We often get this question: do I have to be on camera?
Most people get very anxious when they get in front of a camera, which is only natural of course. So there are actually 2 pieces of good news: one – you don’t have to be on camera, and two – there’s a way to be on camera and NOT be anxious.
If you’re selling professional services, and especially if you’re a small business, it’s probably a good idea for you to be on camera. Because that’s how your prospects get to know you. That’s how you build trust. And when you go speak at an event, they’ll come up to you and mention that they’ve watched your videos.
So how can you beat on-camera anxiety? By scripting out your video. Like this video. I’m reading off a script that I follow to the “t”. And that last point is very important. When you show up with a half-baked script, it does more damage than good. Because you get frustrated and have to figure out things on the spot, when you’re actually relying on the teleprompter.
So first I pick a topic, then I talk on my voice memo app on my phone, then send the recording off for transcription, I get back the text and edit it, and then I read it out loud and edit it some more. I want to make it sounding exactly the way I’d talk as if I DIDN’T have a script in front of me. That’s the trick to it.
Some people are concerned that they won’t appear natural on camera if they’re reading off a script. Not true. Reading off a good script makes you more confident, and you can forget about what you’re going to talk about next. You relax, and you actually can look more natural.
Sure, you can be very natural and speak off the cuff, but your speech will be much slower, and your video will be riddled with um’s and uncomfortable pauses. Today’s viewers don’t have any patience for that. When they’re watching informational videos, they want everything to be on point, succinct, respectful of their time. Otherwise, they’ll flip to a funny cat video or someone else, who bothered scripting and editing their video professionally.
Another good thing about having a script is that you won’t repeat yourself, there won’t be any redundant segments in your video… again going back to respecting your audience’s time. That’s the only surefire way to win subscribers. And having subscribers means that whenever you post a new video, they will get an email from YouTube with a link to that video – that’s huge!
So if you’re in selling professional services, it’s a good idea to be the face of the company in front of the camera, and the trick is to carefully script your videos. Many people shy away because they think: I have to write a script? I have writing… or THAT’s going to take me hours. It doesn’t have to! Just record, transcribe, and we can even edited FOR you!
Next, what if you’re working for a larger company, or it doesn’t make sense for you to be on camera? We’ll use the same process to extract your expertise and knowledge, convert it into a script, and have one of our actors deliver it on camera. So you can have an actor be your brand’s ambassador on social media, delivering your message.
Scripting your videos does NOT have to be painful. We can get the content for 5-10 videos within 1 hour of your time. And then you either deliver on camera and feel more relaxed and appear polished, or one of our actors does it FOR you.