115: Unlocking Video Confidence with Shauna Yurko

It's 2025 and no matter how much you want to resist it, video marketing is IN. If you want to supercharge the know, like, trust factor with potential clients.... then it's time to start showing up on video. 

In this conversation I sit down with THE videographer and YouTube Queen, Shauna Yurko. She shares her journey from producing infomercials to becoming a video confidence coach for entrepreneurs. She emphasizes the importance of video in building trust and connection with audiences, discusses the energy and authenticity required for effective video content, and provides practical tips for overcoming self-consciousness. Shauna also highlights the benefits of batch creating content, the balance between scripted and authentic content, and the growing importance of video on platforms like LinkedIn. She concludes with advice on building confidence on camera and how to get started with video production.

takeaways

• Video is essential for building trust with your audience.
• Authenticity is key; you can't hide who you are on camera.
• Batch creating content saves time and increases efficiency.
• Confidence on camera is a skill that can be developed.
• Planning your content ahead of time reduces pressure during filming.
• Using a hype sheet can boost your confidence before filming.
• Lighting and equipment choices can significantly impact video quality.
• Engaging with your audience authentically leads to better connections.
• LinkedIn is evolving; video content is becoming increasingly important there.
• Practice makes perfect; the more you create, the better you'll get.

You can connect further with her HERE or find her on YouTube HERE

Transcript

Caroline Pennington (00:01.57)
Welcome Shauna.

Hello@shanayurko (00:03.5)
Hello, thanks for having me.

Caroline Pennington (00:06.99)
So you and I met in real life about a year ago. You were the surprise videographer and go-to person at a mastermind I attended in Denver, Colorado. And I just love meeting you. I love learning about you, your history. You did such a good job filming that event. I know you have your own business and multiple businesses. So I want to hear, tell us about you and how did you get where you are now?

Hello@shanayurko (00:35.234)
Ooh, great question. First of all, you look fabulous. And if anyone watches this on video, just like, Caroline's the best in the whole world. So a little bit about me. I started my career out in Los Angeles producing infomercials. And like, it's such a funny way to start out in the industry, but it was really great in learning how to sell using visuals. So over the years I ended up...

getting more into the online content game. had my son wanted to stay home with them. I was like, I'm going to freelance. And so my business was born as with so many entrepreneurs, I feel like, but, just wanting to have that freedom and wanting to get out of the corporate lifestyle. So that is how my business was born. And I help now I help entrepreneurs get confident on camera so that they can show up in their content and attract more leads.

with video. So I specialize in Instagram and YouTube, but really like video is where it's at. And I know that that was one reason you wanted to have me on the podcast to talk about video.

Caroline Pennington (01:44.42)
Yeah, that's why I wanted you on here because everyone listening to this podcast and I am guilty. I tried to resist it for a long time, but, those listening know that my go-to is LinkedIn. I do Instagram too, but you have to show up on video on stories on Instagram and face the camera on LinkedIn now. So tell us why every single person needs to be showing up on camera.

Hello@shanayurko (02:07.982)
So video, God, there's so many reasons. of all, number one, all of the platforms are adopting it. Like whether or not they are making it their primary focus, video is not going anywhere because it is the most engaging form of content that there is ultimately. And at the end of the day, as entrepreneurs, we wanna show up on video because it will build trust faster than any other type of content that you can post.

Like, yes, written posts are awesome. Blogs are awesome. These are really great ways of getting your knowledge out into the world, but nothing will build trust faster than someone sitting on the other end of your video watching it. Like think about it. Someone is at breakfast eating their bagel. They are scrolling through Instagram or LinkedIn and they see a video of someone that they aren't really too familiar with, but they can see it's about a topic that they're interested in. They click on it.

that person on their screen is looking directly into their eyes. Looking out of the screen, eye-to-eye contact makes a huge difference. And I know that it's like fake eye-to-eye contact, I guess, but that eye-to-eye connection builds a connection and a trust that is unlike anything that you can do in a photo or in a written post. So that's the number one reason we got to show up. And like, it's everywhere. It's a requirement.

for business owners now.

Caroline Pennington (03:39.532)
Talk to me too about the energy. mean, for me even when I feel people's energy through the screen, I either am attracted or repelled by them. So talk to me about that too.

Hello@shanayurko (03:45.217)
Hmm.

