Gone are the days when we had to stand in front of the class to give presentations. While this is great news for many shy students, online learning brings different challenges. It’s pretty common for teachers to cold-call students and asks them to turn on their webcam and answer questions. Teachers do this to make sure you’re actually taking the class and paying attention to the lecture. Moreover, many students use do my class online services and let others take their classes for them.
Hence asking students to turn on their cameras in class is an all-rounder solution for teachers to ensure productivity. However, many students hate their classes because of this because they’re too uncomfortable to turn on their video. If you can relate to this, don’t think about skipping your classes. This article will help you to overcome your camera shyness using expert tips. So let’s begin!
1. Embrace Camera Shyness
Let’s start with accepting that it is completely fine to be shy – you are not alone in this! Many students struggle with shyness during their school and college days, so it’s totally normal. You may find it hard to believe but there are many others who feel exactly the same way as you in front of the camera. Even celebrities from huge film industries have struggled with camera shyness. Hence, remind yourself that being camera shy is not a huge weakness and definitely not the end of the world.
2. Be True To Yourself
Once you accept that you’re camera-shy, you will be able to be yourself. If you’re constantly pretending to be something you’re not, you’ll only be more uncomfortable. Moreover, you’ll get bored and exhausted from putting up a false image after a point. Contrarily, you can bring out your best self if you start embracing who you are before you work on yourself. Remember that the goal is to improve yourself and not change yourself because that’s just impractical and cruel. So learn to be yourself and you’ll be calm enough to overcome your shyness.
3. Wear Something Comfortable
You can’t feel comfortable on the inside if you’re uncomfortable on the outside. Your appearance does matter to some point but it isn’t just restricted to the clothes you wear. If you look around, you’ll find many people wearing the trendiest clothes, yet looking like they’re struggling and unconfident. However, you can even look your best in clean and simple clothes as long as you’re comfortable. If your clothes don’t fit you well, you’re only going to feel conscious and uneasy. So, look around your closet for something comfortable that suits you and wear it to your class.
4. Practice In Front Of The Camera
The concept of ‘practice makes perfect’ applies to camera shyness as well! You don’t have to jump into situations praying that it works out well for you. If you know you’ll need to turn on your camera and speak, better start practicing beforehand. Turn on your phone or laptop camera and practice common phrases you expect to use in class. If you have to present something, have your speech ready, memorize the main points and practice in front of the webcam. Once you view your recording, you will be able to correct your posture, speaking speed, or any other errors.
5. Trick Your Brain
This hack works for real-life presentations as well as camera shyness – so read carefully! You can trick your brain using the movement of your muscles. Imagine when people win something, what do they do? They throw their hand in the air with a huge grinning smile and say ‘I did it!’ You can do the same to trick your mind into feeling less nervous and more positive. Stand in front of the mirror (if you can), and flash your biggest smile while throwing your fists in the air. You’ll feel a huge change in your mood and perform better.
6. Try To Express More
Just because you have prepared yourself, doesn’t mean you’re going to follow those things robotically. In fact, students who prepare their scripts are actually wasting their time learning it word to word. If you notice someone giving a memorized speech, their face looks pretty awkward as they try to remember the words. Contrarily, smart students simply remember the points and improvise them in front of the class. In this way, you can easily express your ideas without looking expressionless or dull. Finally, think of it as you’re explaining a concept to someone, you’ll be able to relax and talk smoothly.
7. Keep a Bottle of Water With You
Waters can do wonders for your mind, body and camera-shyness! Everyone throws around water as a solution for every problem but in this case, it actually works. When you’re talking frequently or feeling nervous your mouth gets dry. This is because you’re losing water through your breath and by sweating. So always keep a bottle of water nearby in case you feel dehydrated. Also, drinking water will give you a few seconds to calm down and relax during the speech. Furthermore, if you forget a point, you can simply try to remember it while drinking water and not make it obvious.
Conclusion:
Times have changed for students as they switch to online mode of education and this brings new obstacles. One of them is turning on your camera every now and then to answer questions and give presentations. Although this isn’t a situation you can avoid by asking someone to do my class for me online. However, you can always work on overcoming your shyness in front of the camera.
Many students skip their classes and lose grades because they’re trying to avoid awkward interactions. However, you don’t have to do that anymore because you now know the best tips for dealing with shyness. If you’ve reached the end of this article, you are ready to prepare yourself to face the camera. So start using our tips and you’re guaranteed to notice yourself becoming comfortable being in front of the camera.
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