April 4, 2024 • 18 mins
You can Watch or Listen to this episode: https://the6ways.com/28
The online world is being flooded with AI generated content, so video is becoming essential for building trust with your audience. But what if being on camera is terrifying (or even just somewhat uncomfortable) for you? In this episode 6 entrepreneurs (including myself) are sharing how they went from being afraid to make videos to having it be a key part of their business success.
YOU CAN JUMP AHEAD OR REVISIT ANY SECTION BY CLICKING ON THE TIME STAMP:
00:00 6 Ways Entrepreneurs Got Over Their Fear Of Being On Camera
01:47 #1: Camilla McGill goes from tears to success
03:29 #2: Tazeem Jamal had 48 hours to “figure it out”
05:48 #3: Richard Ralston’s 1,000 Facebook Lives
08:47 #4: Lea Jacobson figuring out who she is
10:26 #5: Cindy Landham could barely turn on the camera
13:24 #6: Jerry Potter’s Frightening Facebook Live Story
Watch Jerry Potter’s first Facebook live from 2017: https://www.facebook.com/jerrypotter206/videos/10155863217092210
Some REALLY awesome tips were shared in this episode – please think about who you know that would benefit from these, and then make sure to share it with them. Because WE ALL DO BETTER WHEN WE ALL DO BETTER. 😁
Learn more about our guests in this episode:
Camilla McGill: https://www.myparentingsolutions.com/
Tazeem Jamal: https://tazeemjamal.com/
Richard Ralston: https://richardralston.com/
Lea Jacobson: https://www.leajacobson.com/
Cindy Landham: https://www.theliberatedeater.com/
If you enjoyed this episode you may also enjoy these:
6 Ways Your Money Mindset Is Blocking Your Growth: https://the6ways.com/19
6 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Quickly Increase Their Visibility: https://the6ways.com/24
🧰 Need help picking gear, tools and resources to grow your business faster? Click here to see the stuff we use and love: https://fiveminutesocialmedia.com/toolkit
Check out our new podcast, Done By Lunch Entrepreneurs:
-----
When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your business faster:
1. Tired of sifting through out of date social media advice from Google?
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for always up-to-date info. Click here to subscribe
2. Want to grow on social media faster?
Join thousands of entrepreneurs that get our Daily Social Media Tips for free
3. Hire Jerry Potter to speak or consult privately for your business
In person or virtual, Jerry is available for speaking, corporate training and one-day consultancy. Send a message
-----
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta3 (00:00):
Video feels pretty essential for
(00:02):
marketing ourselves these days.
But if you watch otherentrepreneurs confidently make
video content for their businessand assume they were always that
good at it, I guarantee you'rewrong.
I cried my heart would startthumping I was super nervous.
White knuckle mortified.
I'd go blank I've never done aFacebook live in my life It was
(00:23):
a true phobia.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta36 (00:24):
Just like we have to learn to talk to
people at all.
When we're a kid, we have tolearn to talk to a camera when
we first start as well.
So I've invited fiveentrepreneurs who I know used to
be terrified of video and arenow great at making video to
share what it was like for themin the beginning and share
specific steps they took thatyou can also use to get better.
(00:45):
what I do, my advice would beHere's a bunch of tips Something
that helped me get through
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 (00:50):
And I'll be reluctantly sharing my
own embarrassing on camera storyfor when I first started making
video as well.
Lot of these people also sharedthat part of the way they got
over their fear of being oncamera is hearing stories from
other people.
So the story that you have beenwaiting to hear could be coming
up right now.
(01:26):
Welcome to episode number 28 ofthe six ways every week, we
Bring on a smart, innovativeguest to share what they're
doing in their field ofexpertise to help all of us do
better in what we're doing,because I truly believe we all
do better when we all do better.
In this case, we're going tohave six different people, five
guests and me each share awayfor this special episode.
(01:47):
Starting with Camilla McGill,who is a parenting coach and
founder of my parentingsolutions.
Brilliant coach.
And when she started, um, I'lljust say tears were involved and
I'll let her share her story.
When I first realized I neededto get on camera to be able to
reach more parents, I waspetrified.
I hated watching myself back orhearing my own voice on video.
(02:11):
And I was so worried that I'dlook stupid and forget what I
wanted to say.
