against a wall, a place of uncomfortable.

 

That’s the most important time for you to do it anyway, for you to step over that line, to get the results that you’re looking for. Otherwise you’re just going to keep hitting the wall.

 

If you never step over that line, if you never walk through a door, you don’t get to the other side, right?

 

So that’s what we’re going to do together. And I promise that if you commit to doing it, you will see better results.

 

You will feel less nervous on camera, you will feel more confident and you will be able to shine.

 

I hope that this has been super helpful.

 

I would love for you to put your tips in the comments of what makes you feel less nervous on camera.

 

And if you want to learn more about how to be better on camera and grow your audience and get engagement from your audience, all of that, I encourage you to click this playlist so you can learn more.

 

That link is also in the description, and I will see you over there.