July 17, 2024 • 29 mins
Can video really transform the traditionally audio-only podcasting space? In this episode of Communication Connection Community, we explore this intriguing question with our special guest, Loreta Tarozaite. Loreta, the founder and CEO of Loreta Today, shares her wealth of knowledge from over 20 years in video storytelling and corporate communication. From her beginnings as a TV news anchor in Lithuania to her current role in the U.S., Loretta provides a fascinating look at the common pitfalls executives face on camera and offers actionable strategies to avoid them.
We dive deep into the significance of executive visibility, particularly through platforms like YouTube. Loreta and I discuss how executives, regardless of company size, can leverage video to humanize their brands and enhance their reputations. Through historical examples like Harlan Sanders and Steve Jobs, we illustrate the long-lasting impact of visible leadership. Loreta provides invaluable advice on overcoming the fear of judgment and time constraints that many executives encounter when appearing on camera, emphasizing the power of authentic human connection.
A veteran media professional. Loreta specializes in B2B technology companies in growth-stage and organizations in transitional chaos that need to effectively manage marketing and communications during the fast-moving changes stage.
As a communications and visual storytelling strategist, she helps C-suite leaders and founders elevate their executive and brand presence that unlocks trust, visibility, authority, and impact in the market. She takes you from scrappy to world-class PRESENCE.
Got a question about something you heard today? Have a great suggestion for a topic or know someone who should be a guest? Reach out to us:
askcarl@carlspeaks.ca
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carl Richards (00:04):
Welcome to Communication Connection
Community, the podcaster'spodcast.
This podcast takes a deep diveinto modern day communication
strategies in the podcastingspace.
We chat with interesting peoplewho make the podcasting and
speaking spaces exciting andvibrant.
We also dive into thepodcasting community with news
(00:24):
updates, latest trends andtopics from this ever-evolving
space.
So strap in, it's going to beone amazing ride.
Let's dive into today's episode, and today we are talking about
video.
I know what you're thinking thisis an audio-only podcast.
Why are we talking about video?
It's not that I don't want totalk about video.
(00:45):
It's not even that I don't wanta video podcast or a video
version of this podcast.
I have spent most of my career,my adult life, in the audio
space former broadcaster, so I'mvery comfortable with audio and
I have developed a certaincomfort with video.
But my comfort level reallyreally really is audio and in
the podcasting space.
When my comfort level reallyreally really is audio and in
the podcasting space, when youthink about it, it started in
(01:07):
the audio-only space but it hasevolved immensely.
Video has evolved a lot sinceway back in its early days and
we're talking years and yearsand years that it's evolved.
But the audio-only podcast hasevolved to being video.
We now have podcasts that havetranscription, all kinds of
different elements of thepodcast, so we want to talk
about video today, but if you'rean audio-only podcaster, I want
(01:30):
you to really garner some ofthe information we'll be sharing
today.
And, by the way, not being theexpert on the video platform,
I've, of course, brought in anexpert who can talk about video,
because she spent a lot of timein the video space.
Loretta Terozita is the founderand CEO of Loreta Today, where
she helps technology companiesin transition to effectively
(01:51):
manage the fast-moving growthstage that comes with business
success.
With over 20 years of combinedexperience in broadcast
journalism, video storytelling,corporate marketing and
communication strategydevelopment and executive
on-camera coaching, Loretaunderstands the importance of
corporate and personal brandstorytelling and the impact of
connecting with your audience,and video is her forte.
(02:13):
Who better to talk about itthan Loreta?
Loreta, welcome to the podcast.
Loreta Tarozaite (02:16):
Thank you so much, Carl, for this amazing
introduction and for having meon your podcast.
I really appreciate that.
Carl Richards (02:21):
And this is probably a shock to you it's an
audio only podcast.
Loreta Tarozaite (02:30):
Yes, I for sure, Exactly, and I for sure
you know.
I was rereading your emailright before we jumped on the
recording and you did say it'san audio recording but by
default, you know, make surethat you know it is like by
default.
I'm thinking is always you know, video like for whatever reason
, by default, because it's avirtual environment, it's a Zoom
environment and my defaultthinking is video.
Carl Richards (02:47):
So it's the space you work in as well, and even
for you know, even in the spacethat we see on TikTok and a lot
of other platforms, now, too,there's Reels, there's Shorts,
there's all those otherplatforms.
So, even if it's an audio onlypodcast, a lot of podcasters are
also using reels and shorts,which a lot of them are video
right.
(03:07):
But anyways, I'm glad you'rehere.
That's the most important part.
You showed up.
It's great.
It's great to have you on theshow today.
The biggest pitfalls executivesmake when speaking on video and
how to avoid them that's themain topic we're going to cover
today.
But before we dive into that,loretta, I want to ask you how
did you get into the video space?
Just give me a bit of yourbackground.
Loreta Tarozaite (03:27):
Yeah, I was a TV news anchor and news reporter
back in Lithuania, which is myhome country and that's where my
roots are.
You know, I started in thejournalism environment.
I started in the newsdepartment specifically.
I didn't have a lot of timelearning all the backbones of
journalism in TV, you know,because we ended up moving here
to the United States.
But that background and thatbasis kind of helped me
(03:51):
transform the journalism intobusiness storytelling, into
executive coaching on camera.
You know, when we moved herefirst, it was 2003.
You know, I didn't really knowwhat I will do with all my
knowledge, you know, incommunications and in
broadcasting, because I was notplanning to become a news anchor
here in the United States.
So it took me a while touncover, you know, how these
skills could be transferable tosomething else.
(04:13):
And only through networking,only through people and
conversations, that I kind ofstarted connecting the dots and
people saying, hey, you were inTV, so you should do some video.
You know, and I remember, youknow, in the beginning I was
like, well, what do you meanvideo?
That was way back 2009, I think, when YouTube was just coming
up and I just didn't have anunderstanding back then what you
(04:36):
should do video meant you know.
That's kind of the transitionfrom being a journalist in
television to transforming thoseskill sets and transferring
them to business storytellingand executive communications
through cameras and media 2009,youtube was still in diapers.
Carl Richards (04:53):
It was very, very infancy stages for the platform
, which has now become thisbehemoth of a directory, for if
you want to learn how to bake acake, you go to YouTube.
As a matter of fact, it'sbecome, it's become a verb.
You just YouTube, that right.
It's like.
It's like Google search, right.
Just Google, that right.
It's become a.
It's become a household termthat we use all the time.
(05:14):
Very important, though, if not,then certainly now.
Here we are at the recording ofthis episode in 2024, for
executives especially and whenwe say executives, let's be
clear.
It's not executives incorporations, yes, okay, that's
important too, but an executivecan be somebody in a company
that has five or 10 employeesand you, and maybe one other
(05:34):
person, are the top brass.
It's very important to makesure you're putting your best
face forward every single timethat you are speaking, but
especially on camera.
So let me ask you this howimportant is it for executives
and CEOs to be puttingthemselves out there, as opposed
to, just, say, the marketingperson or some other
representative within thecompany?
Loreta Tarozaite (05:56):
Yes, it is.
One of the things that Inoticed when we moved here is
that the executives and, to yourpoint, you know, not every
executive that we talk about isnecessarily, you know, a big,
large organizations executive,right, but in my mind back then
it was a large corporationsexecutive, right.