The first time I tried, I putthe camera on and literally
nothing came out of my mouth.
I switched it off, I cried and Ialmost quit.
I think there were three thingsthat drove me to try again.
One, I've always tried to be anexample to my own kids, and this
(02:33):
is something I teach otherparents too.
Show our kids we can do thingsthat are hard.
So I pick myself up and I try itagain.
Secondly, I am passionate abouthelping parents and I know that
video is such a powerful way ofteaching.
So in my mind, I decided to makehelping others more of a
priority than my own fears.
(02:54):
And three, I just broke it down.
I set myself smaller goals.
Just do two minutes and see howthat goes.
Don't try to be perfect.
That's another thing I teachparents.
Never strive for perfection.
If you're scared to put yourselfout there, my advice would be to
think to yourself, there arepeople out there in the world
(03:15):
who need my help.
And if I don't do video, theywill likely never find out about
me.
So I just say, give it a try.
It honestly gets so much easierthe more you do it.
What's the worst thing that canhappen?
You just try again.
Six ways entrepreneurs got over
their fear of being on cameraAppNexus to Zim.
Jamal, who is a masteresthetician and a spa business
(03:37):
coach.
And one of her first cameramemories was getting invited to
do a Facebook live for 10,000 ofher fairy.
Perfect clients.
With only 48 hours notice.
And she'd never done Facebooklive before.
Here's her story.
This woman that I know, um, hada huge group over 10, 000
estheticians and she invited meto do a Facebook live takeover
(04:00):
inside of her group.
So my response to her was, well,there's just one tiny little
problem.
And she's like, what's that?
And I said to her, I've neverdone a Facebook live in my life.
And she said to me, great, youhave 48 hours to figure it out
Tazeem.
And I thought, oh my goodness.
Okay.
I'm going to rise to thechallenge.
So how did I do it?
(04:21):
Well, first of all, I did this alot.
I practiced on my own videocamera a lot.
And every time I finished evenjust like a 10 or 15 second
video.
I went back and I re watched itand I find that when you re
watch yourself, as hard as it isto do that, you get to figure
out where you need to improve.
The things that you need to door change.
(04:43):
Maybe you're fidgeting too much.
Maybe you're not making enougheye contact with the camera.
Maybe there's, You know, fivetoo many ums.
And you will still find thatit's never going to be perfect,
right?
We are not, it's not supposed tobe scripted.
Your audience wants to hear fromyou.
They want to hear your gems.
And if you have great content toshare, they're not even hearing
(05:04):
those things.
So, what I do, some tips, is Ialways write out just a few
points that I want to cover, um,in my video so that I can follow
through with what it is that Iwant to talk about.
I think it's really important tostay in your authentic self.
People want to see who you are.
It's your personality that needsto shine.
(05:25):
Don't be afraid to fail.
Because you're going to getbetter.
That's the thing.
You're going to get better andyou may hate the sound of your
voice, but your audience needsto hear from you.
Thank you for letting me sharemy experience about going live
on video.
I hope that you are inspiredtoday and that you will step out
of your comfort zone and letyour audience hear from you.
(05:48):
Six ways entrepreneurs got over
their fear of being on camera upnext, ease Richard Ralston, who
works with membership siteowners to help their members
make progress and stay in themembership longer.
Using very specially designedaccountability groups that he
calls progress pods.
We actually used them andthey're amazing in our social
media leads lab program.
And Richard right now is in themiddle of doing something that I
(06:12):
guarantee.
If you do what he's doing, thereis no way you don't get way
better at video here's Richardstory.
I was so nervous when I firststarted doing video.
I remember right at thebeginning I would push the, uh,
the record button and all of asudden my heart would start
thumping and I'd go blank, I'dforget everything that I was
(06:34):
going to say even though I'dwritten it down and sometimes
I'd even practiced it and thenI'd get frustrated with myself
and then my internal dialoguewould start going off And man,
I'm not going to tell you whatit was saying to me because it
was nasty.
Yeah, those early days, thosefirst videos, they were tough.
They were horrible.
(06:54):
There are a few things that havehelped me get over the fear of
doing video.
One is just doing lots and lotsof them.
Over time, I've just got moreconfident at doing it.
I've lowered my expectationsabout how good I thought they
would be.