Hello@shanayurko (03:49.998)
Yes. Okay. So I feel like this is a layered question a little bit. You can tell someone's energy and their personality and like you can't really hide in a video who you are or what you're about or your mannerisms. Like when people watch me on video, they know exactly what they're going to get. Like I am a little bit out there. I've got purple hair. I am loud. I also like am big with my expressions and with my hands when I'm talking. So

That's also how I show up in real life. And so it helps people to get a more transparent view of you when they see your video content. And yes, it is possible for people to not like lie, but like people can come across in a way that feels more curated. But if you are doing social media well and social media video well, you're showing up authentically as yourself because you don't want

your clients to book with you and then to show up to the call and get something that they totally weren't expecting because you show up differently in your video. So I totally agree with you. When you said that you're either repelled by someone or you're into them, you know, sometimes and not everyone is for everyone. People learn differently and people learn from different people in.

better way. I feel like I said that so backwards, but here's what I mean. My style of teaching is not going to be for everyone. And that's okay, because the people who wouldn't learn well from me are probably people who I wouldn't like invite to go out to lunch with me or to have conversations with. And that's okay. Like in life, we are attracted to different people to be friends with different people because of like that, that synergy or whatever it is that you feel in a friendship or

When you're in a networking event, like you want to talk to certain people. And then there's some people where you leave the conversation and you're like, Ooh, I didn't get a great vibe there. People can see that from your videos too. Right. And if people are repelled by your content, means they're not your ideal people. They're either not your ideal viewers, or they're not your ideal customers. And they're not really people you would want to work with because you would feel like you're trying to impress them or be something that you're not in order for them to like you. And you don't want to do that. It's exhausting.

Hello@shanayurko (06:13.398)
So did that answer your question?

Caroline Pennington (06:15.638)
It did. I'm going to add to this too. So back in my recruiting days, especially when I was doing executive recruiting, I'm going to say catfishing. We're just going to the C word because there's so many people on LinkedIn specifically that would put a picture up that was maybe five years old, 10 years old. And then I would get on Zoom or video with them and they would be completely opposite and embrace all the things. But I mean, you're right. When you get into the video world, you can't hide those things anymore.

Hello@shanayurko (06:33.216)
No!

Hello@shanayurko (06:44.854)
No. Yeah, you absolutely can't hide those things. And for a lot of people, they're like, I just want to show a photo of myself because I'm not comfortable in my body right now, or I'm not comfortable with how I'm aging or something along those lines, which I could talk to you guys all day about the fact that you are freaking beautiful. like when you talk about what lights you up on camera, that is what people see. And also,

I can just like be frank. Like people see what you look like in real life already. Just show up on video. It doesn't have to be this curated version of you. Like the best way to show up on video. Get ready. Like you are either going out to a brunch with your girlfriends or you're going out to a lunch with the judgy mom down the street that you don't want to look bad in front of. So you get that level of ready. Okay. And you bump up your makeup.

tiny bit if you're a woman, you're a man, you don't have to wear makeup, it's totally fine. But with when you show up on camera, you basically are your best self bumped up just one level. So maybe your hair is a little bigger or maybe it's a little smoother, or maybe you add a little extra powder or a little extra highlight or whatever your version of bumped up looks like. Show up as your best self and that will give people a

great transparent vision of you and just know that you have showed up the best that you can and it's good enough. Like it is so good enough because people need what you have to offer and what they need to hear what you have to say. And that's another way that I like to kind of like flip my perspective if I'm ever feeling self-conscious or if I'm ever like gosh I have this horrible pimple here on my face but I this video I'm supposed to record.

But I have this really important topic. Sorry if you can hear my baby in the background. But I have this really important topic that I wanna talk to people about and that I know is going to benefit the people who I serve online. I make it about them. I'm like, okay, maybe I don't show up perfectly in this video, but is it going to make a difference for people? Like, is it following campsite rules? Am I leaving the world better than when I...

Hello@shanayurko (09:06.348)
Like, I leaving the campsite better than when I arrived? So putting your information out into the world, if it checks that box, film the video. Who cares if you have a pimple? Like, film it.

Caroline Pennington (09:19.204)
I'm so glad that you said that because that is the number one thing that I hear from people that holds people back is they don't look, you know, to the nines every single day, which I don't either. I'll look like a sweaty rat most days. I, you know, and it just is what it is. So what I do and I want to hear what you do or your tips here is the days that I do dress up or put makeup on, I just batch my content. I'll get on my camera and start talking and then I'll make a two minute video, turn into

Hello@shanayurko (09:31.576)
Same.

Caroline Pennington (09:48.782)
for post, is for Tuesday's worth of content.

