On-Camera Confidence Training: What Actually Works

Auto-transcribed and lightly corrected for names.

[00:00] Jeff Shelley

You're duplicating yourself. You're putting yourself out there so that they can catch up with you when they're ready. It's not about you, it's about everybody else.

[00:07] Melinda Shelley

And the difference you wanna make in the world. Yeah. Like video is the easiest way to magnify. It's about working smarter, not harder.

[00:13] Chris Schwager

Hi, I'm Chris Schwager, a video coach and founder of the Complete Video Success System, and I've spent decades helping professionals create high-impact videos that build trust, generate leads, and drive business success. And if you've ever felt unsure or underprepared or just plain awkward with video, this is for you. I'll give you the mindset and strategies to take control, build video confidence so that you show up like a pro. It's time to make your videos work for you Welcome to the Video Commons Collective. Melinda and Jeff are joining us on the show. Melinda and Jeff run 123Read2Me together, and we're gonna learn all about what that is, getting books into kids' hands so they can learn to read. Jeff, you're also the, uh, Liberal Party candidate for the seat of Carrum in the Victoria, Victorian state election. About four, say three or four months ago, you guys bought into the Desktop Video studio and the, uh, video coaching, which you've been high attendance on that, and supporting each other through your own content creation for each of your brands. Now, for the campaign and for 123Read2Me, you guys both have, well, sort of independent usages for this, but I think one of the most common things is invest hard, go hard, do it properly first go, and then learn the ropes and learn the skills and the mindset needed to c- carry out this craft in the long term. Do, do I have that about right? And welcome to the show.

[01:34] Melinda Shelley

Thank you. Spot on.

[01:35] Jeff Shelley

You have it exactly right. Yes. Thank you. We've both got separate needs for it, uh, but we both acknowledge that we've gotta be professional. We've gotta be seen to be standing out and being different to the average punter.

[01:47] Chris Schwager

Well, you two don't just run the 123 Read2Me together. You film for each other. You edit for each other. You, um, support each other's businesses, which is good. And tell me about the, that side of things. Like, how is that going? You know, it's still early days for you both, still finding your feet and learning new things, not only about the equipment, wonderful equipment that you've got in front of you, but also the stuff that you're doing out on location.

[02:08] Melinda Shelley

Well, sort of like, um, what I find is Jeff come home and I'll say, "Did you capture any video?" And he'll go, "Oh."

[02:16] Jeff Shelley

Meant to do that.

[02:17] Melinda Shelley

But it's, it's learning to think differently, 'cause it's starting to see... It's one thing to go out there and be busy. It's another thing to actually capture that so then other people can see what you're doing, which is what I see the value of video. It just magnifies your message.

[02:31] Jeff Shelley

Documentary style, just keep recording, what am I doing day, day-to-day. Same with Melinda with the charity. What are we doing? Getting lots of, of hours of tape so then we can cut and shut and use it to, to promote the cause that we're both quite passionate about.

[02:47] Chris Schwager

And, you know, you would probably realize by now the impact that that level of visibility, even though it's very early for you, is already having on- Your businesses on the familiarity on you guys showing up in ways that you never were able to show up. Is that, is that what's happening so far?

[03:07] Melinda Shelley

Well, a lot of it is like, um, what I find is when I meet people, they go, "Oh yeah, I've seen it. I've seen it on your Facebook page. I've seen it on LinkedIn." So it's like it's preceding me. Yeah.

[03:16] Jeff Shelley

The sort of reactions that I'm getting to the stuff that we're posting on my sites and my pages is seem, seems to be a little bit more or, or higher quality reactions too. So we're getting good, good coverage because we're a little bit more professional. We're standing out a bit more.

[03:34] Chris Schwager

And people, people know what you stand for. They understand your philosophy and your thinking and more about y- you guys beyond- It's getting a mes-

[03:44] Melinda Shelley

it's getting a message clear. So then it's sort of like, 'cause everyone's busy and, you know, and there's so much bombarding you. It's like how do you stand out? How do you get that, that signal through all the noise? And well, that's been the, the most helpful thing I think with Chris, your expertise in being able to go, "Well, just chop that out and chop that out, and then put that at the front rather than at the end." All those sort of practical day-to-day tips that, you know, it's a steep learning curve for me. That's what I find such great value.