Um, And, you know, I got to thestage where I was quite happy
for the first lot of them to berubbish.
(07:15):
Some of them are still rubbish,you know, and I'm actually okay
with that because I know that asI do them over time, I'll get
better and better at them.
I'm currently on a mission tocomplete 1000 consecutive daily
Facebook lives.
And as of this recording, I'vecompleted 440.
That means I've gone live everysingle day, For the last 440
(07:38):
days.
And I tell you what, I have madeall the mistakes.
Um, I've been live outside andnobody's been able to hear me
talking.
I've had stuff stuck in myteeth.
Um, I forgot my name one day.
I just stumbled over my ownname.
You know, I, I've made all themistakes and it's okay.
I'm okay with that now.
(07:59):
Here's a bunch of tips that Iuse all the time that you might
find helpful as well.
The first thing is, just make astart.
The second is, realize that youcan do another take.
Don't turn the camera off.
Just keep recording and startagain.
You might like to try thislittle exercise.
Um, start tiny.
Say your name and, or say hi andthen say your name.
(08:22):
Like I would say, Hi, I'mRichard.
And just do it that short andhave a look at it and see what
it's like.
Lower your expectations.
about how good you think yourvideo should be.
Be okay with them being rubbishat the beginning.
You know, if you're going live,you can always delete them at
the end.
That's absolutely okay.
And commit to consistency.
(08:44):
Over time, if you stay with it,you will improve.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 L (08:47):
I love these stories.
Let's continue.
Six ways entrepreneurs got overtheir fear of being on camera.
Up next is Leah Jacobson.
Leah is a certified clinicalaroma therapist who teaches
people how to use essential oilssafely.
And Leah found herself doingsomething that I think we all
do.
But not many people talk aboutwhen she first started trying to
(09:07):
be on camera and make videos forher business.
when I first started going liveand getting behind the camera, I
was super nervous.
I would spend a lot of prep timetrying to figure out where I was
gonna sit, what I was gonna say.
I would spend a lot of timeoverthinking, figuring out, you
know, exactly how I was supposedto look and act.
(09:29):
I kind of adjusted my voice tobe a little bit like the people
that I wanted to emulate insteadof just being myself.
And honestly, my first videosare terrible.
Something that helped me getthrough it is number one,
realizing that I just had to bemyself.
Just pretend and act like theperson you're talking to is
(09:52):
literally right in front of youand just chat.
Don't imagine what you mightlook like on the other side of
the camera.
Don't try to be somebody thatyou're not and try to look and
sound like somebody that is aprofessional that you may admire
and is natural for them, butit's not natural for you.
Another thing that helped me toget over it is to just do it.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 (10:13):
Now I definitely did what Leah
described.
I was definitely trying to soundlike what I thought or look like
how I thought someone on camerashould be right.
Have you done that?
Six ways entrepreneurs got overtheir fear of being on camera up
next is Cindy Landem, coach andfounder of the liberated eater
and she actually realized thatsomething about the way she grew
(10:37):
up.
Impacted her ability to do wellon camera, but she got over that
and a whole lot more.
And now it makes great videos.
As you'll see in here right now.
White knuckle mortified.
It was a true phobia.
I was virtually paralyzed infront of the camera, but I
believed in the message so much.
(10:57):
It had given me my life back andI see it give other people their
lives back.
So I couldn't stop, but it wasso bad that I would have to take
this hand and hold this onebecause it was shaking so much
to hit the button to start andstop recording.
This wasn't just the first time,Jerry.
This lasted a decade.
(11:18):
And there was a voice in my headtelling me that I was inept and
ridiculous.
So I want to add something herethat won't hit everybody, but if
it hits you, it can be key ingetting over this fear.
If you grew up in an environmentwhere you weren't safe, where
staying off the radar screen washow you stayed out of trouble,
Then the fear we feel aboutbeing so public is probably more
(11:38):
than just ordinary stage fright.
It's a primal survival instincttelling you not to be public.
Understanding this can help youmake sense of it and move past
it.
First, do not isolate yourself.
Get help.
The kind we get right here withJerry and with each other.
Engage.
Share.
Get feedback.
(11:59):
I needed feedback from people Itrusted to counteract that voice
in my head that was telling mewhat I was doing was ridiculous.