Hello@shanayurko (09:53.198)
Obsessed, obsessed with that. I'm a big fan of batch creating. I'm a mom and like being a mom is messy. And half the time I have to like roll out of bed, take care of my baby. And then I'm like, I have some deep work I got to do in my business, whether it's writing content or finessing stuff for clients or editing. So on the days where I'm like, okay, I'm going to film this day or if I know that I need to.

do my makeup and hair for client events or for a podcast appearance. I will also batch create content, but the best way to go into it on those days is to have a plan beforehand. And this is one of my number one tips for getting more confident on camera. Don't plan and film your content all in the same day because planning comes from like a different part of your brain than filming. Filming

It feels like a performance, even though, yes, you're showing up as yourself. You are showing up authentically. It is still a performance where you're like, okay, I want to keep my energy up. I don't want to feel flat. But you will get the best result if you have a plan walking into that day. So don't plan and film your content on the same day because you'll go into it exhausted already. So you'll show up more confident in if you do that first.

Caroline Pennington (11:17.028)
want to hear from you what works better online. Is it organic, authentic content or written out scripted content?

Hello@shanayurko (11:27.128)
who both so depends on where you're posting and it depends on the subject matter. So let's say you're on YouTube and you have a channel established and you want to post a behind the scenes that does really well. That's like off the cuff. You don't have to script it. Maybe just show up with some bullet points and like cover what you want to cover and be like, okay, here I am going throughout my day. Blah, blah, blah, blah.

That's really great for off the cuff. Instagram stories, be off the cuff and you do not need to script. You can show behind the scenes. I show up on my Instagram stories. I'm a really big proponent of like things don't have to be perfect all the time and like show up as you are because the world needs to hear what you have to say. So I show up with my hair in a giant crazy messy bun half the time and I'm like, what's up? This is how we look today and I'm still working and it's fine.

But with Instagram stories, they don't have to be perfect and they shouldn't be because people want to see like what you're doing in your actual life. And if it feels super curated, people can see that and they won't like that. On Instagram reels, if you're talking, I would script it because like anytime you, unless you're really good at capturing people's attention right away and really, really good on camera.

then you don't have to script it. Like a script is a tool that people use to get confident on camera and also to get lots of content done quickly. So for me, I almost always script everything out, but there are times when I'll have a list of bullet points and then I will record bullet point by bullet point. But in those videos, I tend to ramble and I know my tendencies. So it kind of depends on the person.

YouTube videos where you're trying to assert yourself as an expert and it's not like just a behind-the-scenes day in the life kind of thing I would script it Especially if you're posting for your business and for LinkedIn, I would definitely script it. I love a teleprompter But there are certain people who don't do well with a teleprompter and to those people I would say try it again a script is a tool that will help you get better on camera if you've tried it a couple times and you're like

Hello@shanayurko (13:52.652)
I will never like this. That's okay. Have a list of bullet points. Make sure that you have a really, what's the word I'm looking for? A really like tight hook where it's really crystal clear about what you are going to tell people about and then get to the point with each of your bullet points. Don't ramble, cut the fluff in editing and then have a really clear call to action.

That's what is going to be most important in any video you post, no matter where you're posting it, hook, body, call to action, deliver value to people.

Caroline Pennington (14:29.71)
I think it's gonna be the same on LinkedIn. mean, LinkedIn is trending that same way and you don't have to keep up with the trending audio and the reels and like the dancing around like you do on some other internet platforms, but people still wanna hear from you and they wanna learn from you on LinkedIn.

Hello@shanayurko (14:45.978)
I love that. And I'm actually really excited to dive into LinkedIn myself because I have this really great presence established on YouTube and Instagram. I think that tell me more a little bit about LinkedIn and like how video might be just the next way to like stand out on there.

Caroline Pennington (15:06.818)
you're going to kill on LinkedIn. Because LinkedIn is turning that way now and the people on LinkedIn, most of them, including me, are trying to figure out how to harness what they're pushing on us. And so it's like, okay, do we keep it a minute or more or 30 seconds to a minute or under 30 seconds? And do we use our iPhones or do we have our computer with a ring light or do we use CapCut video editing? It's this whole thing now.

Hello@shanayurko (15:09.186)
Hahaha

Caroline Pennington (15:36.618)
So I think you're going to kill it.