[04:12] Chris Schwager

Yeah. Well look, I mean, I know with the stuff just recently with Jeff has been a bit of an eye-opener I think in just clarity around, you know, how simple this can be for people. Sure. Just takes a little bit of forethought at your end to be able to facilitate that. But it comes back to that logical brain really, the pragmatic side of this. How would people on the other end of this interpret how this is coming across? You know, is this, are we delaying the inevitable here? Like are we getting 30 seconds into the video before we're actually giving them the hook? Um, and those sort of things I think you guys have had, you know, aha moments on. Um, has swapping- Yeah ... sides for each other, you know, being on different sides of the camera and whatnot, as well as, uh, you know, in front of your own, sending your own message, um, you know, how, how has that changed how you feel about being on camera yourselves?

[05:01] Melinda Shelley

Um, well I'm finding my confidence is increasing, and my not so worried about what other people think and the judgment that, that come, c- could come with it. It's sort of like that, I suppose your analogy of like it's just a hat. Like just put it, put it on, do it, forget about it, and then move on to the next thing.

[05:21] Jeff Shelley

And I'm, I'm finding- Yeah ... sa- the same sort of thing. But the fact is, it's out there for when people are ready to find it, so that I don't have to keep answering phone calls and talking to people. Pushing the information out there, and that way they get to see who and what I am at their leisure, which is much more effective today. What were you doing before all this? Were you do- have you dabbled in video much at all?

[05:45] Melinda Shelley

A little bit of, um, trying to capture it, but not so much of the, um, I suppose expertise behind it. So it was sort of a bit hit-and-miss. Um, I look back at things and like, oh, that's a bit, way too long, and, and what was the through line? And which is good, 'cause I'm starting to see, you know, how I've improved. But you have to have a before to, to get the after, so.

[06:07] Jeff Shelley

I think the biggest thing for us has been getting the thinking right first, getting clear what's the message, how are we gonna deliver this?

[06:14] Melinda Shelley

And not, not winging it. Like you go, oh, you start recording and then you go, "Oh, what do I actually wanna say, and what I, what's the message and what's the purpose of it?"

[06:23] Chris Schwager

Just quickly, if you're ready to take control of your video production but feel stuck, check out the Video Confidence Collective. It's live coaching and a supportive community that's got your back. We cover four essentials:

[06:33] Jeff Shelley

tech, messaging, on-camera presence, and implementing what you learn, so you can create consistent, confident content that truly connects. Links in the show notes. Now back to the episode.

[06:42] Chris Schwager

Jeff, uh, than- thanks for just coming on, uh, yourself, and just giving us a little bit of a, more of a clear understanding from a political perspective, which is quite interesting. I think you might be the first politician to actually invest in the, in the studio. And, uh, you know, you're now the Liberal candidate for Carrum. Um, what made you decide that the studio was worth investing in and, uh, that you wanted to go into it?

[07:03] Jeff Shelley

I think this look at the moment, the fact that I can have a campaign backdrop behind me that is going to communicate a message in its, in its own right. And that I can talk direct to camera, either with or without a teleprompter, if I'm explaining something, if I'm trying to communicate something that's a bit more complex. So I like the fact that it's all here, and it's available when I'm available. I can walk in at 7:00 in the morning, I can do it at 10 o'clock at night. It's bang, ready to go whenever I want to use it. So what were you doing before this? Um, using the iPhone, doing, trying... I could, I could not get selfies. Um, and I discovered if I actually use my left hand, it works better than my right hand. Which is, which is interesting, being right-handed. So, uh, it was very much hit-and-miss, and very, I, I hesitate to say unprofessional, but it is unprofessional. Um, there's a standard that the desktop studio provides, which means you look good, the lighting is right, the sound is right, the framing is right. It's th- then it's just the message, and it's so much easier to deliver the message when you've got all this fantastic equipment around you Like I don't have to think about it.

[08:20] Chris Schwager

Yeah, absolutely. And what, what are the some of the surrounding elements around you show up each week, you do the reps, you do the coaching, you get reviews of your, of your content. Just tell me about that and what, what your feedback is on that.

