5 Ways to Look Confident on Camera

A couple of months ago, I had to be front-and-centre of a video I was making because circumstances (i.e. a global pandemic) prevented me from recruiting anyone else. 

I had no idea how to look confident on camera. I was all kinds of timid and awkward. 

But throughout the process, I slowly began to grasp the idea. And by the end, once I finished the video, you could hardly tell I was ever camera shy. 

So if you’re anything like me previously, but you want to learn how to be more outgoing and engaging in your videos, then keep reading.

Here are my 5 tips on how to look confident on camera.

1. Have a Plan

Come up with a plan of what you want to talk about. If you know your topic well and the direction you want to go in, your preparedness will definitely come off as confidence. 

5 Ways to Look Confident on Camera

In saying that, I’m not suggesting you write an entire script and read it off a teleprompter in your video. 

We’ve all had to sit through those presentations in school where the kid basically reads his notes directly off the PowerPoint slide. We’re trying to pay attention… but it’s so boring… and slow… and unengaging… and exhausting. Please don’t be that kid. 

Have a loose plan to organise your thoughts. Then rehearse it in your head or even in front of a mirror before you start filming. Practice those key points you want to get across or even how you’re going to deliver those jokes for maximum comedic value. 

Just let the words organically flow out of your mouth. If you mess up, you can always do another take. Bloopers can be entertaining anyway, so there’s no losing situation here. 

2. Be Well Dressed

To look good means to look confident on camera. 

Pick an outfit that makes you feel comfortable and expresses the finest version of yourself. 

Wear that favourite yellow sundress or that lucky button-up shirt. Don’t neglect the power of a bright lipstick colour and a good comb over either. 

If you look your best, you’re going to be your best on camera. It’s really as simple as that. 

5 Ways to Look Confident on Camera

3. Have Good Posture and Improve Body Language

At the risk of sounding like everybody’s mum or grandma, don’t slouch! Stand up straight!

Good posture exudes confidence. It tells the audience that you’re commanding the space around you and you know exactly what you’re doing. 

Sit or stand up straight, roll your shoulders back and keep your chin up. But it’s important that you’re not so stiff that you look tense and uptight. Keep a good posture but stay relaxed. 

5 Ways to Look Confident on Camera

Watch your body language too. Crossing your arms, bouncing your leg or playing with your hair can all be subconscious signs that you’re closed-off or anxious. 

Be self-aware and try to avoid these tics as much as possible. It’s okay to slip up once in a while, you’re human. But the more you catch these habits and stop yourself from doing them, it’ll get easier to look confident on camera. 

4. Look Straight into the Camera

I don’t doubt you’ve been in a situation when you’re talking to someone and they’re staring down at the floor or looking everywhere else but your face. That’s the clearest tell-tale sign that someone is shy or nervous. 

Making eye-contact with the camera is no different. It is another important key to looking confident on camera. 

5 Ways to Look Confident on Camera

Looking directly into the barrel of the camera equals looking directly at your viewers. It simulates a real-life conversation and feels more personal. Talk to the camera like you’re talking to a good mate. 

But, don’t stare too intensely – you don’t want to appear creepy or jarring. Remember to blink as normal and look away once in a while. 

Don’t think about it too much. Just be natural! 

5. Speak Confidently and Engage the Audience 

Tone of voice is everything when you’re trying to look confident on camera.

Mumbling, using a monotonous voice and long drawn out phrases is definitely not the way to engage your audience. 

No one, and I mean absolutely no one, wants to feel like they’re watching a lecture on the history of trigonometry. What a snoozefest.

Be animated. Speak as though you’re enthusiastic and excited about something. Let out your inner JoJo Siwa

It will give off the illusion that you’re passionate, charismatic, and confident even though you may not 100% feel like it. Though with enough time and practice, I guarantee you eventually will.

5 Ways to Look Confident on Camera

Learning to look confident on camera takes work and time, so don’t get disheartened if you don’t master it right away. It can definitely be a case of ‘fake it until you make it’. 

But practice makes perfect and this situation is no exception. So keep at it! One day, it will be like second nature for you to look confident on camera. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you learned some useful things and if you want to learn more about YouTube and production, head HERE

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