Tales from a Bruised Mind

I am going to be completely honest here. I’ve been a bit scared for quite a long time about stepping in front of the camera. I feared it. I would have nightmares about it. It was terrible.

I just couldn’t fathom getting in front of the camera and saying the lines I needed to say. I needed to get the facts right, but I also feared what my boss might think of me if I stuffed it all up. I feared the fact of maybe making a fool of myself. I feared that I would do a bad job. I feared that everything rested on me getting the video right.

It was all just a bit much to deal with. The truth is that I suffered from this for many, many months.

I remember going on a vehicle launch with Isuzu and feeling completely overwhelmed and frankly dreading the idea of getting in front of the camera. I felt like all the pressure of the world’s weight was bearing right down onto me. It was simply awful.

Why I feared presenting more than anything else

Fear is very much anxiety driven. As much as one might want to avoid the fear, doing so means that the fear only gets worse, rather than better.

Say you fear heights. You’ll do everything in your power to not go near situations that involve heights ie. plane travel, treetop walks, lookouts etc.

But if you avoid it over and over, it only makes the fear worse because you have never experienced what you are capable of and what you can do in those situations.

Now that I have calmed down a bit and can present rather normally, I have broken down my troubles into some key dot points:

1. I felt that there was so much pressure to ‘perform’ to the same standard as my peers
2. I felt that I would stuff it up and make a fool of myself
3. I felt that people watching the video could see my nervousness
4. I felt that there was no escape from that awful feeling

But, to counteract those thoughts, is this:

• You can only do as best you can with presenting
• You won’t stuff up because you’ve done it so many times before
• You won’t let anxiety get the better of you because you know you can do it confidently and professionally
• People can’t tell if you’re nervous, unless they pay too close of attention
• The more you present, the easier it gets

Learning to accept fears as opportunities

Now that things have calmed down a bit, I understand full well that I can present videos because:

1. I have done it before and will do it again
2. I bring good energy to each of my videos
3. I enjoy presenting to an audience
4. I want to represent the brand well
5. I want to help people find the car they want to buy
6. Life moves on and this video isn’t the be-all end-all!

Now that is all in perspective, it’s back to regular programming.

Love,

Zak