[08:31] Jeff Shelley

It's, it's interesting. When the campaign started, I thought, "Look, I, I really gotta get out there and talk to people. I shouldn't be spending an hour every week doing the, the video collective." But it's actually an incredibly valuable time to spend because even if I'm not, um, being featured in the issues that I'm talking about or want to talk about, I learn from each of the other c- participants what they're up to. Um, just the fact that, you know, getting clear in the thinking, getting clear on the, in the message, what the hook is. Look, it's just a hat. It's not a big game changer if you get it wrong. All of these little tips and tricks add up to giving me confidence that I can do it, that it's, it's actually not difficult to do. It's just trying a, a new hat on and getting used to it. The Video Confidence Collective is, is a essential part of my week to learn, develop, to grow, to make it easier for myself so that when I do sit down and do it in front of the camera myself, I'm more professional, I'm more relaxed, and it just sets me apart from all the competition.

[09:38] Chris Schwager

Tell me about some of the results that you've seen so far, uh, either from the videos that you're, uh, produced or just general confidence.

[09:44] Jeff Shelley

I think it's just practice as well because where I would just try and wing it, and, "No, I'll be fine," I ramble on, ended up over here, I should be over there. So all of that sort of stuff's gone out the window now. I- I'm still not 100% to where I wanna be in terms of getting clear in my thinking. But the clarity, the, like the understanding underneath it all of what is the hook, get that grab right at the start, keep it tight, keep it flowing so that it makes sense to people, that's, that's all the stuff that I can now work with, whether I'm on the studio, whether I'm out in the field with the iPhone, whether somebody else is trying to direct me the wrong way. Um, I now have a, a much greater confidence in video and being able to just- communicate one-to-one with people when they're ready to view the video. That's, that's the fascinating part about it to me. It's a one-to-one communication with the delay on the other side so that when they're ready, they can watch it, they can get the message, and I've, I do it once and it's out there f- for all time. It's great. That's one of the things I love about this, the training and the stuff you do, is that it challenges us to do better. And from books to video, what was the gap you

[11:06] Chris Schwager

and Jeff saw that made you start all this video stuff?

[11:10] Melinda Shelley

Well, one of it, part of it is about getting a message out there, that, um, you know, there's only so many hours in my day, and only so much energy, and how do I work smarter, not harder? And being able to magnify the message so more people can hear about it. I don't have to repeat it over and over again. And, um, and then we can actually create, um, assets for other people to share with their networks, which means they get to hear it firsthand rather than other people feeling like they have to understand why I'm doing it and how to do it. They just click on a video and share it.

[11:43] Chris Schwager

And has b- there been a moment in the last, um, you know, three or four months where something's just clicked? There's been that moment where you go, "This is, yeah, this is actually now making sense and working"?

[11:53] Melinda Shelley

It's gradually evolving where, um, the... It's been a steep learning curve from that confidence in being able to know what I would want to say and, and getting over the judgment of what I look like and what a lot of the people think, to actually keep front and center is these children, and the purpose of it is to get more books and more people to support me, which means more children will get more books, which is the whole reason why I started it in the first place.

[12:20] Chris Schwager

You sit right on the edge of education. Schools, literacy teachers, if a principal, a trainer, or, um, a- an academic was sitting where you were three months ago telling themselves, "I'm not a good person for video," what would you actually say to them now?

[12:35] Melinda Shelley

Well, I know this person called Chris, and he runs this amazing program- where you get to log in every week, and he will take you through the practical steps to, um, show you where you can improve, um, acknowledge the effort that you've put in, and also get to access other people on that same learning curve, where some are ahead of us, some are, like, just starting. And it's sort of having that, I suppose, community where we all want to improve and get better. So there's a bit of a, a, a built-in cheering squad to keep going and keep improving and push through that uncomfortable not knowing to move into the knowing. And then, then you have some confidence, which then is, that builds on itself, and then you get to, to, to expand your message so more people can hear it.

[13:24] Chris Schwager

Let, let's wrap up. We'll get you both back on now.

[13:26] Melinda Shelley

Yep.

[13:27] Chris Schwager

Um, share the mic. Do you want a neutral background? It's fine. No, no. Oh, that's, that's okay. So s- s- since you've, since you've... Is it easy to do? Yeah. Go on then,

[13:41] Jeff Shelley

turn it on. There we

[13:42] Chris Schwager

go. There. How neutral. There you go, books. I love that. Very good. So good. The power and simplicity of the

[13:52] Jeff Shelley

fantastic Ridge Films home studio.