They were hiding behind thewalls, right.
So which, by extension, makesthe company less human.
(06:18):
You know, you don't necessarilyunderstand who these people are
that are running the company,who are these idea generators,
who are these engineers ortechnologists or whoever other
types of employees that aredoing the actual work.
You know that would be worthysharing those stories about.
So the reason why it isimportant is because it affects,
you know, the company, right,if you're out there as an
(06:40):
executive visible, if you'reestablishing your authority
online, you know, if youparticipate in different events,
but you know you start gettinginvitations, you start, you know
, representing your company,right, so there's more eyeballs
on your company because of whereyou are and how you represent
that company.
So that is why I see as one ofthe key things, you know, why
(07:01):
executive leadership shouldconsider that.
I know everybody has an excuse Ihave no time.
You know I have limited time orI don't want to deal with that.
I have to prepare.
You know, these excuses doexist for anybody.
Like you know, anybody can findan excuse to do, to not do
something.
You know, I find a lot ofexcuses to not do something, but
(07:23):
just the understanding that inthis day and age, especially
where we have a lot of AI and AIgenerated content to begin with
, I go back to where my initialmission started, you know, when
I realized that these people inthose companies are behind the
walls, my goal was to helphumanize those companies and for
the longest time, thathumanization of the company's
(07:46):
idea was very difficult to adoptin the industry because it is
not something that people thinkabout.
But more and more, even inright now, in current age, you
know, that becomes just abackbone of how we come across.
Are we real?
Are we not real?
Are people putting you knowwords in our mouth and it's just
us as robots?
You know video, you know, forus is still somewhat of a
(08:09):
reality, right, and somebody whoworked in that industry or who
understands video or whounderstands human connection can
have a flavor that it's stillreal, right of that humanization
capacity over the years Again.
Carl Richards (08:27):
Video in its infancy state not YouTube, but
video way, way, way, way backwhen, and I think bigger
companies really latched ontothis.
You know, harlan Sanders wasthe the face and the voice of
Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Dave Thomas, the face and thevoice of Wendy's.
Steve Jobs, the face and thevoice of Apple.
You know, we saw that.
I don't know at what point wegot away from it, or if we did
(08:48):
get away from it.
We should definitely be movingback in that direction.
But what are some of thechallenges that executives have
when they're getting on camera,or maybe what's stopping that?
I mean, you said that it's abusy thing.
It can be.
What are some of the otherchallenges, though, that they
have?
Loreta Tarozaite (09:03):
Yeah, and it's a different thing for each
individual, right.
But one of the biggestroadblocks is the fear of being
judged, because in the end, it'syou on camera, it's nobody else
, it's you.
So let's give an example of thenews.
If a politician says somethingon camera for the news, it's
(09:24):
there, it's in the archivesforever.
Anybody can pull the archivesand compare what you said 10
years ago to what you're sayingright now.
If you're continuing to stay inthe politics, right, and we
have seen that lately in thepast several years, right, the
my flaws, my tics, my whateverI'm about.
That's the biggest culprit.
(09:50):
Now, if we talk about executiveleadership, who are in C-suite,
right.
So, no matter what, they havealready gone through that
training.
They have to go through thattraining, right, because when
you're an executive of a largeorganization, you represent the
company on a completelydifferent level and you have
these teams who train you how toorganization you represent the
company on a completelydifferent level and you have
these teams who train you how totalk with media or how to
(10:11):
present on stage or, for thatmatter, on camera, right.
But even in my experience, eventhose executives sometimes
struggle.
They come in confident into thestudio thinking, oh, I got it.
And then they start giving aninterview and they realize they
didn't get it.
So it's still a lot of coachingjust because camera has that a
(10:32):
little bit of like.
Now it's recorded, now my wordis going to stay forever.
You know people can use itagainst me.
So it's purely fear.
Once you bypass that knowledgethat it's a recording and it's
editable, the goal is not for usto make you look bad unless
we're evil in the organization,but the goal is not to make you
bad as an executive.
(10:53):
The goal is to make you soundgood, look good, and that's why
it's a recording.
Now, obviously, live, live.
We just talked, you know, inthe green room.
Live versus, you know, recordedmessage.
It's different, right, slightlydifferent coaching.
But that's the biggest culpritis the fear, just to know in the
back of your mind that now it'srecorded, now it's purely me,
nobody's faking it, you knowbehind a post.
Carl Richards (11:13):
And it's amazing how daunting or what that fear
can be, because I again, 25years in radio, broadcasting,
fairly confident behind amicrophone, put me in front of a
camera, especially back in the.
There was a brief stint in mycareer where I did live
television and occasionally we'ddo like a telethon type thing
and they're live all the time.
(11:34):
And there's this red light onthe camera staring you in the
eye.
It's that one eye monsterthat's staring right at you and
you're going, but that's so.
I can understand that fear andthat and that bright light.
That's that, that red light,but then the other lights that
are on you.
It's not an environment we'reused to.
Does it deter executives insome cases from putting
(11:55):
themselves forward because ofthe fear?
Is that one of the reasons whythey'll put somebody else out
there?
That's maybe more confident.
Loreta Tarozaite (12:01):
Yes, but that's not the skill.
That's not acquirable.
It's an acquired skill to becomfortable on camera.
And one advice that I normallygive to people is you know,
camera is a very intimate formof communication.
If we think about the stageright, we have live audience.
You have to fill in the stagewith your presence, you have to
walk, you have to kind ofpinpoint the people, make sure
(12:22):
you make eye contact to a degreewith people in the audience
With camera.
When you think about it, peopleconsume content most of the time
on mobile or on PCs or wherever.
They consume the video contentindividually.
They don't necessarily watchvideo content as a group of
people.
So it is very important tounderstand that it's actually
just having a conversation.
You know, I'm just having aconversation with a camera, as
(12:44):
if you were having aconversation with a person
behind that camera.
So just comprehending that thisis actually a person, you just
have to look all the time in thelens for the connection of the
eye purposes.
But it is a single person sortof model.
Again, because of how peopleconsume video content, it's one
on one, it's not groups and one.
Carl Richards (13:04):
And I love that example.
It's one of the things thatit's tough when you're starting
out in broadcasting You've beenin broadcasting, I've been in
broadcasting it's you'respeaking to that audience of one
.
So even when you're craftingyour message, or even if the
message has been crafted for you, you're still speaking to that
one person.
You need to connect with themas their one person and you, you
know the language is so.
(13:25):
I quite often will.
You know in my, in a my pastlife as a as a speaker trainer
as well, now bringing that intothe podcasting space.
You know training people andgiving them some instruction on
when you're sharing your message.
It's not okay Everyone inYouTube land or in podcast land,
it's more you and we and us andyou know really bringing people
(13:45):
in with the language, which,again, it's mindset too, but to
your point, it can be daunting.
Okay, how do I do this thing?
And the technology can be a bitof a fear factor too.
I'm assuming that I know peopleagain from the broadcasting
space and radio.
You put a microphone in frontof them.
They'll talk of a blue streakwithout a microphone in front of
them.
Put a microphone in front ofthem.
Even if they're being recorded,they shut up.
(14:07):
I'm assuming it's the same withvideo.