Second, be unstoppable.
Check in with yourself and seeif the mission is more important
to you than the pain it's goingto take to work through this.
And if it is, just decide.
I will not be stopped.
(12:20):
I don't know how many times I'vesaid to myself, I will succeed.
I don't know how long it's goingto take, but I will succeed.
And you will too.
Third, practice.
Fire perfectionism and just makevideos, make videos, make
videos.
Using Jerry's framework gave methe confidence to believe I
could do it.
Fourth and last, remember whyand for whom you are doing this.
(12:43):
I have a dear friend who someyears ago, when I was in the
throes of this panic, I wastelling her how much I wanted to
be able to do this, but I waspetrified, blah, blah, blah.
And she said to me, I wrote itbig and put it on my wall.
You cannot help people if you'reinvisible.
Whew.
Oh, there is one more lastthing.
Then, be damn proud of yourselffor doing it.
(13:06):
Jerry, can you bleep that?
Now watch this.
I'm going to hit the stop recordbutton with one hand.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 L (13:11):
I love that so much, Cindy.
And for those of you listeningto the audio version of the
podcast, basically she can nowuse one hand and it's not
shaking when she hits the recordbutton to start and stop making
videos.
All right.
Six ways entrepreneurs got overtheir fear of being on camera.
And, uh, the sixth one is fromme, which I am, uh, reluctantly
(13:32):
sharing.
Um, I feel like there'sembarrassing, but I know that
they help other people.
And so that's why I'm going toshare, and I want to share two
stories.
Okay.
First one was actually the firsttime I was on the radio.
So if you're not familiar, Iworked as a radio personality
and programmer for over 20years.
And I started at my high schoolradio station.
I was 16 years old and I had togo and read the news on our high
(13:53):
school station.
Now we had a big station.
There was a 30,000 watt stationwith a lot of listeners.
And as a 16 year old guy, I wastrying to be as cool as I could.
I was not cool.
So I had to like use everything.
I could, you.
Get it going for me.
But I was so scared to go intothe studio and read the news.
The first time that I actuallyasked my teacher.
(14:14):
To please come in.
And hold my hand.
While I did it.
To calm my nerves.
Which is something that akindergartener might do, right?
Ask a parent or a teacher tohold their hand while they do
something brave.
For the first time, um, I madeit through and I went on to have
a career in professionalbroadcasting.
(14:34):
And of course that was justradio video.
I did some TV while I was inradio a little bit, but I wanted
to share the story of the firsttime that I did a Facebook live.
And even though I had thisbroadcast background, I was
still so scared to do a Facebooklive because at this point I had
sort of reestablished myself.
I had this broadcast backgroundand I had reestablished myself
(14:57):
as a social media strategist.
And people were hiring me forthat specific thing.
And so I thought, well,everyone.
I gotta be great at this.
And I built up my nerve so high.
I didn't know what to do.
Well, sometimes I don't know ifit's called immersion therapy or
what, but maybe this will workfor you.
Sometimes when I'm really scaredto do something or nervous about
doing something, I'll think ofwhat is.
(15:18):
What's the worst that like, howcan I make it even harder for
myself that it's almostlaughable?
And so what I did was for myfirst Facebook live, I went to a
park.
I remember it was Halloween herein the United States.
I went to a public park and Isaid, Hey, Uh, it is, um, uh,
Halloween.
And so we're talking about scarythings.
(15:39):
So I'm going to live stream.
One of my biggest fears rightnow.
Now internally.
One of my biggest fears wasdoing a Facebook live.
But what I told them was adifferent fear.
And that was talking tostrangers.
Uh, believe it or not, I'mpretty introverted.
And so my whole thing, mygimmick on this Facebook live
(16:02):
was I'm going to stay onFacebook live until I can get a
stranger to give me a hug.
So I went live on Facebook and Iwalked around this public park.
I get nervous, just eventhinking about it.
I'm asking people for a hug.
I think it only took three orfour minutes, but believe me, it
felt like three or four hourswhere somebody gave me a hug.
(16:25):
You know, I just, and I, and Ididn't say, Hey, I'm doing this
for a Facebook live.
I said, Hey, I'm walking aroundthe park today.
Seen if a stranger will give mea hug.
