When I meet with my consulting clients, in the marketing, advertising and outreach part, I ask one question; How much video content are you sharing? Most tell me, very little, others tell me none. I’m sure you’ll agree that in today’s busy, noisy, overcrowded online world, great photos and great videos capture our attention a lot quicker than words do.
I’ve built my careers around video content, and there is still a lot of content online from my earlier days. I am one that does not delete anything. I do this purposely. I use my own videos as a way to show people how far one can come. You’ll have to go look for them. Here’s a hint. Go to my YouTube channel HERE and find my older videos. *Warning! There may be some weird ones in there and no, I will not take them off. Again, they show the progress my life has gone through, including the journey I’ve taken by developing a more personal relationship with God.
One of the things I do as a consultant is to teach people how to market themselves correctly. I teach people that they are a brand themselves, and that their clients will not do business with them until they have built some rapport and trust with them. One of the easiest ways to make it in front of your clients is through video. My wife and I use video when replying to clients, when answering questions, when sending follow-up emails, and even in the training that we do. We’ve used video successfully in every area of our business and ministry life.
If video is such a powerful tool, why aren’t more people using it. This is in part due to the fear of public speaking. Glossophobia is the biggest, most widespread phobia known to man. Did you know that the fear of public speaking affects more people’s lives than the fear of death? You read this right. More people are afraid of public speaking than of dying. Some experts say that about 77% of the population suffers from some level of anxiety and fear when faced with public speaking. I see this immediately when I start working with people on their video campaigns. They simply can’t get past the idea that this video will be seen by many people, and they fear being judged by the viewers.
Another form of fear is the stage fright or fear of the camera itself. Some people are excellent public speakers but the moment they know they are being recorded, they freeze. This fear comes from knowing that what they say will last longer than the time it took them to say it. It’s knowing that people will be able to play, replay and share what they’ve said with others. The fear of the camera is real, because the speaker knows that their words can be immortalized forever through video. They’ve probably heard horror stories about people who misspoke on video and the damage it caused them.
There are many other reasons like, “what if they don’t like me”, or “I’m not pretty or handsome enough”, or “what if the wrong people see it”. and others. I’ve heard every excuse in the book like, “I need to lose weight first”, or “I need to get my hair done”, or “I’ll wait until after I get a facelift”, and my personal favorite, “I need to hire a professional makeup artist first.” All these are valid, if you aren’t going to do business right now. But if you are in business, you can’t afford to wait any longer before creating some content.
A great friend and top real estate coach, Darryl Davis of the Power Agent Program says it best when he tells agents to stop the false advertising. He jokingly says that doing videos and taking current pics without all the glamour shots is a perfect way to warn your client of what you look like before you show up to do business with them. I found that one very funny, and true. Have you ever been handed a business card with a photo on it, or watched a person’s business video, and then met them in person, only to say “who are you?” That’s what Darryl means by the false advertising. Don’t do the glamour shot or the made-up video shoot and then show up to do business in your normal looking self. It sends a message of mistrust to your clients.
So let’s address the 3 biggest problems I find when working with clients who need to produce video content for their business, and the best solutions for those problems. We’ll tackle each one briefly, and if you find you have an issue with any of those three, or any other one, let’s schedule you for a complimentary 30 minute consultation and discuss what we can do to help.
PROBLEM 1: THE FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
As I already mentioned, it is estimated that 77% of the population deals with this fear at some level or another. So how do we get over it. For the less extreme cases, as far as video is concerned, we recommend practice, practice, practice. This can be as easy as pulling out your cell phone and recording videos to send to your friends and family. Simple selfie style videos are an easy start. Once you get the hang of it, you can start sending them out to colleagues, and eventually to clients. Then you are ready to start recording actual marketing videos.
For moderate (middle of the road) cases, you can join a networking group, or a toast masters, or your local chamber of commerce. You can volunteer to lead a group in your church, or at a local non-profit organization. You can go on sites like meet-up or on social media and find groups to join where you will have the opportunity to speak with friends. Once you are comfortable speaking in front of a group of people, suggest being recorded while you speak. I’ve spoken in front of over 500 different organizations, many of them on panels. I’ve asked people to record these moments, often on a cell phone. Yes, even I like to practice whenever I get the chance.
For the extreme cases, we can do one on one public speaking classes and counseling. I’m talking about those extreme cases where the person freezes up the moment they see a phone pointed in their direction, or a microphone in front of them, or a camera at a family function. This extreme fear becomes more powerful when the person knows that their moment in the public eye is going to be immortalized on video.
I heard of a man that was supposed to give a talk in front of a group of people and had a panic attack just before he went on the stage. Why? Because it was being recorded. He had spoken to this room many times, but the moment he saw a camera with the red record light on, pointed directly at the microphone where he would be speaking, he froze and nearly passed out. To his and the crowd’s benefit, his wife had memorized the entire speech and was able to deliver it flawlessly. These panic attacks are extreme, but more common than you think.
