How to Look Confident on Camera, on Zoom and on Stage

It's not about being the center of attention. It's about being the center of influence.

That is what confidence on camera is for, friend. Influence, not vanity.

Your clients meet you on Zoom now, your audience finds you on video and the conference wants you on its stage. Get on camera, get on stage, get ahead.

If you avoid the camera, you are not staying safe. You are handing those rooms to somebody braver (and often less qualified).

Why do I look less confident on camera than I feel?

Because the camera flattens you and magnifies your habits at the same time. The glance down at your notes, the hunch toward the screen and the nervous laugh all get bigger.

Every one of them is mechanical, and that is good news. Fix the setup and the habits, and the confidence shows up on screen before you fully feel it.

How to look confident on Zoom

Raise the camera to your eye line. Stack books under your laptop until you look straight into the lens, not up your own nose (we have all seen that call).

Face the light. A window or a lamp in front of you, never behind you, so your face is the brightest thing in the frame.

Frame yourself from the chest up with a little space above your head. Too close feels like an interrogation and too far feels like you are hiding.

Look at the lens when you make your point, and at the faces when you listen. Eye contact on camera means looking at the little dot, not at the people.

Let your hands into the frame now and then. Hands you can see make you more believable, on screen as in a room.

What to wear on camera

Wear a solid color that flatters your skin, close to your face. Busy prints and tiny stripes dance on screen and pull the eye away from you.

A structured jacket holds its shape when you sit, so you look composed even in a kitchen chair. Add one statement piece near your face and stop there.

Your clothes are the first thing the camera reads, which is why personal style is the first part of your personal brand.

How to look confident on stage

Walk on slower than feels natural, find your spot and plant both feet before you say a word. Then pause, look at one face and begin.

Speak to one person at a time, a sentence to each. A full room becomes a series of short conversations, and those you know how to have.

Let your hands work above the waist, open and visible. Hands in pockets or clasped behind your back tell the room you would rather be somewhere else.

Dress one level above your audience. On a stage, the outfit is part of the talk.

For the full set of signals, read my guide to body language for women in business.

How to stop avoiding the camera

Practice where it costs nothing. Record a one-minute video on your phone every day for a week, and watch every one of them back.

The first few are hard to watch (everybody’s are). By day seven you will see somebody you would hire.

Then use the camera on purpose. Turn it on in every meeting, post one short video a month and say yes to the next stage you are offered.

Confidence on camera is part of your personal brand

On camera, all three parts of your personal brand show up at once: your style, your body language and how you speak. That is why I coach them together.

In FORMULA X, my 12-week personal branding blueprint, we work on all three every week, in a private session and a group session with me.

Friend, the camera is not going away. Let it see the woman your clients already trust.