From the Arsenal: Getting over the camera is like getting over sales calls.

Story Of The Day: The biggest barrier to a real connection on camera isn't your script—it’s your eyes.

But when you look directly into the lens, you freeze. Heck I'd freeze too. There's a one eye monster staring you down it doesn't give you emotion, you can't read its expression, you get no feedback, no human to human connection. Nothing.

Worse you volunteered.

I have a client that owns a law firm, let's call him Bob. Bob is a big teddy bear, he loves riding off-road, he has 3 Jeeps that he hand tunes himself, and he loves his daughter. That same guy sees a script and sees the camera and becomes a total different person. He becomes clunky, some call this unnatural, inauthentic, awkward. Oh it's authentic alright, it's what happens when we are not in our element and not feeling connected. You see the problem isn't you've become a different person in front of the camera, it's that people bounce energy off of each other. We are wired to seek out faces, not lenses.

In Hollywood, we use a system called an Interrotron. It’s a simple two-way mirror that puts the interviewer's face directly over the camera lens. It turns the camera into a window. (click here to get an idea)

But most of you aren't going to get an Interrotron. It’s clunky, it’s expensive, and it’s a "one-trick pony" that takes up too much room. There are other, more feasible ways to slay the monster.

Think about your first sales calls. You were nervous. You messed up. You used a cheat sheet. Eventually, you memorized the lines and ditched the sheet. Then you went off-script. Finally, you got bored. You want to get bored.

Takeaways: Stop fighting biology. You aren't "bad" on camera; you’re just trying to perform a human act (conversation) with a non-human object. So why not design the training so being on camera slowly becomes easier.

How to Apply It Today:

1. The Mirror Exercise: Actors use mirrors to study their own micro-expressions and get comfortable with "the gaze." Practice your points in a mirror. It sounds "woo-woo," but it trains your brain to stay relaxed while looking into a reflection plus you'll get to really understand how to fix your postures.
2. The Remote Hack: Use a standard teleprompter, but instead of an iPad script, start a FaceTime or Zoom call with your interviewer. There will be a slight lag but seeing a moving face over the lens is 10x better than staring at a black hole.
3. The "Pro" Desktop Setup: If you’re doing remote interviews on Riverside or Zoom, use an Elgato Prompter. It’s built to sit over your lens and pull your computer screen directly into the glass. You can look your guest in the eye while looking the audience in the eye.

Pro tip: The goal is to get so comfortable that you forget the camera is even there. Infrastructure > Willpower.

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Slaying the one eye monster.
-David

P.S. This is exactly why cellphone selfie videos feel more "organic." You see yourself in the screen. It’s less aggressive as a recording device and it's easy. You are closer to who you are because you aren't staring down a big, scary camera.