These were the devastating words I heard from a casting director during one of my first ever auditions for TV work back in the early 90s. And it wasn’t for the reason you might think, despite me putting off pursuing my acting career until I was ‘thin’ enough!
I had spent weeks preparing for this opportunity, rehearsing so that every nuance of the dramatic monologue was perfectly executed. If this casting director liked me, it could have been my big break; he was casting for a number of new Australian TV dramas and films.
I emoted my way through the intense monologue and even ended with actual tears. I thought I had nailed it.
Then the first devastating and crushing blow…
The casting director started laughing.
He asked me if it was meant to be a comedy scene.
Errr, no, could he not see the heartache and trauma my character was expressing?
Nope, apparently all he saw on the small monitor on which he was viewing my performance was a super expressive, overly animated, over the top rendition of the piece. I was so embarrassed, mortified in fact.
In my eagerness to impress, I had completely forgotten everything I had learned about film performance. I had made the rookie mistake of thinking that my dramatic stage performance (where you need to ensure the people in the back row of the theatre can see and feel your emotion) was similar to a performance for a small screen where everything is magnified. Its why brilliant film actors don’t need theatrics; they can move their eyebrow a millimetre and communicate so much.
As I left the audition my eyes stung with tears of humiliation, regret and self-loathing. I thought I had just ended my acting career before it even started…
Turns out that was one of the best learning experiences of my life. In the years following I made more mistakes, but I also honed my on-camera skills and thankfully had many more opportunities.
Later when presenting as myself rather than a character, I had to learn to strike a balance between allowing my passionate personality, animated facial expressions and my naturally ‘big’ gestures with coming across effectively on the small screen. Thankfully I have learned how to rein it in a little bit, but I’m also comfortable with being ‘too big for TV’ on occasions – after all people want us to be authentic online, don’t they?
So how do you feel about being on camera? Do you struggle with any of these challenges?
- You’re worried that you don’t look professional in online meetings
- You are ‘too big for tv’
- You struggle to communicate affectively on Zoom calls
- You lack confidence when you’re on video
- You hate being in front of the camera and avoid it if possible
If so, I would love to help you. I have a brand new one-to-one coaching offer called Va Va Zoom – Power Up Your Online Presence priced at just £97 for a limited time. You can find all the details here.
Mel Sherwood is a spoken communication specialist and the author of 'The Authority Guide to Pitching Your Business - how to make an impact and be remembered... in under a minute!’ She combines 25 years’ experience in business with a background as an actor, presenter and singer to help business professionals to communicate with confidence, credibility and charisma.
To find out more go to www.melsherwood.com.