Hello@shanayurko (15:40.522)
my God, thank you. That's exciting. If I could maybe speak to any of those things, I always tell people use what you have because with video, the more you do it, the more you put in the reps, the better you're gonna get. There's no escaping that. Like you will get better no matter what if you continually make videos. So the problem is just starting in perfectly and don't let equipment hold you back. If you have a ring light and your computer, do it.

use it, just wipe your lens on your computer, make sure there's not like oils or dirts or anything like that, and then hit record. And then if you want to venture into the phone, that does add a little bit of an extra element because like then you have your video file on your phone and you have to edit it totally fine. Whatever works for you and is going to be the fastest. I would recommend doing that because where a lot of people get tripped up is like, this takes me forever.

And I have all these ideas, but it takes me forever to put them out there. And so whatever feels like the path of least resistance, get started with that. And once you're comfortable with it and it feels easy, then you can maybe like level up your video setup, right?

Caroline Pennington (16:56.325)
I'm glad you said that because I was gonna ask you like, how do you get started and do you have any equipment that you recommend or lighting you recommend or like you mentioned phone versus desktop and then editing software is like, what are your preferences? I'm getting in the weeds a little bit here but these are questions that I get asked and I just want to all the things.

Hello@shanayurko (17:04.279)
Absolutely.

Hello@shanayurko (17:15.501)
Yeah?

I don't think it's in the weeds at all. These are all questions I get asked too. And so in terms of equipment, I can share with you, I have a recommended equipment list where I'll just share it with you and you can share it with all your peeps. And the best idea is even if you have like a window where you face the window and you put the camera, like whether it's your computer or your phone, you put that directly in front of the window and you're facing the window.

That works really well. You don't necessarily need artificial light. But if you are maybe in an office that doesn't have windows or anything, grab a ring light. A ring light is awesome. There's also a really great brand called Lume Cube. They have these like desk hook on lights that are like really nice and fancy. But a ring light puts off really beautiful light. The thing I would tell people to pay attention to is color temperature.

So if you look at your ring light and it looks either yellow or white, do you know what I'm talking about when I say that? Okay, so the yellower colors are going to look best on dark deep skin. The white colors are going to look best on the lighter colors of skin, okay? So like one color temperature is not a one size fits all. If our darker skin friends are using a white light, it's going to make us feel washed out.

If our lighter skin friends are using a yellow light, it will make them look like discolored and funky. So pay attention to your color temperature.

Caroline Pennington (18:53.028)
I thought he brought this up because I just learned something new. I was using the wrong color light.

Hello@shanayurko (18:57.742)
That's okay. It's a really common mistake. And when you find the color temperature that works for you, like I'm like in the middle of those two spectrums. So like the super white light makes me look weird and the super yellow light makes me look weird too. So I have to like be in the middle. It's a thing. It's fine.

Caroline Pennington (19:19.204)
Okay, so talking to you on the confidence part, because I was talking to my husband about this literally at lunch today and he was like, all right, gotta work up the confidence to start getting on camera on LinkedIn. And I'm working on it too. how do we, what are your top three suggestions in the confidence department?

Hello@shanayurko (19:36.59)
God, I love that. I love this question. I could go on for a bajillion days about it. And I really believe that like, I think confidence work is a lot of internal work. And if we're feeling uncomfortable in life or insecure in life, it will be like 10x when we're on camera, of course. So, but I also want people to know that confidence is a trick that can be learned. It's a skill. It's not something people are born with. It is not something like,

Remember that the big YouTubers or business influencers that you follow that you're like, holy cow, they show up so naturally. How do they do this? How do they just show up and talk on camera and look so great and sound so great? They have had a lot of practice and they started right where you're at. And like it is a skill that can be learned. And when you put in the reps, you get better.

So that's thing number one is like always have that perspective and recognize. I think it's, um, Oh my God. love the, the basic girl podcasts. Uh, I think it's the lady gang. Uh, they said, you can't compare your day one to someone else's day 300. Right. Or if someone is years farther in their video creation career, like, come on, give yourself some slack. Everyone starts somewhere.

So that's thing number one. Thing number two, I talked about it a little bit earlier. Have a plan before you get on camera because there is a, there's a level of pressure that happens whether you, like when you hit record, whether it's your face looking back at you and your phone screen or on the laptop, or just even like a little red light on the camera. It's like we forget how to have an original thought.

I struggle with this too. That's why I script everything out because when I hit record, I'm like, well, I had some important things to say and now I've forgotten all of them. So having that plan takes away some of that decision paralysis when you're setting things up because think about it, when you're setting up a video shot, even if it's just with your podcast mic or your laptop and the window,

Caroline Pennington (21:47.62)
Thank

Hello@shanayurko (21:57.688)
You've also done your makeup, you've done your hair, you're trying to show up as your best self. So you've had all these things already and you feel like there's this pressure and then you hit record and you're like, okay, and this is what I wanted to talk about today, but here's how I'm gonna get there. And like you end up rambling and it's not an effective video. So you wanna plan from a place of power, plan with your messy bun, plan with the no makeup look, curl up on your couch, write some bullet points out and think about like, okay, what's gonna resonate with my people?

