The Power Of Recording Yourself. From job interviews to Ted Talks, recording yourself can help build confidence.

Article originally posted on Medium.com

Photo by Wix

Yes, we live in the age of selfies. But in all those hours of posing, we’ve learned some pretty valuable information about ourselves, including:

• Which side is our good side

• That taking pictures from low angles creates double chins

• That if I smile at 80% and not 120%, I look less like a horse

You get the idea.

So what happens if we film ourselves speaking or singing? Sure, it feels really weird at first. But eventually, we get to know the part of ourselves that everyone except us gets to experience. If there’s something we don’t like, we now have the power to change it.

Here’s an example.

My step-uncle Paul, a former lawyer, advised my younger sister to record herself as she practiced being interviewed.

“Speed up the playback and you’ll notice patterns.” he said. For instance, you might notice when you get nervous, you reach up and move your hair behind your ear, even if it’s already there. You might use filler words like “uh” or “um” far more than you’d like. All in all, a very useful practice.

So when my students ask what they can do to feel more confident speaking or singing aloud, whether it’s in a classroom for an oral presentation to performing on stage, I say this:

“Record yourself and watch back. Often. As often as it takes until you accept yourself.”

Here’s why I think it works.

1. When you record yourself alone, you’re safe knowing nobody can see or hear your mistakes. You get to choose where and when you record yourself so you can feel as comfortable as possible, while also knowing you have the power to press delete afterward if you so choose.

2. Most of us don’t want to make mistakes on a recording so the pressure of knowing a camera is on you simulates the pressure of having real eyeballs present and watching. For myself, personally, I know that when I feel confident doing something on camera (reciting a poem, giving a talk, etc.), I feel THAT much more confident in my ability to do it in front of an actual audience.

So give it a try!

Got a different technique? I want to hear about it! Let me know in the comments.