Notice the huge wave of online videos today? People are now making videos for everything from a “how-to” to a “how-dy”. Unless you’re a born stage-performer, you enjoy being the center of attention, or you love being filmed, getting into the groove of this video-ized world is overwhelming. Although technology has eased the efforts required to generate a video, getting used to the limelight is an entirely different matter. Half the population consider themselves shy and/or introverted. More than half are unhappy with their appearance. So why has making a video become so important for those simply trying to build a business?

So many people are offering similar opportunities and/or products. Creating a personal brand is essential for building your business because it distinguishes you from everyone else. You want people to know who you are so that they will create a connection with you. By using video, you are providing people with more than a face to associate to your name and message. A video provides people with an overall impression of you. This impression is a major contributing factor to your personal brand.

Although videos have been around for quite some time, they have only recently become more popular as the latest and greatest means for one-way communication. Prior to these videos, email and text messages were the way to go. As most people know, email and text messages are often misunderstood because of the difficulty in conveying emotion via the written word alone. Intended emotion is left to the reader’s interpretation, which is often skewed based on mood, misconceptions, past experience, etc. By using video, recipients will be provided with facial expression and tone of voice.

Even though most people believe the video medium will bridge the gap left open by the written word, reality is that most people pre-judge others based on appearance, posture, voice projection, mannerisms, etc. This can easily be illustrated by the story of Susan Boyle on the television series “Great Britain’s Got Talent”. Majority of the audience, including the judges, pre-judged Susan Boyle’s ability to sing; pre-judged her talent, before hearing her perform. It was a rude awakening for many people to witness this injustice and realize the part they play. Unfortunately, reality is this injustice prevails, even after this widespread reminder.

Whether or not most people realize it, those who are shy and/or introverted are too often unjustly misunderstood, underestimated, and overlooked from the get-go. As such, the burden lies on those misunderstood to change how they come across. Because you want to leave an accurate impression of your passion and abilities, you will need to record videos that reflect who you are, sharing the message you intend. People who are camera shy typically need to work on this, and practice, as their focus is obstructed. Unfortunately, a person’s obstructed focus inevitably leads to mis-representations and inaccurate impressions. Whether you create a video in private, talking to someone you’re most comfortable with as you’re being videotaped or you practice over and over again until you come across as intended, stick with it, as your brand makes a difference to so many people who you’ll connect with. Those connections are not only essential for building your business, but they are essential for relationships you were intended to build.

Sending an abundance of love, light, good health, wealth, and happiness!

BJ and Jodi Hudak

P.S. If you would like to work with us, please contact us.