[13:56] Chris Schwager

Since you've both been consistent on video,

[13:59] Jeff Shelley

uh, what's actually shifted for the charity, for the campaign, or just for the two of you as a team? The goal to be more professional, and we seem to be more professional.

[14:10] Melinda Shelley

And even, even just being on Zoom calls, 'cause we've had a few. We've just had, um-

[14:14] Jeff Shelley

Oxford University Press ...

[14:16] Melinda Shelley

Oxford Uni-versity Press found us online, then we had a Zoom call with them on Friday, and they have, they have the... Each of their staff have two days a year to volunteer. So in our conversation I was saying, "Well, you have all that level of expertise that maybe you'd like, might like to help me, you know, create our own books or, you know." So she said, asked me just to write up what my wish list is, and we'll see what we can make happen. So-

[14:42] Jeff Shelley

So instead of them coming down to the warehouse and sorting books, for example, we get to use their expertise, their knowledge, and advance the charity that way. It's a different way of volunteering.

[14:53] Chris Schwager

So beautiful. Love it. So tell me, what- what's it like supporting each other through this, on top of everything else that you've got both going on?

[15:00] Melinda Shelley

I think, I think it's just, um, working smarter. Like, it's like, and then it's like, oh, we've got it, and then we can reuse it and repurpose it. So-

[15:10] Jeff Shelley

And we can hold each other to account. Like, it's far too easy to not do these things. You know, I've been out door knocking for hours today. Come home, just want to relax, and Melinda's going, "Oh, no, you've got to do this podcast." And you go, "Uh, ugh. Ah."

[15:24] Chris Schwager

Back

[15:25] Melinda Shelley

alone. "Yeah, okay." Mind you, mind you, you did come home and tell me how you got caught in the rain. I said, "Did you capture it?" 'Cause for a lot of people, to see their candidate out in the rain gives a level of, like, genuineness and seriousness. Yeah. You're not just turning up- Yeah ... for the photo op and waltzing away.

[15:40] Jeff Shelley

Yeah. Yeah. But I get into that-

[15:42] Melinda Shelley

Then he forgot to re- record it. So- I

[15:44] Jeff Shelley

get into action mode, and I'm focusing on what I'm doing rather than half my brain going, "Oh, I've got to take a shot of this, and I've got to film that."

[15:52] Chris Schwager

Yeah.

[15:53] Jeff Shelley

And you know- Which is why it's always better to have somebody coming with you, so they can do that sort of stuff.

[15:57] Chris Schwager

Yeah, yeah. And, and I

[15:58] Jeff Shelley

think

[15:59] Chris Schwager

Melinda's point might not be about, oh, coming up with a full-blown script that you gotta do a narration over, but literally pull out. In that case, you know, you're talking about potholes and w- and rain and water, right? You could pull out and go- Jeff Shelley here, just checking in. Another rainy day- Yeah ... more potholes created and no one to fix those.

[16:19] Jeff Shelley

Yeah.

[16:20] Chris Schwager

Or something like that, right? Exactly. And then-

[16:22] Jeff Shelley

Yeah.

[16:22] Melinda Shelley

Well,

[16:23] Chris Schwager

even down to- That's it. That's it. Like 10 seconds, Jeff, right? 10 seconds. Yeah.

[16:26] Melinda Shelley

Well, even down to repeating what people have said to him. Yes. Like, 'cause it's like- Yes ... today I heard this and this, and some of the stories are just-

[16:33] Jeff Shelley

Yeah ...

[16:34] Melinda Shelley

horrendous. But to be able to magnify it, then people go, "Oh, no, you really are listening to me-" Yes ... 'cause you're telling people what I've told you." 'Cause often it goes in one ear and you never hear it of again politically.

[16:46] Chris Schwager

Yeah. Look, I, I'm, I'm playing to this concept for both of you to dial up 10X whatever you're currently doing. Why do we bother with all this video stuff? Uh, remember these moments where, in my case last week, I was walking along the road here in Marrickville, and this guy goes, "Chris Schwager." And he points right at me, passing each other on the street, and he goes, he goes to me, "Daniel Gillespie." And I recognized the name, and it was a guy I went to school with, and I think I used to work with him at McDonald's. So I, so this is 30 years ago, right?