Loreta Tarozaite (14:08):
Oh, it's just tenfold more because it has a
face to it, right To the voice.
Carl Richards (14:15):
It's not just the voice.
Loreta Tarozaite (14:16):
There's also a face added to it and everything
that comes with it, right?
Like I said, I use a lot ofhands in general, right?
So when I sometimes watch myvideos back, I'm like, oh my God
, I used to be in hands, youknow.
But then in the end it's me.
If I'm not me, then people willmeet and be like, well, that's
a different Loretta over here.
You know, we saw one on camerabut we're seeing a different one
(14:37):
in person and the goal is totranslate that you, who you are
through the lens, and sometimesit is very challenging.
I'm not saying it's easy, youknow, especially who are not
trained to be on camera, who areafraid it's not easy.
You have to start slowly, youknow, step by step.
Just try it out, getcomfortable, record yourself.
Don't publish anything, youknow.
Test it out, hear your ownvoice, watch yourself back, see
(15:00):
what works, what doesn't work.
You know what you notice asticks, right Yourself when
you're in front of the cameraand only when you're comfortable
.
You know, try to publishsomething right.
But you know, I've seen a lot ofvideos with big flops and they
generate a lot of views becauseit's real, it's not faked, right
?
So it's real.
And then people relate torealness.
You know, one of the thingsthat I always say in, in, in, in
(15:21):
my message, you know, is a Ilook at everything from real,
relating lens perspective.
You know, that's kind of my, ofmy, my method.
You know how do we come acrossas real, relatable and pull
people in, you know, throughthrough that perspective, right,
not everything has to beperfect and, trust me, I'm a
perfectionist in general.
When I decided to kind ofuplevel myself as well through
video content specifically, youknow I was going all in into
(15:44):
preparation, setup and, you know, making sure the light is good,
making sure everything isperfect, you know, because, well
, I'm showcasing my background,right, even though tech part is
not my strength, it's morecommunication.
But I felt the pressure that Ihave to show the perfection and
it was a big roadblock to justprogress and do something.
So I nixed everything I said.
(16:05):
You know what, forget about it,people are forgiving.
I have to be real.
If I have a moment and I havean idea, I need to record it.
I need it to be simple.
I can't have this whole setupgoing on, you know, because then
my inspiration will go away, soit's just find simple ways of
doing it.
You go on a walk, just recordwhat you're seeing, just purely
record.
Just talk to yourself.
(16:26):
Nobody knows these days ifyou're talking to yourself or
somebody on the phone.
Carl Richards (16:30):
It's true actually.
Loreta Tarozaite (16:32):
Yeah, and just play it back for yourself to
see how you sound.
You know, and then try torecord the real message of what
you want to share, you know withthe audience, see how that
comes across.
Share it with others.
You're trusted.
You know people in the circleNot necessarily you know family
because they will be nice, butshare with people who are, you
know, in your professionalcontacts, right, because they
will be, you know, more honestand how that comes across.
Carl Richards (16:54):
Great answers and I love the piece where you said
play it back so you see how youlook and you hear how you sound
.
Those are two things thatpeople hate.
A lot of people hate seeingthemselves on camera and they
hate how they sound.
I'm like but that's how yousound, get used to it.
It's how you look, it's how yousound, you have to get used to
it.
You also said something veryinteresting and I'm going to add
(17:14):
a third R to it.
You have to be relatable, youhave to be real and you have to
be relevant.
Loreta Tarozaite (17:20):
Oh yes, One hundred percent.
Carl Richards (17:24):
You need to connect those three R's.
I'll add a third to that.
Loreta Tarozaite (17:26):
Yeah, thank you.
Carl Richards (17:28):
I don't need no royalties for it or rights or
anything.
Loreta Tarozaite (17:31):
I'll underwrite it.
You know Carl Richards idea.
Carl Richards (17:36):
But certainly all of those things are very
important when you're speakingon camera.
I like that you encouragepeople to be a little bit casual
to help them be comfortable.
Personally, I do have a bit ofa vendetta against people who do
the walking and the recording,but that's another story
altogether.
But definitely if you'repracticing, by all means I mean
(17:56):
practice, whatever works,practice, whatever is helping
you be comfortable getting onthe camera so you have that as a
gauge to be able to say, okay,that's what I look like, that's
what I sound like, what are thetics?
What are the tics?
What are the vocal issues thatI have?
What are the facial expressionsthat I should have that I don't
have?
Do I look deadpan?
Do I look smiling more?
I?
It's funny because it wasplaying back a video podcast and
(18:18):
when I get passionate, I getserious.
I don't mean serious.
I know how to paint the smileon.
I know you learn that inbroadcasting, right, paint the
smile on even if you're halfasleep, okay.
But I was so serious aboutmaking some points, about
whatever I was talking about,and I'm playing back the, the
real that this podcaster createdand I'm like, oh, I should have
(18:39):
been, I should be smiling.
I should be smiling, so Iactually put that in the comment
, because he made a commentsaying oh, that was my favorite
clip.
It was great to have you on theshow, carl.
And I said it was great beingyour guest.
I should be smiling.
Loreta Tarozaite (18:54):
Because we don't know what we look like,
right.
Yeah, exactly, and it's notonly on the look of it as well,
but it also changes a little bitof your vocal cords too.
You know, because when yousmile, you come across a little
bit more warm, right, and I getvery passionate as well.
When I believe in something, Iget really just storming towards
it.
You know where people are, likewhoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You know what's going on here.
You know back off, so Iunderstand what you mean.
(19:14):
You know when you're trying toprove a point, how, how you
become this.
You know more serious and morelike a forthcoming, I guess, and
it's not for everybody.
But one thing that you saidearlier the walk and talk right,
the sort of the selfie walk andtalk right.
Yes, you pointed a very greataspect of being professional,
you know.
So it depends what yourbusiness is all about where you
(19:35):
reside in your career.
You know where you are in this,what we call executive mode,
right, are you a small business?
You know owner.
Are you a corporation leader?
Are you a founder?
Are you a middle manager?
Where do you reside?
All of that shapes what yourgoals are in terms of why you
want to use the video as part ofyour.
I guess authority building Sameas podcast authority building,
(19:57):
right, and you know what type ofapproach is suitable, you know
for you, right.
So, yes, not everybody is goodand not everybody will come
across authoritative.
Just you know walk and talk,right.
So, yes, not everybody is goodand not everybody will come
across authoritative.
Just you know walk and talk,right.
If you look at Gary Vee, that'show he started walk and talk.
He sits in the car, he justblurts his ideas and that's how
(20:19):
you learn.
But that's his style.
This style is not for everybody.
You can't imagine a C-suiteexecutive, you know, hopping off
the plane and just likerecording themselves like that.
Carl Richards (20:27):
But it's also a certain personality.
Loreta Tarozaite (20:29):
Yeah, it does take a certain personality right
, so you have to match it towhat's authentic to you.
You can't just copy somebodyelse's mode and say now I'm
going to do the same thing, I'mgoing to replicate, it's going
to work.
Carl Richards (20:42):
No, it has to flow, you know, and just has to
flow what's natural to you.
To that point, though, so manypeople will do that, They'll say
, hey, I saw Gary Vee do it,he's very successful at it, so
I'm going to do the walk andtalk.
