How to Show Up As Yourself In Videos

It took me some time and some work to get comfortable on video - my Vimeo account is just a wasteland of starts and stops, flubbing what I'm saying, or just feeling like it wasn't quite there yet. I have a lot to say on this subject so buckle up.

In the Abundant Practice Builder's Facebook Group I posted one of the first videos I tried to film. My scripts were written, my content was something I was proud of. I was launching a program and I know it was super-helpful too. I borrowed fancy photography lighting and a tripod. All signs pointed to an awesome recording experience resulting in a great video. But as soon as I turned the camera on, I got nervous. In the video, I can see myself swallowing a lot and I remember getting sweaty and I got through my script and rewatched it and I was so boring. No energy, no animation. And you know I’m animated and energetic. I re-recorded a few times and they all sucked. Like, unusable sucked.

I reached out to therapists I’d networked with or helped build their practices and said, “Hey, will you come and sit in my office and let me teach you something on camera?” I had 3 videos and 3 groups of therapists piled into my office and I did the exact script with the camera on me and I was alive and interesting and it was so helpful.

You can show up as yourself in a recording by having a friend or a loved one behind your camera. Someone you feel comfortable with who can be patient with several takes. And yeah, it's going to feel awkward, but it’ll also help you feel like you’re talking to an actual human, which is who you're hoping to connect within your video.

I’ve found that for a video to translate my normal amount of energy, I have to amp it up a bit. If I amp it up like 10%, I present on video the way I am in real life. That means you have to psych yourself up a bit. Since quarantine started 90% of my videos have been done between 5-7 am. You can still see pillow marks on my face in a few of them. If you’re dragging one day or it’s super early, bring more than 10% to show up normally.

The last tip (I have a whole module on videos in the Abundance Party if you want more) is to practice. I got comfortable with video only b/c I spent the time getting my discomfort out. I recommend spending 1- minutes every workday filming a video about something on your phone and making yourself watch it. You never have to post it anywhere- just practice. Eventually, it becomes totally easy to show up, hop on camera, and not pick it all apart.

If this is something you cant to get good at, you can. We don’t have to be a professional actor or a news anchor. We just need to connect with our people.