If I ask nicely or somethinglike that.
Um, I did find the link for thisand if you want to watch it.
Uh, I won't go back and watchit.
It's too cringe-worthy but ifyou want to watch it, I'll link
up to it in the notes, whereveryou're consuming this episode,
(16:45):
but that was my thing.
All right, I'm going to startdoing Facebook lives.
So I might as well face twofears at once.
And I dove right in.
I hope one of the stories fromtoday helps you move forward to
be more confident on camera.
And if nothing else, I hope youfound these amazing people, uh,
in, during our entertaining, um,in some way, otherwise, If you
(17:06):
want to go deeper with thisepisode, you can go to the six
ways.com/ 28.
The six ways.com/ 28.
And if you enjoyed this episode,a couple others that you might
enjoy as well.
Six ways your money mindset isblocking your growth.
So a lot of camera confidence isof course mindset.
So if you have a money mindsetissue, definitely check out that
episode as well.
(17:26):
as six ways, entrepreneurs canquickly increase their
visibility.
Links are in the show notes,wherever you are watching or
listening.
Thank you so much.
Keep helping each other out.
Remember we all do better whenwe all do better.
And I appreciate you listeningto another episode of the six
ways.
Video feels pretty essential for
(00:02):
marketing ourselves these days.
But if you watch otherentrepreneurs confidently make
video content for their businessand assume they were always that
good at it, I guarantee you'rewrong.
I cried my heart would startthumping I was super nervous.
White knuckle mortified.
I'd go blank I've never done aFacebook live in my life It was
(00:23):
a true phobia.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta36 (00:24):
Just like we have to learn to talk to
people at all.
When we're a kid, we have tolearn to talk to a camera when
we first start as well.
So I've invited fiveentrepreneurs who I know used to
be terrified of video and arenow great at making video to
share what it was like for themin the beginning and share
specific steps they took thatyou can also use to get better.
(00:45):
what I do, my advice would beHere's a bunch of tips Something
that helped me get through
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 (00:50):
And I'll be reluctantly sharing my
own embarrassing on camera storyfor when I first started making
video as well.
Lot of these people also sharedthat part of the way they got
over their fear of being oncamera is hearing stories from
other people.
So the story that you have beenwaiting to hear could be coming
up right now.
(01:26):
Welcome to episode number 28 ofthe six ways every week, we
Bring on a smart, innovativeguest to share what they're
doing in their field ofexpertise to help all of us do
better in what we're doing,because I truly believe we all
do better when we all do better.
In this case, we're going tohave six different people, five
guests and me each share awayfor this special episode.
(01:47):
Starting with Camilla McGill,who is a parenting coach and
founder of my parentingsolutions.
Brilliant coach.
And when she started, um, I'lljust say tears were involved and
I'll let her share her story.
When I first realized I neededto get on camera to be able to
reach more parents, I waspetrified.
I hated watching myself back orhearing my own voice on video.
(02:11):
And I was so worried that I'dlook stupid and forget what I
wanted to say.
The first time I tried, I putthe camera on and literally
nothing came out of my mouth.
I switched it off, I cried and Ialmost quit.
I think there were three thingsthat drove me to try again.
One, I've always tried to be anexample to my own kids, and this
(02:33):
is something I teach otherparents too.
Show our kids we can do thingsthat are hard.
So I pick myself up and I try itagain.
Secondly, I am passionate abouthelping parents and I know that
video is such a powerful way ofteaching.
So in my mind, I decided to makehelping others more of a
priority than my own fears.
(02:54):
And three, I just broke it down.
I set myself smaller goals.
Just do two minutes and see howthat goes.
Don't try to be perfect.
That's another thing I teachparents.
Never strive for perfection.
If you're scared to put yourselfout there, my advice would be to
think to yourself, there arepeople out there in the world
(03:15):
who need my help.
And if I don't do video, theywill likely never find out about
me.
So I just say, give it a try.
It honestly gets so much easierthe more you do it.
What's the worst thing that canhappen?
You just try again.
Six ways entrepreneurs got over
their fear of being on cameraAppNexus to Zim.
Jamal, who is a masteresthetician and a spa business
(03:37):
coach.
And one of her first cameramemories was getting invited to
do a Facebook live for 10,000 ofher fairy.