And they don't take intoconsideration.
And this is why practice isgood.
Practice makes perfect.
No, perfect practice makesperfect.
A lot of people don't considerI'm walking by a stream which
has noise, or it's a windy day,there's a lot of noise that ends
(21:07):
up cutting out your voice, sothose things.
But, to your point, it doesn'twork for everybody.
You have to find out what worksfor you and don't just do it
because somebody else is doingit.
It doesn't bring about, ordoesn't necessarily bring about,
the best messaging for you.
Just because it does for GaryVee, by way of example, doesn't
(21:28):
mean it will for you.
But that's a very importantpiece I think to reemphasize.
Is that just because somebodyelse is doing it?
It takes me back to when I wason the TEDx stage and one of the
talks that I gave I was on theTEDx stage once as an emcee and
then as a speaker.
The premise of the TEDx talkwas how many people try and
emulate someone else.
I want to be just likeso-and-so.
(21:50):
So, therefore, I'm going to doall the things that they do.
I'm going to walk like them,talk like them, I'm going to
speak like them.
I'm going to do all thosethings that they do, not
realizing that it's notconnecting.
The same way, because the onlyperson who can speak like
Loretta Terozita is LorettaTerozita.
Carl Richards can't speak thatway.
Loreta Tarozaite (22:12):
Exactly, you have to have a specific
Lithuanian accent, that too.
But you know, I have a perfectstory to actually complement
what you just said.
You know, and I did record oneof my you know sort of founder
stories from my background in TVIn my very early career in
television.
So I started as an anchor in asmall business show TV show on
(22:34):
the national television, in asmall business show, tv show on
the national television.
Then I got recruited to be ahost of a docu-series show on
another national televisionstation and I had very big shoes
to fill in because the womanwho pretty much was the brand of
those docu-series, you know,had decided to move on, pursue
some other goals and they'relike, okay, well, maybe let's
try Loretta, put into that spot,you know.
(22:55):
So they recruited me and I was,I don't know, maybe my, even my
, probably first year intelevision to begin with, and in
Lithuania there was no suchthing or I didn't know that it
existed and it was not part ofyou know, journalism curriculum,
when, when I was studying, youknow, broadcast, there were no,
no on-camera coaches.
Nobody coached me how to begood on camera, I just happened
(23:16):
to somehow be comfortable at itfrom the beginning.
But when I was put into theshoes to fill somebody else's
role, I thought I just have tobe like her.
So I did exactly what you justsaid.
I was her, I was attempting tobe her.
How like my enunciations, I wasmimicking.
I was rewatching her videos.
I'm like, okay, this is how shepronounced it because she had
(23:37):
such a massive audience, right.
And I'm like, okay, we need tomaintain the audience.
So now they're transplanting meinto this role and I'm like I'm
failing miserably.
The only advice the producerwas giving during those insert
recordings went into those Okitheory shows.
When it's in studio, just beyourself, just be yourself.
I'm like, well, what the heckdoes that?
Carl Richards (23:57):
mean.
Loreta Tarozaite (23:57):
Be myself Like .
Can you tell me what that means?
Nobody ever told me.
I ended up realizing I'm goingto fail miserably.
I'm going to ruin my reputation.
I need to go back to the newsFirst of all.
That's more my vibe, more mypace.
You know, and as you can tell,I speak past.
You know, docu-series was a bittoo slow and I'm like.
You know what this is not forme.
I'm not doing a good job.
I just need to remove myself,you know, from that environment.
(24:20):
But, I did everything wrong andthat's where I realized, you
know, how important it is tounderstand and uncover yourself,
and I made it a mission formyself.
When I went back, testing itall out on myself, Nobody was
telling me what to do.
You know, here's a teleprompter.
Okay, read it.
Well, how do I read it?
Let me play around and see howI should read it.
(24:43):
You know, it was a journey andwhen I look back I'm like oh my
God, it was so embarrassing.
I was like I was justembarrassed, Everything that we
go through these early careerstages.
Carl Richards (24:54):
It's phenomenal how we can still be alive, based
on some of the things thatwe've done.
Loreta Tarozaite (25:00):
On live television and I was literally
on live television.
Carl Richards (25:03):
I was like, oh my God Well kudos to you for
rising above it and carrying on,despite the fact that it wasn't
exactly your best.
But look at what you do now.
You are the beacon of hope forpeople who need that training
that didn't exist back then.
You help people on that space.
We've covered a lot of tipsalready today, but I wanted to
(25:23):
ask if there were any other tipsor tricks that you wanted to
pass along that help execs be inthat comfort place when they're
on camera.
Loreta Tarozaite (25:32):
I think, first and foremost, you have to
realize if you have that driveright, I mean, if you don't have
the drive, if it's very forced,again, let's define executives.
Sorry, I'm not talking aboutthese C-level executives that
have to go through that training, no matter what.
Let's kind of knock it down abit by a layer, right, Just
identify if this is even yourmedium right, Because if you're
(25:53):
forcing it, even your mediumright, Because if you're forcing
it, it's going to be a longpath to success.
If you realize, okay, yes, Iwant to master the video as part
of communication.
You know, because we're on allthese virtual meetings.
You know, I go and speak onstage, but I would love that
speaking engagement to berecorded.
Right, I do have a lot ofknowledge and I want to share it
with the audiences online,right?
So if that's the medium thatyou want to master, just you
(26:14):
know, go for it.
But if it's not the medium,don't even attempt going there.
Maybe writing is your medium.
I know my medium is not writing.
I like talking and recording avideo.
You know, it's easier for mebecause I just speak.
When I see the blank sheet ofpaper, I blank out, I become the
blank sheet of paper myself.
Carl Richards (26:33):
It remains blank, it just.
Loreta Tarozaite (26:35):
Yes, exactly.
Carl Richards (26:38):
That's a good point, Loreta, that you know,
really, is it for you If not,find something that is as you
said, maybe it's writing?
For me it's mostly the audioplatform.
That's not to say I can'tembrace video, because I can,
and it's great that I can dothat, but if it's not for you,
don't feel pressured to do so.
This has been an amazingconversation.
I could talk to you about thisforever.
(26:58):
I can't.
That's a very long time.
I don't think I have that muchbandwidth on my computer, but I
do want to give you theopportunity, though, if you have
something to pass along to ourlisteners today PDF checklist,
whatever it is that you'd liketo share.
Loreta Tarozaite (27:12):
Yes, thank you .
Thank you for that opportunity,carl.
I appreciate that.
Yes, people can go to mywebsite, lorettatoday, and you
will find there a checklist thatyou can download, presence
checklist.
Specifically One of them.
It kind of has a twofold partOne is executive presence
assessment and another one iscompany presence assessment.
It all weaves a lot of thingsinto it, your communications
(27:34):
aspect, branding things into it.
You know, your communicationsaspect, branding aspect,
everything you know, so you cankind of test yourself and see
where you or your company standswhen it comes to the score and
if you see any gaps.
If you see any gaps and youwant to close them up, obviously
I can, I can help you out.
Carl Richards (27:46):
Phenomenal.
This has been an amazingconversation today.
Loretta Terozaita, before Iturn you loose to go help some
executive in the world be morecomfortable on camera, I'm going
to give you the final thought.
