The On-Camera Presence Problem No One Talks About Honestly

Many assume presence is a personality trait. Some people just have it; others don’t. Scott Murray, creator strategist and author of Undeniably Human Content, has been involved in broadcast media, podcasting, and on-camera coaching for 20 years. He believes this assumption destroys many talented creators. In reality, most people’s on-camera issues are not because of a lack of confidence, but because of an obsessive focus on the wrong aspect of the equation.

I think as creators, we become so caught up in what we think is going to be a cool idea or a good idea, or maybe there’s some old marketing formula we used to use — and we don’t give much thought to what the audience is feeling.

— Scott Murray

What needs to happen is not to find your internal broadcaster, but to spend more time developing ideas based on the person at the other end before you even begin recording.

This approach defines how Murray advises his clients. Whether it is broadcast, digital content, or coaching, the only thing that ties everything together is an obsessive focus on the audience — creating two-way experiences in pre-recorded and one-directional formats.

What “Not Connecting” Really Means

The first clue for Murray, when he evaluates a non-landing creator, is the fact that they’re using another person’s script. Maybe not literally, but certainly structurally, verbally, and rhythmically. “It’s easy to see that they’re not even speaking in their own voice,” Murray said. “They’ve simply watched others create and they are now creating their own imitation.”

Another indicator of this scripting behavior is a fixation with perfection. Many creators develop the habit of writing out and filming every single detail. This usually results in the very thing they are trying to avoid — a completely manufactured and rehearsed appearance. While watching a video made by a creator with this approach, it will be apparent that they were staring down at the screen reading off it. Their eyes will drop and rise repeatedly. A viewer will likely catch these moments of disconnection through the lens of the camera, and may quickly lose interest due to a perceived lack of authenticity.

In addition to viewing an excessive amount of polish as negative, Murray states that we currently live in an era where audiences are specifically seeking lower amounts of polish. That said, this desire is being greatly accelerated by artificial intelligence. An overly polished AI-created piece of content does not convey professionalism to a user. Instead of thinking professionally, users perceive laziness. The only signal Murray believes the user sees here is not content value, but rather effort level. Regardless of how well put together the actual content is, a polished AI-generated video appears to be no effort at all.

A Lack of Confidence

Recently, Murray worked with a client who walked into the session with a lengthy list of popular media personalities he wanted to emulate. As soon as possible after the client arrived, Murray called timeout on that.

You have unique aspects of your personality while in front of a camera that none of them possess. Why would you want to walk around emulating someone else when you could be utilizing your own style?

— Scott Murray

After the client agreed to stop attempting to mimic the styles of various media personalities, and instead began recording himself for practice, Murray noted the client was quite natural. The client obviously had knowledge in his area of expertise. Once he felt comfortable enough to discuss his topic in the manner in which he would if he were sitting across from a person — as opposed to performing for a camera or imitating a television presenter — the client’s on-camera persona was already present. However, this persona merely required to be revealed, not constructed.

The biggest issue Murray continues to encounter is where creators place their anxiety. Those who experience difficulty are generally focused on questions such as: am I appealing? Will they perceive me as knowledgeable? Am I appearing professional? All of these questions are directed toward themselves.

The creator referenced by Murray at Content Marketing World, who delivered a presentation, was struggling with the same issues — self-concern — until she dramatically changed her frame of reference. At that point, when she ceased worrying about whether people liked her and began focusing on what she could offer them, she lost her stiff posture.

Mostly all of this stuff we obsess over concerning ourselves. When we concentrate on how we plan to assist someone and how we will accomplish that assistance, it benefits us throughout our entire process and beyond video.

— Scott Murray

The STAMP Framework

Murray built the STAMP framework because he felt there was a need for a process to help build an authentic connection between marketers and customers. According to the author, everyone agrees that building relationships and using real human experiences to develop content is important, yet many authors and professionals fail to provide a specific process to do so.

S — Self-Awareness

The first thing to consider when developing a new piece of content is why you are developing it. Are you looking to meet a requirement? Using a style or form that worked previously (such as in 2015)? Simply repeating previous marketing phrases without thought? Before writing any content, you should first recognize which of these may be occurring. Murray states this in a very basic way: what does your customer actually experience when they see this? Most content developers bypass this step completely and move directly to producing their content.

T — Two-Way Communication

In comparison to the “Marketing Era” (1980s and 1990s), during which the customer had little ability to escape from the content produced by companies and therefore could only receive information through one-way communication, today we are in the “Relationship Era.” Customers have all the power; they can choose to listen to you or ignore you, watch you or pass over you, within seconds. In order for your company to be successful with two-way communication, you must produce content that creates opportunities for feedback or response — or at least content that places the customer’s view as central to the idea. Two-way communication is not limited to responses, comments, and engagement; the fundamental aspect involves considering another individual when developing content, as opposed to focusing on extracting something from them.