We have helped thousands of people get over their fear of public speaking. It’s changed lives, careers, companies, organizations, churches and more. As a matter of fact, you may know of a politician or two that hired consultants to help them get past their awkwardness in front of people. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you get over your fear of public speaking, schedule your complimentary 30 minute Zoom consultation or phone call and we’ll figure out what’s the best route for you to take.
PROBLEM 2: NOT KNOWING HOW TO SPEAK TO A CAMERA
Believe it or not, there are people who are great public speakers with a lot of experience, but the moment you put them on camera, they come across as monotone, inanimate robots. There are people that can speak to a room full of people and absolutely capture the audience, but if they are ever interviewed on video alone, they freeze, or worse they come across as inauthentic. I reference you to the example of the gentleman we mentioned above, who panicked when he saw a camera and had to be rescued by his wife.
This is a fairly easy problem to fix, but it requires practice and imagination. Here’s what you do. Instead of talking into a camera, which has no personality or life, imagine the camera is one of three people from your past. See, the reason why many people come across as lifeless and disconnected on camera is because they are speaking to an electronic device made of plastic, metal, wires, glass lenses, lights and microphone. They forget that the message they are delivering is not intended for the camera, but for the people who will view it later.
To fix the disconnect, your camera is either going to be someone from your past who made you angry (Brenda), someone from your past who always made you so happy that you couldn’t help but smile (Abuela… Grandma), and someone from your past who was so easy to speak to that you could tell them anything (Santo Cricchio). Now, whenever you want to speak into a camera and come across as an authentic individual who wants to genuinely connect with your audience, pretend you are speaking to one of these three people. If I am delivering tough, straight forward, serious, hard information, I pretend I’m speaking to 7th grade Brenda. I can deliver any news or message, no matter how tough it may be, as long as the camera’s name is Brenda. If I’m delivering happy, soft, loving, touching, fluffy information, I pretend I’m speaking to my Grandmother. If I am delivering factual information that does not call for emotion, I pretend I’m telling Santo my secrets.
For more information on how we can customize and apply this strategy to your own on-camera appearances, let’s set up a complimentary 30 minute consultation to discuss this further.
PROBLEM 3: NERVOUSNESS THAT LEADS TO LONG-WINDEDNESS
The third common problem we encounter in our consulting clients is the I talk too much when I’m nervous syndrome. On my years working with law enforcement, we called this diarrhea of the mouth (sorry for the visual). This is an issue that many people encounter when they have to speak in public. It is an especially common issue when people get in front of a camera.
I’m sure you’ve watched a YouTube video or two, or 2,000 where the speaker just went on and on and on and on and on and … see my point? When producing video content, less is more. Very few people have the time or the attention span to sit and watch a 2 hour video about any topic. If you can share the same information in 7–10 minutes, great! If you can condense that down to 5 minutes, awesome. I’ve learned that some of the most effective videos are those short one minute videos people shoot for their social media. If we learned to cut down the talking, and add value, we can capture more eyes and more attention.
So the next time you are going to tell a story, see if you can make it like an elevator pitch. Pretend you are traveling in an elevator, and you have your most treasured potential client in the elevator with you. This VIP asks you a question, and you have to answer it quickly, accurately and with lots of value before you reach your floor. Can you do that? Can you tell me why I should hire your services, and do it in 30 seconds of less. Obviously your aim here is not to give me detailed information, but to capture just enough of my interest and attention to earn a follow-up meeting. If you can do this on video (capture their attention in a 30 second teaser) and then give them the choice to do watch a longer, more detailed presentation on the subject, you will get more yeses in your business, in your organization and in your professional life.
You know what I’m going to invite you to do. To discuss our 30 second teasers, which we call our 30 to 6 figure program (#30to6figure), schedule your FREE, yes FREE 30 minute consultation HERE.
CONCLUSION:
There are obviously many other areas where people can improve their on-camera persona. Regardless of where your difficulty lies, you must admit that video content is key in today’s noisy and crowded online marketing and advertising atmosphere. We can all use some direction in this. Let the pros at GC Rosario Group help you become better at video creation.
If you still have doubt as to how important it is, think about how many videos you’ve watched on your phone or laptop in the past year, and compare that to how many TV commercials you’ve actually sat through. Winners win because they place themselves in the right place, at the right time and in the right light. People these days are taking their phones with them into the bedroom, the bathroom, the office, church, and other places where they shouldn’t be brought into. If they are going to consume content, why not yours?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
George L. Rosario is a Brooklyn NY born & raised businessman & entrepreneur turned consultant. He started GC Rosario Group with his lovely wife Claudia. With over 30 years of service to the marketplace in NYC, George has relocated and been graciously adopted by the business community of South Florida. He now travels the country helping businesses and organizations thrive in today’s noisy environment. The post-Covid era forced many to close their doors, but also opened new doors of opportunity, growth and prosperity for innovative thinkers. George & Claudia Rosario help companies, businesses, organizations and teams develop the necessary skillset and plan of action to not just survive, but thrive in this new world. GC Rosario Group helps both secular and Christian based institutions meet their goals.
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