Loreta Tarozaite (27:58):
Final thought is if you pursue video and if
you're representing the companyright or your business, for that
matter, or your startup, try toalign your personal brand
values with your company values,see how they match up, where
they intersect, because you'regoing to be the face of the
company in the end.
So if you're representing yourcompany, and when people engage
(28:18):
with your company, you know,with your teams, with everything
they have to feel that sameculture from you throughout the
organization.
So that would be the bestadvice I guess I could give you.
Know, just make that, make surethat that alignment exists.
Carl Richards (28:29):
That's a great place to leave it.
Loretta Tero Zaita, thanks somuch for being my guest today.
Loreta Tarozaite (28:33):
Thank you for having me, Carl.
(29:31):
We'll catch you next time.
Welcome to Communication Connection
Community, the podcaster'spodcast.
This podcast takes a deep diveinto modern day communication
strategies in the podcastingspace.
We chat with interesting peoplewho make the podcasting and
speaking spaces exciting andvibrant.
We also dive into thepodcasting community with news
(00:24):
updates, latest trends andtopics from this ever-evolving
space.
So strap in, it's going to beone amazing ride.
Let's dive into today's episode, and today we are talking about
video.
I know what you're thinking thisis an audio-only podcast.
Why are we talking about video?
It's not that I don't want totalk about video.
(00:45):
It's not even that I don't wanta video podcast or a video
version of this podcast.
I have spent most of my career,my adult life, in the audio
space former broadcaster, so I'mvery comfortable with audio and
I have developed a certaincomfort with video.
But my comfort level reallyreally really is audio and in
the podcasting space.
When my comfort level reallyreally really is audio and in
the podcasting space, when youthink about it, it started in
(01:07):
the audio-only space but it hasevolved immensely.
Video has evolved a lot sinceway back in its early days and
we're talking years and yearsand years that it's evolved.
But the audio-only podcast hasevolved to being video.
We now have podcasts that havetranscription, all kinds of
different elements of thepodcast, so we want to talk
about video today, but if you'rean audio-only podcaster, I want
(01:30):
you to really garner some ofthe information we'll be sharing
today.
And, by the way, not being theexpert on the video platform,
I've, of course, brought in anexpert who can talk about video,
because she spent a lot of timein the video space.
Loretta Terozita is the founderand CEO of Loreta Today, where
she helps technology companiesin transition to effectively
(01:51):
manage the fast-moving growthstage that comes with business
success.
With over 20 years of combinedexperience in broadcast
journalism, video storytelling,corporate marketing and
communication strategydevelopment and executive
on-camera coaching, Loretaunderstands the importance of
corporate and personal brandstorytelling and the impact of
connecting with your audience,and video is her forte.
(02:13):
Who better to talk about itthan Loreta?
Loreta, welcome to the podcast.
Loreta Tarozaite (02:16):
Thank you so much, Carl, for this amazing
introduction and for having meon your podcast.
I really appreciate that.
Carl Richards (02:21):
And this is probably a shock to you it's an
audio only podcast.
Loreta Tarozaite (02:30):
Yes, I for sure, Exactly, and I for sure
you know.
I was rereading your emailright before we jumped on the
recording and you did say it'san audio recording but by
default, you know, make surethat you know it is like by
default.
I'm thinking is always you know, video like for whatever reason
, by default, because it's avirtual environment, it's a Zoom
environment and my defaultthinking is video.
Carl Richards (02:47):
So it's the space you work in as well, and even
for you know, even in the spacethat we see on TikTok and a lot
of other platforms, now, too,there's Reels, there's Shorts,
there's all those otherplatforms.
So, even if it's an audio onlypodcast, a lot of podcasters are
also using reels and shorts,which a lot of them are video
right.
(03:07):
But anyways, I'm glad you'rehere.
That's the most important part.
You showed up.
It's great.
It's great to have you on theshow today.
The biggest pitfalls executivesmake when speaking on video and
how to avoid them that's themain topic we're going to cover
today.
But before we dive into that,loretta, I want to ask you how
did you get into the video space?
Just give me a bit of yourbackground.
Loreta Tarozaite (03:27):
Yeah, I was a TV news anchor and news reporter
back in Lithuania, which is myhome country and that's where my
roots are.
You know, I started in thejournalism environment.
I started in the newsdepartment specifically.
I didn't have a lot of timelearning all the backbones of
journalism in TV, you know,because we ended up moving here
to the United States.
But that background and thatbasis kind of helped me
(03:51):
transform the journalism intobusiness storytelling, into
executive coaching on camera.
You know, when we moved herefirst, it was 2003.
You know, I didn't really knowwhat I will do with all my
knowledge, you know, incommunications and in
broadcasting, because I was notplanning to become a news anchor
here in the United States.
So it took me a while touncover, you know, how these
skills could be transferable tosomething else.
(04:13):
And only through networking,only through people and
conversations, that I kind ofstarted connecting the dots and
people saying, hey, you were inTV, so you should do some video.
You know, and I remember, youknow, in the beginning I was
like, well, what do you meanvideo?
That was way back 2009, I think, when YouTube was just coming
up and I just didn't have anunderstanding back then what you
(04:36):
should do video meant you know.
That's kind of the transitionfrom being a journalist in
television to transforming thoseskill sets and transferring
them to business storytellingand executive communications
through cameras and media 2009,youtube was still in diapers.
Carl Richards (04:53):
It was very, very infancy stages for the platform
, which has now become thisbehemoth of a directory, for if
you want to learn how to bake acake, you go to YouTube.
As a matter of fact, it'sbecome, it's become a verb.
You just YouTube, that right.
It's like.
It's like Google search, right.
Just Google, that right.
It's become a.
It's become a household termthat we use all the time.
(05:14):
Very important, though, if not,then certainly now.
Here we are at the recording ofthis episode in 2024, for
executives especially and whenwe say executives, let's be
clear.
It's not executives incorporations, yes, okay, that's
important too, but an executivecan be somebody in a company
that has five or 10 employeesand you, and maybe one other
(05:34):
person, are the top brass.
It's very important to makesure you're putting your best
face forward every single timethat you are speaking, but
especially on camera.
So let me ask you this howimportant is it for executives
and CEOs to be puttingthemselves out there, as opposed
to, just, say, the marketingperson or some other
representative within thecompany?
Loreta Tarozaite (05:56):
Yes, it is.
One of the things that Inoticed when we moved here is
that the executives and, to yourpoint, you know, not every
executive that we talk about isnecessarily, you know, a big,
large organizations executive,right, but in my mind back then
it was a large corporationsexecutive, right.
They were hiding behind thewalls, right.
So which, by extension, makesthe company less human.
(06:18):
You know, you don't necessarilyunderstand who these people are
that are running the company,who are these idea generators,
who are these engineers ortechnologists or whoever other
types of employees that aredoing the actual work.
You know that would be worthysharing those stories about.
So the reason why it isimportant is because it affects,
you know, the company, right,if you're out there as an
(06:40):
executive visible, if you'reestablishing your authority
online, you know, if youparticipate in different events,
but you know you start gettinginvitations, you start, you know
, representing your company,right, so there's more eyeballs
on your company because of whereyou are and how you represent
that company.