[17:18] Jeff Shelley

Huh.

[17:19] Chris Schwager

30 years ago. I wouldn't have recognized the guy walking along the street, but because he's introduced himself. And the only reason he recognized me was because of my content- Yeah 'cause he'd been following me. You know what the first thing he said to me? "I watch your videos." The good.

[17:35] Jeff Shelley

Hmm.

[17:36] Chris Schwager

And that was the familiarity that he needed with me. I didn't necessarily have it with him, 'cause I'm the minority of people that publish because I value video as a way to digitize myself and become more familiar because I'm trying to run a business here.

[17:51] Jeff Shelley

Hmm.

[17:51] Chris Schwager

And so just remember, whatever you're currently doing and the bottlenecks that you're currently experiencing, and this is about tomorrow's session as well around workflow, is finding ways to cut the shit out of it. Hmm. Cut those steps out and get to the end goal, which is in front of people. Yeah.

[18:10] Melinda Shelley

Yeah. And

[18:11] Chris Schwager

as soon as that happens, you'll increase your visibility. But holding back and looking for perfection or going, "Oh, that really needs to be edited," or that, or, "Can't use that. Uh, can't really say it like that." Yeah,

[18:25] Melinda Shelley

yeah.

[18:25] Chris Schwager

Nobody gives a shit. Yeah. I don't think anyone cares. I mean, and Jeff, you've got some, some, uh, tape to put over your mouth at times and all that. I, I get all that. I don't know, that was a bit of a random, a random way to describe, um, uh, you know- Yeah ... compliance or whatever you wanna say, but- Yeah ... um, but you know, you know, you know your stuff, right? Yeah. And it's just, it's just looking for nuances and ways to just have that in your trailing mind there at times to go, "Oh, I'll be able to quickly bang this out. I'll be able to pop this together." Um, and it may be that it's 10 seconds, 15 seconds. Yeah. It may not be this big, long-winded one-minute activity that you gotta, that you gotta go through. Yeah. So that's just a couple of tips ahead of our se- session tomorrow. I hope you guys are, are around.

[19:09] Jeff Shelley

Yep.

[19:09] Chris Schwager

Melinda and Jeff- Oh thanks so much for coming on. Um, look, I just would, before, before we wrap up, in one sentence for each of you, what would you tell someone who's s- who's scared of being on camera?

[19:21] Melinda Shelley

Well, like anything new, it's like find someone who's really good at it, and, um, get them to teach you how to do it, 'cause that's what I did.

[19:30] Jeff Shelley

And it's not about you, it's what the other people get out of it. 'Cause you're, you're duplicating yourself, you're putting yourself out there so that they can catch up with you when they're ready. And it's not about you, it's about everybody else.

[19:42] Melinda Shelley

And the difference you wanna make in the world.

[19:44] Jeff Shelley

Yeah. '

[19:45] Melinda Shelley

Cause it's that, like video is the easiest way to magnify, unless you wanna spend all your day and then you wear yourself out. But- Hmm ... you know, it's about working smarter, not harder.

[19:54] Chris Schwager

True. Guys, thank you so much for today. Uh, for those that are interested in, in learning a bit more about 123Read2Me, go to 123Read2Me, what a mouthful, uh, readtome.com.au, and you can go and connect with Melinda there, as well as Jeff.

[20:12] Jeff Shelley

Jeffshelley.com.au That's the simplest way

[20:16] Chris Schwager

There you go. And, uh, go check out what they're doing. You're gonna see- Yeah ... more improvements coming to videos near you as they continue their rollout. Okay? This is still early days. Um, and just through some of the stuff that you've learned in today's session of how to treat content, it's a hat. As they say, it's a hat, not a tattoo. And that gives you ability to, uh, to do things faster and shed some of that evil skin that might be shaking you from doing all that wonderful content for people to truly see your visibility and your true gift to the world. Okay? That's it for me. See you next time on the Video Confidence Collective.

[20:54] Chris Schwager (show outro)

Thanks for listening to the Video Confidence Collective podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and subscribe to us on YouTube so you never miss an episode. For more resources, check out the show notes and follow me at Chris Schwager or Ridge Films, and see you on the next episode.