Perfect clients.
With only 48 hours notice.
And she'd never done Facebooklive before.
Here's her story.
This woman that I know, um, hada huge group over 10, 000
estheticians and she invited meto do a Facebook live takeover
(04:00):
inside of her group.
So my response to her was, well,there's just one tiny little
problem.
And she's like, what's that?
And I said to her, I've neverdone a Facebook live in my life.
And she said to me, great, youhave 48 hours to figure it out
Tazeem.
And I thought, oh my goodness.
Okay.
I'm going to rise to thechallenge.
So how did I do it?
(04:21):
Well, first of all, I did this alot.
I practiced on my own videocamera a lot.
And every time I finished evenjust like a 10 or 15 second
video.
I went back and I re watched itand I find that when you re
watch yourself, as hard as it isto do that, you get to figure
out where you need to improve.
The things that you need to door change.
(04:43):
Maybe you're fidgeting too much.
Maybe you're not making enougheye contact with the camera.
Maybe there's, You know, fivetoo many ums.
And you will still find thatit's never going to be perfect,
right?
We are not, it's not supposed tobe scripted.
Your audience wants to hear fromyou.
They want to hear your gems.
And if you have great content toshare, they're not even hearing
(05:04):
those things.
So, what I do, some tips, is Ialways write out just a few
points that I want to cover, um,in my video so that I can follow
through with what it is that Iwant to talk about.
I think it's really important tostay in your authentic self.
People want to see who you are.
It's your personality that needsto shine.
(05:25):
Don't be afraid to fail.
Because you're going to getbetter.
That's the thing.
You're going to get better andyou may hate the sound of your
voice, but your audience needsto hear from you.
Thank you for letting me sharemy experience about going live
on video.
I hope that you are inspiredtoday and that you will step out
of your comfort zone and letyour audience hear from you.
(05:48):
Six ways entrepreneurs got over
their fear of being on camera upnext, ease Richard Ralston, who
works with membership siteowners to help their members
make progress and stay in themembership longer.
Using very specially designedaccountability groups that he
calls progress pods.
We actually used them andthey're amazing in our social
media leads lab program.
And Richard right now is in themiddle of doing something that I
(06:12):
guarantee.
If you do what he's doing, thereis no way you don't get way
better at video here's Richardstory.
I was so nervous when I firststarted doing video.
I remember right at thebeginning I would push the, uh,
the record button and all of asudden my heart would start
thumping and I'd go blank, I'dforget everything that I was
(06:34):
going to say even though I'dwritten it down and sometimes
I'd even practiced it and thenI'd get frustrated with myself
and then my internal dialoguewould start going off And man,
I'm not going to tell you whatit was saying to me because it
was nasty.
Yeah, those early days, thosefirst videos, they were tough.
They were horrible.
(06:54):
There are a few things that havehelped me get over the fear of
doing video.
One is just doing lots and lotsof them.
Over time, I've just got moreconfident at doing it.
I've lowered my expectationsabout how good I thought they
would be.
Um, And, you know, I got to thestage where I was quite happy
for the first lot of them to berubbish.
(07:15):
Some of them are still rubbish,you know, and I'm actually okay
with that because I know that asI do them over time, I'll get
better and better at them.
I'm currently on a mission tocomplete 1000 consecutive daily
Facebook lives.
And as of this recording, I'vecompleted 440.
That means I've gone live everysingle day, For the last 440
(07:38):
days.
And I tell you what, I have madeall the mistakes.
Um, I've been live outside andnobody's been able to hear me
talking.
I've had stuff stuck in myteeth.
Um, I forgot my name one day.
I just stumbled over my ownname.
You know, I, I've made all themistakes and it's okay.
I'm okay with that now.
(07:59):
Here's a bunch of tips that Iuse all the time that you might
find helpful as well.
The first thing is, just make astart.
The second is, realize that youcan do another take.
Don't turn the camera off.
Just keep recording and startagain.
You might like to try thislittle exercise.
Um, start tiny.
Say your name and, or say hi andthen say your name.
(08:22):
Like I would say, Hi, I'mRichard.
And just do it that short andhave a look at it and see what
it's like.
Lower your expectations.
about how good you think yourvideo should be.