So that is why I see as one ofthe key things, you know, why
(07:01):
executive leadership shouldconsider that.
I know everybody has an excuse Ihave no time.
You know I have limited time orI don't want to deal with that.
I have to prepare.
You know, these excuses doexist for anybody.
Like you know, anybody can findan excuse to do, to not do
something.
You know, I find a lot ofexcuses to not do something, but
(07:23):
just the understanding that inthis day and age, especially
where we have a lot of AI and AIgenerated content to begin with
, I go back to where my initialmission started, you know, when
I realized that these people inthose companies are behind the
walls, my goal was to helphumanize those companies and for
the longest time, thathumanization of the company's
(07:46):
idea was very difficult to adoptin the industry because it is
not something that people thinkabout.
But more and more, even inright now, in current age, you
know, that becomes just abackbone of how we come across.
Are we real?
Are we not real?
Are people putting you knowwords in our mouth and it's just
us as robots?
You know video, you know, forus is still somewhat of a
(08:09):
reality, right, and somebody whoworked in that industry or who
understands video or whounderstands human connection can
have a flavor that it's stillreal, right of that humanization
capacity over the years Again.
Carl Richards (08:27):
Video in its infancy state not YouTube, but
video way, way, way, way backwhen, and I think bigger
companies really latched ontothis.
You know, harlan Sanders wasthe the face and the voice of
Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Dave Thomas, the face and thevoice of Wendy's.
Steve Jobs, the face and thevoice of Apple.
You know, we saw that.
I don't know at what point wegot away from it, or if we did
(08:48):
get away from it.
We should definitely be movingback in that direction.
But what are some of thechallenges that executives have
when they're getting on camera,or maybe what's stopping that?
I mean, you said that it's abusy thing.
It can be.
What are some of the otherchallenges, though, that they
have?
Loreta Tarozaite (09:03):
Yeah, and it's a different thing for each
individual, right.
But one of the biggestroadblocks is the fear of being
judged, because in the end, it'syou on camera, it's nobody else
, it's you.
So let's give an example of thenews.
If a politician says somethingon camera for the news, it's
(09:24):
there, it's in the archivesforever.
Anybody can pull the archivesand compare what you said 10
years ago to what you're sayingright now.
If you're continuing to stay inthe politics, right, and we
have seen that lately in thepast several years, right, the
my flaws, my tics, my whateverI'm about.
That's the biggest culprit.
(09:50):
Now, if we talk about executiveleadership, who are in C-suite,
right.
So, no matter what, they havealready gone through that
training.
They have to go through thattraining, right, because when
you're an executive of a largeorganization, you represent the
company on a completelydifferent level and you have
these teams who train you how toorganization you represent the
company on a completelydifferent level and you have
these teams who train you how totalk with media or how to
(10:11):
present on stage or, for thatmatter, on camera, right.
But even in my experience, eventhose executives sometimes
struggle.
They come in confident into thestudio thinking, oh, I got it.
And then they start giving aninterview and they realize they
didn't get it.
So it's still a lot of coachingjust because camera has that a
(10:32):
little bit of like.
Now it's recorded, now my wordis going to stay forever.
You know people can use itagainst me.
So it's purely fear.
Once you bypass that knowledgethat it's a recording and it's
editable, the goal is not for usto make you look bad unless
we're evil in the organization,but the goal is not to make you
bad as an executive.
(10:53):
The goal is to make you soundgood, look good, and that's why
it's a recording.
Now, obviously, live, live.
We just talked, you know, inthe green room.
Live versus, you know, recordedmessage.
It's different, right, slightlydifferent coaching.
But that's the biggest culpritis the fear, just to know in the
back of your mind that now it'srecorded, now it's purely me,
nobody's faking it, you knowbehind a post.
Carl Richards (11:13):
And it's amazing how daunting or what that fear
can be, because I again, 25years in radio, broadcasting,
fairly confident behind amicrophone, put me in front of a
camera, especially back in the.
There was a brief stint in mycareer where I did live
television and occasionally we'ddo like a telethon type thing
and they're live all the time.
(11:34):
And there's this red light onthe camera staring you in the
eye.
It's that one eye monsterthat's staring right at you and
you're going, but that's so.
I can understand that fear andthat and that bright light.
That's that, that red light,but then the other lights that
are on you.
It's not an environment we'reused to.
Does it deter executives insome cases from putting
(11:55):
themselves forward because ofthe fear?
Is that one of the reasons whythey'll put somebody else out
there?
That's maybe more confident.
Loreta Tarozaite (12:01):
Yes, but that's not the skill.
That's not acquirable.
It's an acquired skill to becomfortable on camera.
And one advice that I normallygive to people is you know,
camera is a very intimate formof communication.
If we think about the stageright, we have live audience.
You have to fill in the stagewith your presence, you have to
walk, you have to kind ofpinpoint the people, make sure
(12:22):
you make eye contact to a degreewith people in the audience
With camera.
When you think about it, peopleconsume content most of the time
on mobile or on PCs or wherever.
They consume the video contentindividually.
They don't necessarily watchvideo content as a group of
people.
So it is very important tounderstand that it's actually
just having a conversation.
You know, I'm just having aconversation with a camera, as
(12:44):
if you were having aconversation with a person
behind that camera.
So just comprehending that thisis actually a person, you just
have to look all the time in thelens for the connection of the
eye purposes.
But it is a single person sortof model.
Again, because of how peopleconsume video content, it's one
on one, it's not groups and one.
Carl Richards (13:04):
And I love that example.
It's one of the things thatit's tough when you're starting
out in broadcasting You've beenin broadcasting, I've been in
broadcasting it's you'respeaking to that audience of one
.
So even when you're craftingyour message, or even if the
message has been crafted for you, you're still speaking to that
one person.
You need to connect with themas their one person and you, you
know the language is so.
(13:25):
I quite often will.
You know in my, in a my pastlife as a as a speaker trainer
as well, now bringing that intothe podcasting space.
You know training people andgiving them some instruction on
when you're sharing your message.
It's not okay Everyone inYouTube land or in podcast land,
it's more you and we and us andyou know really bringing people
(13:45):
in with the language, which,again, it's mindset too, but to
your point, it can be daunting.
Okay, how do I do this thing?
And the technology can be a bitof a fear factor too.
I'm assuming that I know peopleagain from the broadcasting
space and radio.
You put a microphone in frontof them.
They'll talk of a blue streakwithout a microphone in front of
them.
Put a microphone in front ofthem.
Even if they're being recorded,they shut up.
(14:07):
I'm assuming it's the same withvideo.
Loreta Tarozaite (14:08):
Oh, it's just tenfold more because it has a
face to it, right To the voice.
Carl Richards (14:15):
It's not just the voice.
Loreta Tarozaite (14:16):
There's also a face added to it and everything
that comes with it, right?
Like I said, I use a lot ofhands in general, right?
So when I sometimes watch myvideos back, I'm like, oh my God
, I used to be in hands, youknow.
But then in the end it's me.
If I'm not me, then people willmeet and be like, well, that's
a different Loretta over here.
You know, we saw one on camerabut we're seeing a different one
(14:37):
in person and the goal is totranslate that you, who you are
through the lens, and sometimesit is very challenging.
I'm not saying it's easy, youknow, especially who are not
trained to be on camera, who areafraid it's not easy.
