Want to know how to be confident on camera so your brand video is something you’ll actually want to share with people? Let me offer you some tips that helped me, a classic introvert, appear in my own brand video without becoming a ball of nerves.

These tips apply to brand videos based on unscripted interviews (the only kind worth doing, IMHO).

Tip #1: Everyone is on your side!

The interview is not an interrogation. The production company is on your side – you’re working together to make your business shine. When I interview a business owner, I forget everything else and put myself completely in that moment. All I care about is the client and their business. I want to know everything. Since I firmly believe that every business has a human story, I stay interested until I find it.

Since you’re already the world’s leading expert on your company, the answers will flow freely. If you think you’ll falter, just imagine you’re talking one-on-one with a friend. If you’re using a great production company, it’ll be the truth!

Tip #2: Be yourself!

It sounds cliché, but if you really want to know how to be confident on camera, it’s as simple as not faking anything. Resist the urge to be overly animated or dry, or to be what you think others want to see. If you’re actually wild and crazy, be that. If you’re actually calm and subdued, be that. The thing that will create connections with your viewers, and the best brand strategy, is authenticity.

It’s hard to image what your video will look like while you’re in the interview process. The interview will feel lengthy and comprehensive. You will cover much more than will be needed for your brand story video. Relax. Feel free to ramble. Talk about yourself. Talk about your feelings. Enjoy yourself.

Tip #3: Chill out! It’s going to be edited.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could edit yourself in real life?

Your brand video will be edited, so you don’t have to be afraid of messing up. Like your interviewer, your editor’s mission is to make you shine. She wants you to look good because it makes her look good! No matter what you say, she’ll focus on a single theme.

“Editing” by planning ahead won’t help. It will make you sound too practiced and too rehearsed. There’s nothing wrong with writing out the key points you want to cover to make sure the right questions are asked in your interview. But don’t script it. If you let yourself relax, you’ll say the things you want to share. Those will be compiled together in the edit, highlighting all your most brilliant moments.

You will likely be surprised and impressed by the editor’s choices. Your story will have a conversational tone that weaves in candid moments and presents your business in the most genuine way possible while leaving out the less interesting portions.

I hope these tips will make you feel a little more confident on camera during the rewarding experience of making a brand video. Remember, everyone’s ultimate goal is to help you grow your business.

Break a leg!