Does your personality completely evaporate the moment you hit the record button? Or perhaps you freeze like a deer in the headlights when it’s your turn to present in an online meeting. 😐
The reality is, speaking to a camera is not natural.
No one is born into the world with an innate talent for speaking on camera (not even me!) – us humans have only been recording ourselves in this way for the past couple of decades.
Yet, so many people expect themselves to be amazing at it immediately.
We watch our favourite YouTubers or communication coaches and think;
“Oh, that’s just talking. I know how to talk. That looks easy.”
Then you switch the camera on and suddenly… you freeze. You stumble. You feel extremely awkward and ask yourself;
“Why do I suck at this?”😞
Your brain actually starts working against you, critiquing you in real-time:
[You’re being too much. You’re overdoing it. Your hands look weird.]
If you want to become more confident and natural sounding on camera, you have to treat it like any other skill.
The Piano Analogy
If you wanted to become a better piano player, how would you do it?
You would say to me, “Well Vinh, it’s obvious. You practice.”
And you are right. But let’s get pragmatic. You wouldn’t just think about learning piano. You would schedule it.
You would say, “I’m going to practice for 45 minutes on Monday and 90 minutes on Wednesday.”
You sit at the keys and you play.
But when I ask people, “How do you practice your communication skills?” they get stuck. They usually say, “I don’t know… I guess just when I’m talking to people?”
Because of that lack of clarity on how to practice, people never improve.
The Solution For Acting More Natural On Camera
So, how do you actually get more natural on camera?
Record yourself more.
I mean dedicate yourself to the process. You need to schedule time to sit down and record yourself talking.
You do not have to post these videos anywhere online, just think of them as practice rather than performance.
The “One Thing” Rule
Why is this process so important? It isn’t just about repetition; it’s about review.
When you record yourself on video, watch it back and with just one question in mind:
“What is one thing I can do better next week?”
Don’t try to fix everything all at once.
- Week 1: You might notice, “I barely used my hands; they were hiding under the table.”
- The Fix: Next week, keep hands above the table.
- Week 2: You might notice, “I kept doing the same repetitive gesture.”
- The Fix: Next week, try to increase your gesture vocabulary.
Stop Consuming, Start Applying
Here is my challenge to you.
Most people will read this article, nod their heads, and then… do nothing.
They just keep consuming and consuming information.
I want you to be part of the 1% who are addicted to knowledge application.
Commit to recording just one video a week. Schedule it in your calendar right now, I’ll wait…..
I said do it now! 📅
Ok good, now you may continue reading.
If you do this for 10 weeks, focusing on just making just one improvement each time, you will be a completely different person in front of the camera in two to three months.
Remember – To Sound Natural on Camera, You Must Practice the Unnatural.
- Schedule It: Treat camera practice like piano practice. Put it in the calendar.
- Record & Review: Watch yourself back.
- The 1% Improvement: Identify only one thing to fix for the next video (e.g., volume, posture, hand gestures).
- Repeat: Do this weekly for 10 weeks to see a massive transformation.
Hungry for more knowledge application opportunities just like this? I’d like to invite you to explore my full range of in-person events and online communication skills training programs trusted by over 500,000 students around the world.
