I Love Nervous Clients

There are more cameras and screens and ways to pump out content now than ever before in human history. But not everyone was destined for, or even has a desire to be in the limelight. Growing up, it was a big deal if someone you knew appeared on television. I’ll never forget watching my cousins on an episode of Bozo the Clown (dating myself, I know), and when I was in high school, the local news station came into my biology class. That made for a fun family dinner huddled around our TV.

The point here is that you once could go an entire lifetime without setting foot in front of a camera, but now it’s nearly impossible to avoid the lens. This means that the playing field has been leveled. Now, in addition to all of the hats business owners have to wear, they must include ‘actor’ (or at the very least, social media personality) somewhere in the mix. Some make this look easy, while others would rather do anything else. It’s the nervous folks that I have so much fun working with. Not because I like to see them stressed out, but because I get to set them at ease. Here are a few reasons why I love working with nervous clients.

Nervous clients are coachable

In my experience, I have come to find that the folks who are shaking in their boots are often the ones desperately looking for direction. They want to do a good job, but they also just want to survive the shoot and move on to their next task (far away from a camera). As the director and producer of each shoot, I’m constantly looking for opportunities to align my creativity to the client’s vision, and if they’re not prepared to deliver in a way that solidifies that connection, nobody will be happy with the result.

Confident clients are much more opinionated and vocal about what they feel is best. Even if they don’t have a background in video production, they’ll be quick to express their ideas and usually won’t settle until it’s put into practice. Those who are a bit more anxious, need someone to come along beside them and show them (not just tell them) what the video calls for. These interactions are the ones that create lasting relationships and in many cases, repeat business. Coachability trumps confidence every time.

Nervous clients are efficient

I’ve had the joy of working with organizations of all sizes; from a ‘mom & pop shop’ to a 9-figure tech company, and I’ve noticed an underlying theme. It doesn’t matter the size of your organization, because at the end of the day, you’re still only filming a few people or less at a time. Inevitably, you’ll have a mix of confident people and camera-shy people, with the majority landing on the latter. Here’s the best part of all this: nervous people are simply more efficient.

You might think this would be just the opposite, but here is why I believe this to be true. Nervous people are not looking to drag things out. They want to deliver their lines and quietly exit the room as quickly as possible. As a result, they’ll take your feedback to heart (coachable) and do their best to get it right the first time. They are not concerned with sharing their own ideas and derailing the shoot because that would involve more takes, aka more time in front of the camera. This allows you to follow the plan and execute the solid production quickly, which everyone (especially your nervous clients) will appreciate.

Nervous clients are more impressed with the final result

Quick note here – I love working with all of my clients, but this post was inspired by the nervous ones who have helped me see things differently. In my experience, nervous clients are generally more impressed with the final result. Now, I’m no psychologist, but I imagine it has something to do with some fairly low expectations set by the client. This is likely a self-image thing, and not something you can (or even should) try to fix.

Think about it for a second. If you don’t want to be in front of the camera, there’s usually a reason. It could be that you’re unprepared, or maybe you don’t like the sound of your voice. It could be the fact that there will be other people (often peers) watching you go through the process. Maybe someone once told you that you have a face for radio… don’t believe such lies. All that to say, you’ve probably set the bar pretty low and if anything looks halfway decent, you may be pleasantly surprised. Confident folks will often have grandiose ideas for what the final product should be, setting themselves up for disappointment if it does not exactly match their expectations. Nervous people will just be glad it’s over, and they don’t look foolish on screen.

So what if you’re nervous too?

All this talk about nervous clients, but if you’re getting started in video production, I can imagine you’re pretty nervous too! Excited, sure. But nervous nonetheless. Friend, this is just a reminder that you are human and that’s a good thing! This means you care and genuinely want to do a great job. The quicker you can get out of your own way, though, the better. So how can you do that? Relax…

There is nothing wrong with spending a bit of time getting to know your clients before and during the shoot. You’re going to be spending the next few hours with each other, so you might as well learn more than their first name. This will help build a connection and immediately set you both at ease. You can also take a moment to walk your client through the storyboard and explain your process. This will set the right expectations while positioning you as the expert when it comes to capturing the best content. In many cases, people get anxious because they don’t know what’s expected of them. If you can pull back some, if not all of the curtain ahead of time, that may help calm some nerves early on as well.

Lastly, remember that you’ve been hired to do a job. This job is about your client, not you. It’s okay to feel nervous, but you are responsible for helping your nervous client look good on camera, and your focus should be entirely on doing just that. Pay more attention to your client and the details around them than what you’re wearing or the fact that you tripped when walking in the door. The more you focus on serving, the less you’ll worry about missing the mark. Henry Ford said it best: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Get out there and start serving your clients. With your focus on them, you’ll have no problem creating something amazing.

 P.S. For more help with nervous clients, check out this video and learn what it takes to Get Comfortable on Camera.