Be okay with them being rubbishat the beginning.
You know, if you're going live,you can always delete them at
the end.
That's absolutely okay.
And commit to consistency.
(08:44):
Over time, if you stay with it,you will improve.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 L (08:47):
I love these stories.
Let's continue.
Six ways entrepreneurs got overtheir fear of being on camera.
Up next is Leah Jacobson.
Leah is a certified clinicalaroma therapist who teaches
people how to use essential oilssafely.
And Leah found herself doingsomething that I think we all
do.
But not many people talk aboutwhen she first started trying to
(09:07):
be on camera and make videos forher business.
when I first started going liveand getting behind the camera, I
was super nervous.
I would spend a lot of prep timetrying to figure out where I was
gonna sit, what I was gonna say.
I would spend a lot of timeoverthinking, figuring out, you
know, exactly how I was supposedto look and act.
(09:29):
I kind of adjusted my voice tobe a little bit like the people
that I wanted to emulate insteadof just being myself.
And honestly, my first videosare terrible.
Something that helped me getthrough it is number one,
realizing that I just had to bemyself.
Just pretend and act like theperson you're talking to is
(09:52):
literally right in front of youand just chat.
Don't imagine what you mightlook like on the other side of
the camera.
Don't try to be somebody thatyou're not and try to look and
sound like somebody that is aprofessional that you may admire
and is natural for them, butit's not natural for you.
Another thing that helped me toget over it is to just do it.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 (10:13):
Now I definitely did what Leah
described.
I was definitely trying to soundlike what I thought or look like
how I thought someone on camerashould be right.
Have you done that?
Six ways entrepreneurs got overtheir fear of being on camera up
next is Cindy Landem, coach andfounder of the liberated eater
and she actually realized thatsomething about the way she grew
(10:37):
up.
Impacted her ability to do wellon camera, but she got over that
and a whole lot more.
And now it makes great videos.
As you'll see in here right now.
White knuckle mortified.
It was a true phobia.
I was virtually paralyzed infront of the camera, but I
believed in the message so much.
(10:57):
It had given me my life back andI see it give other people their
lives back.
So I couldn't stop, but it wasso bad that I would have to take
this hand and hold this onebecause it was shaking so much
to hit the button to start andstop recording.
This wasn't just the first time,Jerry.
This lasted a decade.
(11:18):
And there was a voice in my headtelling me that I was inept and
ridiculous.
So I want to add something herethat won't hit everybody, but if
it hits you, it can be key ingetting over this fear.
If you grew up in an environmentwhere you weren't safe, where
staying off the radar screen washow you stayed out of trouble,
Then the fear we feel aboutbeing so public is probably more
(11:38):
than just ordinary stage fright.
It's a primal survival instincttelling you not to be public.
Understanding this can help youmake sense of it and move past
it.
First, do not isolate yourself.
Get help.
The kind we get right here withJerry and with each other.
Engage.
Share.
Get feedback.
(11:59):
I needed feedback from people Itrusted to counteract that voice
in my head that was telling mewhat I was doing was ridiculous.
Second, be unstoppable.
Check in with yourself and seeif the mission is more important
to you than the pain it's goingto take to work through this.
And if it is, just decide.
I will not be stopped.
(12:20):
I don't know how many times I'vesaid to myself, I will succeed.
I don't know how long it's goingto take, but I will succeed.
And you will too.
Third, practice.
Fire perfectionism and just makevideos, make videos, make
videos.
Using Jerry's framework gave methe confidence to believe I
could do it.
Fourth and last, remember whyand for whom you are doing this.
(12:43):
I have a dear friend who someyears ago, when I was in the
throes of this panic, I wastelling her how much I wanted to
be able to do this, but I waspetrified, blah, blah, blah.
And she said to me, I wrote itbig and put it on my wall.
You cannot help people if you'reinvisible.
Whew.
Oh, there is one more lastthing.
Then, be damn proud of yourselffor doing it.
(13:06):
Jerry, can you bleep that?
Now watch this.
I'm going to hit the stop recordbutton with one hand.
USB Audio CODEC & Insta360 L (13:11):
I love that so much, Cindy.
And for those of you listeningto the audio version of the
podcast, basically she can nowuse one hand and it's not
shaking when she hits the recordbutton to start and stop making
videos.
