And yet, the desire to appear perfect—not to show any flaws or vulnerability—is still one of the biggest self-imposed impediments to getting on video that I see with business professionals.
It’s understandable. You’ve built such credibility in your business; you are an expert, a thought leader, perhaps you’re in charge of teams around the world. You’ve earned all of it. Why would you want to go on video and feel like a beginner? Or make a mistake on camera that could damage your professional reputation? The internet is “permanent” after all.
I guarantee you will post a business video, or two, and see at least one flaw once your video is live. I also guarantee that you’re probably the only one who will notice or care. Everyone else is too busy worrying about how they look on video or fretting that their competitors have gotten a head start!
If you’ve been properly coached, you won’t do anything on video that you need to lose sleep over. A large part of the adjustment to being on camera is seeing yourself as other people do. And hey, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for you.
The ROI of being who you are
When I was a website copywriter, my entrepreneur clients had difficulty balancing the personal and the professional in terms of how they spoke on their websites. Too often their instinct was to sound so “professional” (i.e. perfect) that their personality bled right off the screen.
After some coaching and several deep interview sessions, they saw the ROI in being who they were, flaws and all, and showing personality in their content: Their websites attracted only the clients who were a match—no more tire kickers. My clients also became much more confident speaking as themselves in their other content, including social media.
They were now living one of the most important principles of marketing for your business—have a consistent, and genuine, brand voice and message everywhere clients may find you.
The Big Reveal
Video is one of those places—now more than ever in our virtual business world, when meeting in person is often not possible. The great advantage video has over written content, is that we get to “see” you.
As viewers we read your body language, consciously or not, and we get cues about who you are. The way you sit or stand, how you gesture or not, how genuine your smile is, how you speak, and of course, whether or not you’re really looking at us. Whether or not you see us.
The Power of Intimacy
The intimacy of that, the reveal of it, may sound overwhelming to anyone who’s used to controlling how they appear, but that’s why being on camera is such a powerful resource for your business; video taps into our need, as human beings, for genuine connection.
Potential clients, partners, investors and team members want to get to know you, see if they can trust you, and discover if they’d enjoy working with you. When you can be yourself and connect one-on-one through the camera lens, you’ll attract those who resonate with you, and you’ll start developing the relationships with them that will help your business thrive.
Video is a truth teller: It reveals you when you’re not being yourself, and it rewards you (greatly) when you are.
If you’re ready to tap into the power of video—or you’re curious about how coaching works, let’s talk.