I’ve filmed hundreds of people who were terrified of the lens. Here’s what I tell them to calm the nerves and get the best out of the day, whether someone’s interviewing you or you’re filming yourself.
By Ben Hemmings, Mainspring Agency
Over the years I’ve interviewed hundreds of people. CEOs, surgeons, community leaders, first-timers who had never been filmed and never wanted to be. And the single most common thing I hear before we roll is some version of “I’ve never done this before”, or “where do I look?”
Here’s the secret nobody expects: the nervous ones are often the best. Some of my favourite interviews have come from people who were uncomfortable at the start. The humanity and authenticity that shine through in those interviews can never be matched by someone who’s slick and over-rehearsed. Also, nerves make you talk in shorter, punchier sentences, which is exactly what makes a usable soundbite for a short video.
So if the thought of being on camera makes you tense up, that’s normal. I suffered from imposter syndrome my entire life, until around four years ago. It took me that long to overcome being filmed myself. I was even nervous to speak in a large Zoom meeting, let alone onstage at a film festival. So I’ve put together a list of five tips that I have learned, both through filming people and from doing media appearances myself, that will help you overcome the fear of the bright lights and big lenses. Whether you’re being interviewed by the media or a production company, or just filming yourself for social media, this list is for you.
- 1. It’s just a conversation
All the lights and the gear can make it feel like a huge deal, like a performance. It isn’t. You’re (probably) not a professional actor. So when someone sits down stiff, the first thing I tell them is that all this equipment is here, but really it’s just you and me having a conversation. You’re making eye contact with me, not the camera. Nobody’s trying to catch you out. There are no curveballs and no trick questions. We’re here to present you in the best possible light, and I’m on your side for the whole thing.
People get spooked by the camera itself, a big electronic box with a glass eye pointing at them, so don’t look at it. Focus on me, the interviewer, and talk like we’re the only two people in the room. The lights and the kit are in the room, but they’re as important to the conversation as the chairs and art on the walls. If you’re filming yourself, flip it round: look straight down the lens and treat it like the eyes of one friend you’re talking to, not a machine.
That reframe does most of the work. You’re not auditioning and you’re not being interrogated, you’re talking to a person who is genuinely interested in what you’ve got to say. There’s no such thing as a wrong answer here, because whatever you give me, I can work with. If you’re filming yourself, do the same in your head. Don’t picture “an audience,” picture one person you actually like, and talk to them. The camera is just the go-between.
- 2. You don’t have to get it right first time
The biggest pressure people put on themselves is thinking they get one shot to be perfect. You don’t. Nearly everything I shoot is edited, which means mistakes simply disappear. If you fluff a line, stumble, or lose your thread halfway through, it genuinely doesn’t matter. I will just ask the prompt again, change it slightly to get your mind working in a different way, and we’ll go again. Everybody makes mistakes, and nobody watching the finished piece will ever know.
Once that lands, people visibly relax, because the fear of messing up is usually the thing doing the damage in the first place. Filming yourself? The same rule applies, even more so. Do five takes, do ten, nobody ever sees the outtakes. Give yourself permission to get comfortable and find the answer and delivery you want. The version that makes the final cut is the only one that exists as far as the world is concerned.
- 3. Fold the question into your answer
This is the one real technical tip I give people. When your video gets edited, the viewer usually won’t hear the question, only your answer. So if I ask what year you started the company and you reply “2012,” that clip lacks context. But if you say “I started the company in 2012,” now it becomes a valuable soundbite.
So give your answers a bit of context. Start with a few words that tell us what you’re talking about before you dive in. Same goes for names and places. If you launch straight into “she really turned the business around,” we’ve no idea who “she” is, so set it up: “our CEO, Sarah, really turned the business around.” It feels slightly odd at first, almost like you’re repeating the question back, but it’s the difference between an answer we can actually use and one we have to bin.
This matters just as much when you’re filming yourself answering a prompt. Never assume the viewer knows the question or has the context in their head that you have in yours. Build it into what you say, and the clip will stand on its own wherever it ends up, whether that’s a website, a LinkedIn post or a news segment.
- 4. Don’t try to be polished
If I’ve sent the questions or talking points beforehand, the temptation is to write out the perfect answer and memorize it. Please don’t. So many people turn up with the perfect answer written out, and it takes us an hour to complete a ten-minute interview because nothing will seem as “perfect” as the scripted response. Unless you’re a trained actor, a memorized answer almost always comes out sounding rehearsed, and audiences can smell it a mile off. It’s the quickest way to lose authenticity.
The good stuff comes from just talking. There’s a reason why podcasts have exploded in the past few years – and it’s because they’re honest and conversational. Use your hands, be as expressive as you’d be in a normal chat over coffee. You don’t need to know your lines. You just need to know the themes we’re covering and the points you care about, then talk about them like a human being. The slightly messy, real version of you is always more compelling than the polished one.
- 5. Your voice matters
This was the realization that finally got me over my own imposter syndrome, and I still come back to it every time I feel nervous before public speaking. If someone has asked you to speak, to sit for an interview, to come on a podcast or get up on a stage, it’s for one reason: your voice matters.
Whether it’s your boss, a journalist, or a producer at TEDx asking you to appear on camera, that person values what you have to say. I gave a talk at New York University a while back about a film we’d made, and I was terrified right up until it clicked that nobody in that room was there to judge me. They were there because they enjoyed the film we created and wanted to hear from me about the creative approach and the subject matter.
That’s the reframe. The moment other people value what you’re saying, it stops being about you at all. You become the conduit for the knowledge or wisdom you’ve accumulated, passing on some useful insight to your peers or the next generation. You’re no longer an ‘imposter’ – you’ve arrived. Be yourself. Share your knowledge. Someone out there needs to hear it.
In summary: Come in knowing it’s a conversation and not a performance. Don’t chase perfection, don’t memorize, give your answers some context, and look at a person instead of the lens. None of it is complicated, and none of it asks you to be someone you’re not. Just be you.
About the author
Ben Hemmings is the Founder and Executive Director of Mainspring Agency, an Ottawa-based video agency. He is an award-winning director and marketer with over a decade of experience in video production and impact storytelling.