Have you ever said this to yourself? “I’m comfortable speaking in public, but when it comes to speaking to the media, or on camera, I freeze up.“
Or “I feel like I can’t effectively communicate my message when there’s a camera in front of me.“
If you have, you are not alone. Most people feel exactly the way you do, that’s the good news. The bad news is that your career’s true potential might not reach its highest levels if you don’t come up with a solution.
The reason the camera scares you, and everyone else, is it represents risk. It’s not just you saying something potentially silly in front of one person. If there’s a video camera there 1000 people can see it, 10,000, heck, the entire world could see it if you are in digitized video preserved forever on YouTube or tmz.com.
As human beings we all have insecurities. You may tell yourself “I hate my voice.“ Or “when the light goes on, I get nervous and freeze.“
Again, completely normal reactions.
But if you wanna solve this problem, the starting point is to realize That there’s no reason why you should feel comfortable or relax doing these things if you haven’t been trained. Learning to speak effectively to the media is like learning how to write or drive. Nobody’s born knowing how to write or drive. Nobody magically learns how to write on their own, do they?
These days, there are a lot of solutions on YouTube and online courses and in live training programs to help you build confidence when you speak to the media. You have to find a solution that works for you.
So full disclosure, I do have online hybrid, coaching programs, On-demand video courses, YouTube channels, and live in person programs. But you don’t have to use any of those if you just do this one technique. That is to practice your media message and practice your interview on video many times. Record yourself speaking your messages, then watch it. Figure out what you like and don’t like. Then do it again and again.
The key is to keep practicing on video until you love what you say. You can’t do this entirely on your own. You could also do it with a friend or colleague. The reason a lot of people like you decide to work with someone like me is actually very hard to judge your own media skills accurately.
Most people think their voice is horrible when it’s perfectly fine. Most people think their eyes look crazy and they don’t. Most people when they see their head move think they look like a cartoon character and then they try to hold their head stiff. The reality is that makes you look scared and nervous, you actually want your head to move when you speak.
So keep this in mind before your next media interview. And please, please, take my advice: do not wing it. Don’t deceive yourself by saying “I don’t want to over rehearse and be stiff and stale, so I’ll just go into the interview cold.”
If you have a cell phone, you have all you need to rehearse. If you would like a little more structure, or a little more guidance, feel free to reach out to me. My team and I are available for a no cost consultation for you right now.
Please click this link to set up a 15 minute call.