All right.
Six ways entrepreneurs got overtheir fear of being on camera.
And, uh, the sixth one is fromme, which I am, uh, reluctantly
(13:32):
sharing.
Um, I feel like there'sembarrassing, but I know that
they help other people.
And so that's why I'm going toshare, and I want to share two
stories.
Okay.
First one was actually the firsttime I was on the radio.
So if you're not familiar, Iworked as a radio personality
and programmer for over 20years.
And I started at my high schoolradio station.
I was 16 years old and I had togo and read the news on our high
(13:53):
school station.
Now we had a big station.
There was a 30,000 watt stationwith a lot of listeners.
And as a 16 year old guy, I wastrying to be as cool as I could.
I was not cool.
So I had to like use everything.
I could, you.
Get it going for me.
But I was so scared to go intothe studio and read the news.
The first time that I actuallyasked my teacher.
(14:14):
To please come in.
And hold my hand.
While I did it.
To calm my nerves.
Which is something that akindergartener might do, right?
Ask a parent or a teacher tohold their hand while they do
something brave.
For the first time, um, I madeit through and I went on to have
a career in professionalbroadcasting.
(14:34):
And of course that was justradio video.
I did some TV while I was inradio a little bit, but I wanted
to share the story of the firsttime that I did a Facebook live.
And even though I had thisbroadcast background, I was
still so scared to do a Facebooklive because at this point I had
sort of reestablished myself.
I had this broadcast backgroundand I had reestablished myself
(14:57):
as a social media strategist.
And people were hiring me forthat specific thing.
And so I thought, well,everyone.
I gotta be great at this.
And I built up my nerve so high.
I didn't know what to do.
Well, sometimes I don't know ifit's called immersion therapy or
what, but maybe this will workfor you.
Sometimes when I'm really scaredto do something or nervous about
doing something, I'll think ofwhat is.
(15:18):
What's the worst that like, howcan I make it even harder for
myself that it's almostlaughable?
And so what I did was for myfirst Facebook live, I went to a
park.
I remember it was Halloween herein the United States.
I went to a public park and Isaid, Hey, Uh, it is, um, uh,
Halloween.
And so we're talking about scarythings.
(15:39):
So I'm going to live stream.
One of my biggest fears rightnow.
Now internally.
One of my biggest fears wasdoing a Facebook live.
But what I told them was adifferent fear.
And that was talking tostrangers.
Uh, believe it or not, I'mpretty introverted.
And so my whole thing, mygimmick on this Facebook live
(16:02):
was I'm going to stay onFacebook live until I can get a
stranger to give me a hug.
So I went live on Facebook and Iwalked around this public park.
I get nervous, just eventhinking about it.
I'm asking people for a hug.
I think it only took three orfour minutes, but believe me, it
felt like three or four hourswhere somebody gave me a hug.
(16:25):
You know, I just, and I, and Ididn't say, Hey, I'm doing this
for a Facebook live.
I said, Hey, I'm walking aroundthe park today.
Seen if a stranger will give mea hug.
If I ask nicely or somethinglike that.
Um, I did find the link for thisand if you want to watch it.
Uh, I won't go back and watchit.
It's too cringe-worthy but ifyou want to watch it, I'll link
up to it in the notes, whereveryou're consuming this episode,
(16:45):
but that was my thing.
All right, I'm going to startdoing Facebook lives.
So I might as well face twofears at once.
And I dove right in.
I hope one of the stories fromtoday helps you move forward to
be more confident on camera.
And if nothing else, I hope youfound these amazing people, uh,
in, during our entertaining, um,in some way, otherwise, If you
(17:06):
want to go deeper with thisepisode, you can go to the six
ways.com/ 28.
The six ways.com/ 28.
And if you enjoyed this episode,a couple others that you might
enjoy as well.
Six ways your money mindset isblocking your growth.
So a lot of camera confidence isof course mindset.
So if you have a money mindsetissue, definitely check out that
episode as well.
(17:26):
as six ways, entrepreneurs canquickly increase their
visibility.
Links are in the show notes,wherever you are watching or
listening.
Thank you so much.
Keep helping each other out.
Remember we all do better whenwe all do better.
And I appreciate you listeningto another episode of the six
ways.
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