What's going to hook them in? That's your first thing you say. What is going to be of value to them? And that will be your body of your video. And then what do I want them to do with this information or how do I want them to work with me or do I want them to download my free resource, et cetera? That's your call to action. So you plan those things away from the camera on a separate day. And it will eliminate a bit of the pressure because

You know that you plan from a place of power and it's going to be an effective video, even if you feel uncomfortable and you will, you will feel uncomfortable on camera, but you need to trust your, your like intelligence, your skill, your expertise that when you planned it, it's a valuable video that people are going to want to watch and they want that information. It's about them. It's not about you. Even if you feel uncomfortable, it's going to be helpful for them.

So that's tip number two. Tip number three, I love having like.

We've talked about like getting confident away from the camera and like when we step on camera. but when you are getting ready to film, if you're feeling nervous, it's really nice to have, I think I call it a condensed validation sheet. go through it in my, confidence on camera mini course. but there's, you basically put down all the reasons you're qualified to be telling people about the things you're telling them about. Why are you qualified?

Caroline Pennington (23:38.436)
Thank

Hello@shanayurko (23:58.722)
to educate people on these topics. Why? Like what are some of the awards you've gotten or any big accomplishments? Have you helped someone with any of these things? Write it all down on one sheet of paper. So it's basically like your hype, your hype squad, you being your own hype squad on this sheet of paper. And if you're feeling nervous, read it right before and be like, yeah, I am a boss. I can tell people about this and it'll help you show up a little bit more confidently on camera.

So those are some tips that hopefully people can take away from this.

Caroline Pennington (24:32.682)
I'm literally writing down right on one page hype sheet right now.

Hello@shanayurko (24:38.048)
I love it. Well, so many of us because like you work with a lot of entrepreneurs, right? So half the time we're sitting like in our house and we're like, well, I don't go to a cubicle office and I don't know. don't like get like the sales awards that the big sales teams have and like what, why am I qualified for this? There's so much imposter syndrome, but really we have so much to offer people. We just have to remind ourselves. So that one sheet will.

Caroline Pennington (24:44.653)
Yeah.

Hello@shanayurko (25:07.64)
Do great, thanks for you.

Caroline Pennington (25:10.99)
So what is lighting you up with some of the clients that you're working with right now?

Hello@shanayurko (25:15.32)
I love that question. I love helping people who are really freaking good at what they do, but they just like, they're struggling to get it from their brain into a piece of content. And so I really love helping. It's almost like we're untangling spaghetti and making it into like spaghetti art, I suppose. But that's a really weird analogy. But like I just hopped off of a coaching call with a client and we're working together on

getting her expertise into her videos in a way that people want to consume it. So like that's my MO with any way that I work with clients. And like, I'm a super nerd when it comes to YouTube, I could tell you all of the weird tiny things that you can do to like make your YouTube videos perform better. I will not bore you right now, but that's something that lights me up a lot. And I just love helping people feel more confident about their business, about...

their themselves like as women especially and I know that men struggle with it too but women have this real special relationship with ourselves you know and we have a really special and unique struggle whether it is with our bodies or with our place as women in the workplace and all of the things like there's just so many ways where

we can show up a little more confidently. And I love helping people see that, especially when they see themselves on video and they're like, wow, this looks really good. Like, how did I show up like this? And I'm like, because that's how you are. You're showing up as yourself. So that's it. That's what's lighting me up.

Caroline Pennington (26:58.532)
Okay, so tell me about your mini course. How can our listeners find you all the things?

Hello@shanayurko (27:03.37)
All the things. OK, so I'm on Instagram, Shawna Yurko, S-H-A-N-A-Y-U-R-K-O. And then if you like like tips and tutorials of how to make better videos, find my YouTube channel. It is a treasure trove for you. And then I do have a free mini course, Confident on Camera, where it will help you show up more confidently on camera so you can get your expertise out into the world. And I'll send the link to Caroline so that she can put it in the show notes for sure.

Caroline Pennington (27:31.716)
Thanks, Shauna.

Hello@shanayurko (27:32.994)
Thank you so much for having me, have a wonderful, wonderful day!