You have to start slowly, youknow, step by step.
Just try it out, getcomfortable, record yourself.
Don't publish anything, youknow.
Test it out, hear your ownvoice, watch yourself back, see
(15:00):
what works, what doesn't work.
You know what you notice asticks, right Yourself when
you're in front of the cameraand only when you're comfortable
.
You know, try to publishsomething right.
But you know, I've seen a lot ofvideos with big flops and they
generate a lot of views becauseit's real, it's not faked, right
?
So it's real.
And then people relate torealness.
You know, one of the thingsthat I always say in, in, in, in
(15:21):
my message, you know, is a Ilook at everything from real,
relating lens perspective.
You know, that's kind of my, ofmy, my method.
You know how do we come acrossas real, relatable and pull
people in, you know, throughthrough that perspective, right,
not everything has to beperfect and, trust me, I'm a
perfectionist in general.
When I decided to kind ofuplevel myself as well through
video content specifically, youknow I was going all in into
(15:44):
preparation, setup and, you know, making sure the light is good,
making sure everything isperfect, you know, because, well
, I'm showcasing my background,right, even though tech part is
not my strength, it's morecommunication.
But I felt the pressure that Ihave to show the perfection and
it was a big roadblock to justprogress and do something.
So I nixed everything I said.
(16:05):
You know what, forget about it,people are forgiving.
I have to be real.
If I have a moment and I havean idea, I need to record it.
I need it to be simple.
I can't have this whole setupgoing on, you know, because then
my inspiration will go away, soit's just find simple ways of
doing it.
You go on a walk, just recordwhat you're seeing, just purely
record.
Just talk to yourself.
(16:26):
Nobody knows these days ifyou're talking to yourself or
somebody on the phone.
Carl Richards (16:30):
It's true actually.
Loreta Tarozaite (16:32):
Yeah, and just play it back for yourself to
see how you sound.
You know, and then try torecord the real message of what
you want to share, you know withthe audience, see how that
comes across.
Share it with others.
You're trusted.
You know people in the circleNot necessarily you know family
because they will be nice, butshare with people who are, you
know, in your professionalcontacts, right, because they
will be, you know, more honestand how that comes across.
Carl Richards (16:54):
Great answers and I love the piece where you said
play it back so you see how youlook and you hear how you sound
.
Those are two things thatpeople hate.
A lot of people hate seeingthemselves on camera and they
hate how they sound.
I'm like but that's how yousound, get used to it.
It's how you look, it's how yousound, you have to get used to
it.
You also said something veryinteresting and I'm going to add
(17:14):
a third R to it.
You have to be relatable, youhave to be real and you have to
be relevant.
Loreta Tarozaite (17:20):
Oh yes, One hundred percent.
Carl Richards (17:24):
You need to connect those three R's.
I'll add a third to that.
Loreta Tarozaite (17:26):
Yeah, thank you.
Carl Richards (17:28):
I don't need no royalties for it or rights or
anything.
Loreta Tarozaite (17:31):
I'll underwrite it.
You know Carl Richards idea.
Carl Richards (17:36):
But certainly all of those things are very
important when you're speakingon camera.
I like that you encouragepeople to be a little bit casual
to help them be comfortable.
Personally, I do have a bit ofa vendetta against people who do
the walking and the recording,but that's another story
altogether.
But definitely if you'repracticing, by all means I mean
(17:56):
practice, whatever works,practice, whatever is helping
you be comfortable getting onthe camera so you have that as a
gauge to be able to say, okay,that's what I look like, that's
what I sound like, what are thetics?
What are the tics?
What are the vocal issues thatI have?
What are the facial expressionsthat I should have that I don't
have?
Do I look deadpan?
Do I look smiling more?
I?
It's funny because it wasplaying back a video podcast and
(18:18):
when I get passionate, I getserious.
I don't mean serious.
I know how to paint the smileon.
I know you learn that inbroadcasting, right, paint the
smile on even if you're halfasleep, okay.
But I was so serious aboutmaking some points, about
whatever I was talking about,and I'm playing back the, the
real that this podcaster createdand I'm like, oh, I should have
(18:39):
been, I should be smiling.
I should be smiling, so Iactually put that in the comment
, because he made a commentsaying oh, that was my favorite
clip.
It was great to have you on theshow, carl.
And I said it was great beingyour guest.
I should be smiling.
Loreta Tarozaite (18:54):
Because we don't know what we look like,
right.
Yeah, exactly, and it's notonly on the look of it as well,
but it also changes a little bitof your vocal cords too.
You know, because when yousmile, you come across a little
bit more warm, right, and I getvery passionate as well.
When I believe in something, Iget really just storming towards
it.
You know where people are, likewhoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You know what's going on here.
You know back off, so Iunderstand what you mean.
(19:14):
You know when you're trying toprove a point, how, how you
become this.
You know more serious and morelike a forthcoming, I guess, and
it's not for everybody.
But one thing that you saidearlier the walk and talk right,
the sort of the selfie walk andtalk right.
Yes, you pointed a very greataspect of being professional,
you know.
So it depends what yourbusiness is all about where you
(19:35):
reside in your career.
You know where you are in this,what we call executive mode,
right, are you a small business?
You know owner.
Are you a corporation leader?
Are you a founder?
Are you a middle manager?
Where do you reside?
All of that shapes what yourgoals are in terms of why you
want to use the video as part ofyour.
I guess authority building Sameas podcast authority building,
(19:57):
right, and you know what type ofapproach is suitable, you know
for you, right.
So, yes, not everybody is goodand not everybody will come
across authoritative.
Just you know walk and talk,right.
So, yes, not everybody is goodand not everybody will come
across authoritative.
Just you know walk and talk,right.
If you look at Gary Vee, that'show he started walk and talk.
He sits in the car, he justblurts his ideas and that's how
(20:19):
you learn.
But that's his style.
This style is not for everybody.
You can't imagine a C-suiteexecutive, you know, hopping off
the plane and just likerecording themselves like that.
Carl Richards (20:27):
But it's also a certain personality.
Loreta Tarozaite (20:29):
Yeah, it does take a certain personality right
, so you have to match it towhat's authentic to you.
You can't just copy somebodyelse's mode and say now I'm
going to do the same thing, I'mgoing to replicate, it's going
to work.
Carl Richards (20:42):
No, it has to flow, you know, and just has to
flow what's natural to you.
To that point, though, so manypeople will do that, They'll say
, hey, I saw Gary Vee do it,he's very successful at it, so
I'm going to do the walk andtalk.
And they don't take intoconsideration.
And this is why practice isgood.
Practice makes perfect.
No, perfect practice makesperfect.
A lot of people don't considerI'm walking by a stream which
has noise, or it's a windy day,there's a lot of noise that ends
(21:07):
up cutting out your voice, sothose things.
But, to your point, it doesn'twork for everybody.
You have to find out what worksfor you and don't just do it
because somebody else is doingit.
It doesn't bring about, ordoesn't necessarily bring about,
the best messaging for you.
Just because it does for GaryVee, by way of example, doesn't
(21:28):
mean it will for you.
But that's a very importantpiece I think to reemphasize.
Is that just because somebodyelse is doing it?
