The fear of camera
Are you afraid of getting caught on camera? Well, did you know that if you are not trying to break into someone's home or otherwise do something bad, there is no reason to?
First let us say that this is first article in the series of being pro in front of a camera. There will be others so make sure you do not miss them.
Cameras are everywhere at this day and age. If you think about it, you have likely seen cameras in BUS, possibly in cabs. There are self driving cars with quite a large number of different types of cameras. The cameras are also often found in elevators and definitely in every ATM.
Now it is also safe to say that if you are on a street with a large number of people, chances are there are at least two people recording something on a video and you might just be in their shoot.
Now all this sounds super bad if you have a very strong fear of cameras, however that is not the intent. The intent is to help you see that you are already being filmed at various places and times. The only difference is if you are directly aware of this or not.
Why we fear it
Well the camera in itself is not really something to fear. It does not carry a weapon nor it has evil thoughts. The camera is just an every day instrument that we use to help us with our life, work and alike.
What people fear the most is the response they will get from others. It is really easy for you to share the video with a large number of people and really easily with digital videos. This is what makes the fear turn the wheels in our heads.
This is also what we should learn how to stop.
How to turn the fear off
Well there are different reasons why you might be afraid, so you should really know how you would best approach this.
First we should point out that the camera will capture:
- How we look
- Our behavior
- As well as our sound
Next to that, there is also perceived fear such as the number of people seeing your video.
The Visuals
If you are afraid of the visual aspect - how you look or behave on the camera there are some ways to help yourself. The easiest way is to capture the video while you are not looking at the monitor.
You can turn off your monitor for a moment or just scroll out of view. This will help you focus on what you are saying instead of trying to figure out if you are presenting yourself properly at every moment.
Another great thing that you can do is simple yet efficient. Still be warned you might seem silly if someone else sees you. With that said, grab a photo of someone dear to you. It can be anyone, as long as you can open up and talk freely to them.
Now put that photo under or above, or if not possible then next to the camera. This will help you focus on someone you know and hold dear more than you are on the camera and your presentation (of yourself).
The Sound Box
If the sound is what you are afraid of then stop. Go to YouTube and search for something that is interesting to you and add a country in front of it. Not your own, some other country. You will quickly find that there are people that are talking in a very interesting as well as in many funny dialect. Some others are talking in very hard to understand language that just seems off, yet it works.
This is because there are so many languages. They are all beautiful even though they might sound strange. As there are many languages there are also many people speaking the same in a different way. What all of them have in common? Well they all got their voice out there. They did not let their fears stop them from adding their own bit of info out there.
The interesting thing is that there are so many people that are afraid of how they look or sound that just by looking at few people you likely already saw at least one person with such fear.
Take that as your own victory and put yourself out there. There is no reason to be afraid of how you sound. Grab that photo and create a recording. Once done you will be happier for it.
Even if someone does find it funny or that you are speaking some words in a "wrong way", know that there are many others doing that exact same thing.
The Stage Fright
One of very common things is Stage Fright. While the name might suggest a stage is required that is far from it. All you need is a potential of being seen by large number of people. For some this is 2 for some this is 20 and for others this is well above 20.000 people at the very same moment.
Well interesting thing is that there are many people that had the issue with the very same thing. Some of them are very famous people as well. Names like Dale Carnegie come to mind and a billionaire that took his course to help with very same - Warren Buffett. Yup, even famous people had the same fear. It is also not something that is specific to present and was troubling people from a while back.
The way they got rid of it, is more or less through repetition. Put yourself out there to explain to your fear that you are the one in control.
Summary
Many people have fear of camera. Some are even well known public speakers, writers, authors, or public figures. The best way is to go through it as many times as you can.
In the same time try to help yourself by setting yourself to feel comfortable and using the photo trick we mentioned above, to make it easier to talk to everyone.
In next post from this series we will explain in more detail how to prepare for the same.