Whatever kind of video you’re creating for streaming, you should know that your confidence is important. Demonstrating confidence in the context of a marketing video, a seminar, or even just a video conversation with your coworkers can make the difference between persuading your audience and having your message fall flat.
Fortunately, improving your confidence during video production is easier than you think – and after a few days of practice, you’ll feel much more confident in all your videos in the future.
The value of confidence
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why confidence is so valuable in video.
- Connection. Showing confidence is one way to build an instant connection with your audience. If you’re confident about what you’re saying and doing, people are instantly going to like you and respect you more. Video is already an engaging medium, and it becomes even more engaging when someone confident is in front of the camera.
- Expertise. Confidence is also important when demonstrating your expertise. If you’re more confident about what you’re saying, people are going to be much more likely to believe that you’re an authority on the subject. Once they established that you’re an expert who knows what they’re talking about, they’ll be much more likely to take action in response to your calls to action.
- Persuasiveness. In line with this, confidence makes you more persuasive. No matter what, you’ll be attempting to persuade your audience on something. You could be trying to get them to change their mind on a given subject, you could be persuading them to purchase a product, or you could simply be trying to persuade them that you’re a loyal and dedicated worker. It will be much easier to make your case if you demonstrate confidence the entire time you’re on screen.
- Authenticity. Confidence also plays a role in authenticity, and authentic personalities always perform better than their inauthentic counterparts. If you genuinely like your own personality and who you are, you won’t be afraid to show that off on your video.
- Professionalism. Your confidence will demonstrate your professionalism, especially if you’ve spent time making your video look and sound as good as possible. If people see you as more polished and put together, you’re going to earn more respect.
How to showcase more confidence on video
So what steps can you take to showcase more confidence when you’re on video?
- Make eye contact with the camera. Eye contact is a major sign of confidence, and one of the easiest ones to perceive. Most of us realize this intuitively, walking away with a better impression of anybody who deliberately makes eye contact with us. Over video, you won’t be able to make eye contact directly, but you can make eye contact with the camera, simulating eye contact for your viewers. Avoid looking away unnecessarily or fidgeting away from the camera lens.
- Maintain proper posture. Next, make sure you maintain proper posture. Whether you’re sitting or standing, your back should be straight with your shoulders pulled behind you. Take deep breaths from the diaphragm to fill your lungs before speaking.
- Speak slowly. One common confidence mistake people make is speaking too quickly. They may be trying to keep the video concise, or they may be rushing the script out of nervousness; whatever the case, if you talk too quickly, you’re going to look scatterbrained or unsure of yourself. Instead, take your time and pronounce each word carefully and deliberately. Even if it feels exceptionally slow to you, it’s going to look more confident and authoritative to your viewers.
- Gesticulate occasionally. Occasionally gesticulating with your hands can be an effective way to demonstrate confidence and make yourself a more authoritative speaker. However, it’s easy to go overboard here. If you flail around too wildly or too frequently, you’re going to look insecure or immature. Instead, only move your hands and arms when you really want to emphasize the importance of one of your points.
- Practice. Finally come take the time to practice all of your camera skills. The more time you spend on camera, the more comfortable and natural it’s going to feel. And the more you watch old videos of yourself, the more you’ll learn about how you look to others – and the more you’re going to be able to improve.
Obviously, the best way to look more confident is to simply be more confident. If you’re genuinely confident in your daily life and you’re even more confident when you’re on camera, you shouldn’t have any trouble appearing confident to your target audience.
However, boosting your personal confidence may be trickier then following these strategies to make yourself look more confident on video —and it may require more time and effort.
