We're about to start practicing on video, but I'm not gonna throw you to the wolves just yet. I want to give you some tips so you know how to look your best to look comfortable, confident, relaxed, anytime you're in front of a camera, because it's easy to not look that way. It's really easy to look scared and nervous and frozen and read a script and look like you are being held hostage. That's what happens to people if they stop doing the normal things they do when they speak in a comfortable way. So let me give you the basics of how to look comfortable and confident on TV. And on in front of any video camera, whether it's a tiny little screen for someone watching you on a cell phone or something that's going to be put on a gigantic screen it doesn't really matter.

For starters, your eyes Your eyes are very important because if you're constantly looking down at your notes or you're looking over here at something you've written on the Giant cue cards, thinking this is going to help us to how awful that is. Your eyes are critically important. So if there's no one else around, you got to look right at the camera. Now if you're giving a speech or talking to a group, then you can talk to human beings but you can't have your eyes floating all over the place something else people do when they're trying to remember their see how awful that looks that looks like I'm just hoping the answer falls in the sky. Now we all look up occasionally. But on camera, it just looks bad.

If you have to look away for a moment. Look down and you'll look thoughtful. The next thing you have to worry about is your head. We all move our head when we speak. So if all of a sudden you're talking like this, and you're getting all the words just right, you're going to look canned stiffed, phony, not believable and certainly not confident. So you have to move your head.

So you need to actually practice because if you're nervous, the natural thing is to to tense up. So, here's where it gets confusing. I'm telling you to act natural. But the natural thing when there's a bright light in your face and a camera pointing at you, the natural thing to do is to be like a little bunny freeze. Nothing's moving, but your mouth. So simply telling you to act natural doesn't help you have to act the way you do.

In a natural way, when you're completely relaxed, and there's no lights and cameras around and you're talking to friends or colleagues. That's the sort of natural so you have to take that and transplant it into this artificial situation. So for starters, you got to move your head. You've got to move your body a little we all move our bodies when we speak, especially if we're excited about something. See how my body is moving. Now I'm not jerking around, I'm not fidgeting.

But I'm moving my body and the final thing, move your hands. Now it can be a high like this. They can be lower, but when you move your hands Your body moves more, your voice has more movement to it more range, you sound more conversational. So it's a huge myth that you're somehow not supposed to move your hands. Don't believe it. Don't hold a pen.

Don't hold it thicker, don't hold papers have your hands free, so they can move. That way. Your head is moving, your body is moving, your hands are free. Again, I'm not suggesting you sort of do a little dance or anything like that. But you do need movement, just to look natural, just to really to look relaxed to look confident. And if you do make a mistake, don't draw attention to it.

In the previous sentence, I stumbled over word, but I didn't get I'm sorry, I didn't react to my mistake. That's how you've got to be it's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to have an occasional arm or don't act like it bothers you. Don't call attention to it. Don't grimace. Don't wins, don't stop and freeze.

Just keep talking. Now worried about what to wear. Unless you're in the fashion business or artist, I would recommend wearing something that doesn't call attention to itself so that people can focus on what you're saying and what your message is. Now, if you're in the high tech industry, don't wear a tie people will think you're an idiot. If you're in the financial industry, you probably do want to wear a tie. I'm dressed like this because most of my clients are in the corporate world and that's how they dress.

But this shirt is not a white shirt White is too bright on screen and it can make your facing darker and harder. So you want your face to be the brightest thing on the screen. This is a gray suit. It has a very very subtle line of lines don't jump around. This is not a red tie. It's more of a maroon tie the colors to avoid Anytime you're going to be on video, white is too bright, it is harder to like and it's harder to see your face black is too dark and your body can kind of disappear.

It can make you look heavier than you do in real life. And finally out avoid red, red can bleed, and it's just not going to look good. So those are basics that you need to keep in mind when it comes to how to dress. Now, if you're doing your video sitting down, just be careful to lean forward a little bit about 1015 degrees into the camera. Because if you're sitting back, relax, look at this. I have a little pin head and about three chance nobody looks good sitting back relaxed on camera.

If I'm perfectly straight like this, I look stiff and scared and nervous. You have to lean forward about 15 degrees now you don't see three chance. So this will help everyone look better the cameras closer to the face now. So you're gonna look better that way. So those are the basics of how to look your best on camera because if you're doing something that makes you look nervous, uncomfortable, stiff, nobody's going to focus on your message. They're going to have this sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach.

If something isn't right here, what's bothering this person, this person's being disingenuous. So you've got to come across, comfortable, confident, relaxed, at least look comfortable, confident, relaxed, so that people can focus on your message. So here is your first assignment. I want you to record yourself speaking. I don't even care what you say you can talk about your kids soccer game. I just want you to watch how you look.

How you sound, how you move, make notes about what you like, don't let Don't worry about the substance yet. Let's just get one of the can we you've recorded yourself. It can be with your webcam. It could even be with your own cell phone. But I want you to record yourself. I need you to get used to listening to your voice.

I need you to get used to recording yourself and watching yourself. Do it now.