It takes me back to when I wason the TEDx stage and one of the
talks that I gave I was on theTEDx stage once as an emcee and
then as a speaker.
The premise of the TEDx talkwas how many people try and
emulate someone else.
I want to be just likeso-and-so.
(21:50):
So, therefore, I'm going to doall the things that they do.
I'm going to walk like them,talk like them, I'm going to
speak like them.
I'm going to do all thosethings that they do, not
realizing that it's notconnecting.
The same way, because the onlyperson who can speak like
Loretta Terozita is LorettaTerozita.
Carl Richards can't speak thatway.
Loreta Tarozaite (22:12):
Exactly, you have to have a specific
Lithuanian accent, that too.
But you know, I have a perfectstory to actually complement
what you just said.
You know, and I did record oneof my you know sort of founder
stories from my background in TVIn my very early career in
television.
So I started as an anchor in asmall business show TV show on
(22:34):
the national television, in asmall business show, tv show on
the national television.
Then I got recruited to be ahost of a docu-series show on
another national televisionstation and I had very big shoes
to fill in because the womanwho pretty much was the brand of
those docu-series, you know,had decided to move on, pursue
some other goals and they'relike, okay, well, maybe let's
try Loretta, put into that spot,you know.
(22:55):
So they recruited me and I was,I don't know, maybe my, even my
, probably first year intelevision to begin with, and in
Lithuania there was no suchthing or I didn't know that it
existed and it was not part ofyou know, journalism curriculum,
when, when I was studying, youknow, broadcast, there were no,
no on-camera coaches.
Nobody coached me how to begood on camera, I just happened
(23:16):
to somehow be comfortable at itfrom the beginning.
But when I was put into theshoes to fill somebody else's
role, I thought I just have tobe like her.
So I did exactly what you justsaid.
I was her, I was attempting tobe her.
How like my enunciations, I wasmimicking.
I was rewatching her videos.
I'm like, okay, this is how shepronounced it because she had
(23:37):
such a massive audience, right.
And I'm like, okay, we need tomaintain the audience.
So now they're transplanting meinto this role and I'm like I'm
failing miserably.
The only advice the producerwas giving during those insert
recordings went into those Okitheory shows.
When it's in studio, just beyourself, just be yourself.
I'm like, well, what the heckdoes that?
Carl Richards (23:57):
mean.
Loreta Tarozaite (23:57):
Be myself Like .
Can you tell me what that means?
Nobody ever told me.
I ended up realizing I'm goingto fail miserably.
I'm going to ruin my reputation.
I need to go back to the newsFirst of all.
That's more my vibe, more mypace.
You know, and as you can tell,I speak past.
You know, docu-series was a bittoo slow and I'm like.
You know what this is not forme.
I'm not doing a good job.
I just need to remove myself,you know, from that environment.
(24:20):
But, I did everything wrong andthat's where I realized, you
know, how important it is tounderstand and uncover yourself,
and I made it a mission formyself.
When I went back, testing itall out on myself, Nobody was
telling me what to do.
You know, here's a teleprompter.
Okay, read it.
Well, how do I read it?
Let me play around and see howI should read it.
(24:43):
You know, it was a journey andwhen I look back I'm like oh my
God, it was so embarrassing.
I was like I was justembarrassed, Everything that we
go through these early careerstages.
Carl Richards (24:54):
It's phenomenal how we can still be alive, based
on some of the things thatwe've done.
Loreta Tarozaite (25:00):
On live television and I was literally
on live television.
Carl Richards (25:03):
I was like, oh my God Well kudos to you for
rising above it and carrying on,despite the fact that it wasn't
exactly your best.
But look at what you do now.
You are the beacon of hope forpeople who need that training
that didn't exist back then.
You help people on that space.
We've covered a lot of tipsalready today, but I wanted to
(25:23):
ask if there were any other tipsor tricks that you wanted to
pass along that help execs be inthat comfort place when they're
on camera.
Loreta Tarozaite (25:32):
I think, first and foremost, you have to
realize if you have that driveright, I mean, if you don't have
the drive, if it's very forced,again, let's define executives.
Sorry, I'm not talking aboutthese C-level executives that
have to go through that training, no matter what.
Let's kind of knock it down abit by a layer, right, Just
identify if this is even yourmedium right, Because if you're
(25:53):
forcing it, even your mediumright, Because if you're forcing
it, it's going to be a longpath to success.
If you realize, okay, yes, Iwant to master the video as part
of communication.
You know, because we're on allthese virtual meetings.
You know, I go and speak onstage, but I would love that
speaking engagement to berecorded.
Right, I do have a lot ofknowledge and I want to share it
with the audiences online,right?
So if that's the medium thatyou want to master, just you
(26:14):
know, go for it.
But if it's not the medium,don't even attempt going there.
Maybe writing is your medium.
I know my medium is not writing.
I like talking and recording avideo.
You know, it's easier for mebecause I just speak.
When I see the blank sheet ofpaper, I blank out, I become the
blank sheet of paper myself.
Carl Richards (26:33):
It remains blank, it just.
Loreta Tarozaite (26:35):
Yes, exactly.
Carl Richards (26:38):
That's a good point, Loreta, that you know,
really, is it for you If not,find something that is as you
said, maybe it's writing?
For me it's mostly the audioplatform.
That's not to say I can'tembrace video, because I can,
and it's great that I can dothat, but if it's not for you,
don't feel pressured to do so.
This has been an amazingconversation.
I could talk to you about thisforever.
(26:58):
I can't.
That's a very long time.
I don't think I have that muchbandwidth on my computer, but I
do want to give you theopportunity, though, if you have
something to pass along to ourlisteners today PDF checklist,
whatever it is that you'd liketo share.
Loreta Tarozaite (27:12):
Yes, thank you .
Thank you for that opportunity,carl.
I appreciate that.
Yes, people can go to mywebsite, lorettatoday, and you
will find there a checklist thatyou can download, presence
checklist.
Specifically One of them.
It kind of has a twofold partOne is executive presence
assessment and another one iscompany presence assessment.
It all weaves a lot of thingsinto it, your communications
(27:34):
aspect, branding things into it.
You know, your communicationsaspect, branding aspect,
everything you know, so you cankind of test yourself and see
where you or your company standswhen it comes to the score and
if you see any gaps.
If you see any gaps and youwant to close them up, obviously
I can, I can help you out.
Carl Richards (27:46):
Phenomenal.
This has been an amazingconversation today.
Loretta Terozaita, before Iturn you loose to go help some
executive in the world be morecomfortable on camera, I'm going
to give you the final thought.
Loreta Tarozaite (27:58):
Final thought is if you pursue video and if
you're representing the companyright or your business, for that
matter, or your startup, try toalign your personal brand
values with your company values,see how they match up, where
they intersect, because you'regoing to be the face of the
company in the end.
So if you're representing yourcompany, and when people engage
(28:18):
with your company, you know,with your teams, with everything
they have to feel that sameculture from you throughout the
organization.
So that would be the bestadvice I guess I could give you.
Know, just make that, make surethat that alignment exists.
Carl Richards (28:29):
That's a great place to leave it.
Loretta Tero Zaita, thanks somuch for being my guest today.
Loreta Tarozaite (28:33):
Thank you for having me, Carl.
(29:31):
We'll catch you next time.
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