A — Adaptable

If today’s blogging strategy is similar to the blogging strategy you developed ten years ago, then there is something wrong!

— Scott Murray

This does not necessarily imply that you should pursue each trend as it comes along; instead, you should realize that the landscape of content creation has changed and you should be open to adjusting your strategy. Murray still finds numerous examples of blog strategies today that he recognized nearly fifteen years ago. Although some of the formats have been modified, the underlying philosophy of most of those strategies remains unchanged.

M — Meaningful Language

This area represents where Murray invests much of his training time. It is difficult to avoid falling into marketing-speak. When individuals transition into either “content creator mode” or “brand voice mode,” their language transforms into a dialect they would never use with a person standing in front of them. Murray has a straightforward test: would you use that exact sentence while speaking to your target audience at a conference? If the answer is no, reword it.

He also uses research from Forrester, indicating that customers began requiring evidence of brand humanity in the wording used — not merely in mission statements or “about us” sections, but in both copy and content — back in 2018 and 2019. Since AI started flooding channels with identical generic phrasing, the need for brands to seem human has increased dramatically. His Truman Show example illustrates this dynamic perfectly. The consumer (Truman) is at his breaking point and says he needs something. The brand (Meryl) answers him by launching into a sales pitch. The consumer’s reply is: “Who are you speaking with?” That is precisely what marketing language sounds like to an audience that just desires to be heard and assisted.

P — Predictive Intelligence

Finally, predictive intelligence refers to doing more work prior to releasing your content to forecast how your audience will respond, and particularly anticipating the fact that your audience will be deluged with similar-looking content. If your video is among the 930 versions of the identical thumbnail, hook, and design your audience saw that day, it is safe to assume they will tune out. Predictive intelligence requires building this foresight into your development process, not waiting until you discover it via analytics following release.

What Matters When Creating Content: Scripts, Teleprompters, and On-Camera Energy

When creating videos, Murray emphasizes a hierarchy of what matters on camera: first clarity, then authenticity, lastly energy. Clarity refers to the fact that you know exactly what you will say before you start recording. This does not mean you will use a fully scripted version of the video. Rather, you will think through the content enough that you would be able to tell someone what the content is about. Murray believes authenticity is the result of having this clarity. In addition, he feels your level of energy should follow your authenticity, not the other way around. If you create energy on your video in an unnatural manner by forcing it or attempting to manipulate it, you will end up with a disconnect between who you are on camera and who you are in reality. For business creators, this mismatch often shows up during a video conference with a potential client.

The Bullet Point Versus a Full Script Question

Murray’s approach to scripting is more practical than dogmatic. While full scripts can provide accuracy and may be necessary in certain areas (such as very specific parts of a podcast, or in any area that contains information that requires exact wording), for virtually all other types of content, using bullets and speaking from memory produces more natural-sounding results. Ultimately, the goal is to have the information memorized enough that you are not forced to read it, but still speak as though you were simply telling the story.

There are many tools available today that can help create consistency in this regard. Murray has utilized teleprompter applications that allow him to send his script directly onto a tablet placed in front of him during the shoot. Descript utilizes artificial intelligence to correct your eye contact while you are speaking, even if you are slightly looking away from the lens. While both of these options are legitimate workflow tools and not methods to cheat, Murray’s main concern remains the same: the purpose of utilizing technology is to make it appear as though you are speaking, not reading.

If a particular application is not allowing you to achieve this goal, then it is best to discontinue using it.

Don’t Use Broadcast Diction

Murray is direct and unequivocal regarding this issue. The overly enunciated and artificially cadenced delivery method used by anchors and reporters on local television is not a model for business content on YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, etc. — and was never intended to be. This style was created solely due to the necessity of broadcasting professionally produced signals clearly on television and lacked any conversational counterpart. All of the above-mentioned mediums are designed to be intimate, one-on-one forms of communication. Therefore, the practice of speaking at people like they are viewing a local newscast is a quick way to lose them.

Murray states that whenever he hears someone deliver content in a manner similar to broadcast diction, he sees the same patterns he observes elsewhere. People are generally doing nothing but mimicking others and not figuring out how they naturally communicate.

You should only be focused on the one person who is either watching or listening.

— Scott Murray

This is the paradigm for all delivery decisions.

Editing — Enough, But Not Too Much

While Murray agrees that editing primarily involves eliminating filler words, he cautions against equating editing entirely to simply eliminating filler words. Instead, Murray finds that the most important aspect of editing is recognizing when you have strayed off course and cutting that portion of content — not because filler words are inherently embarrassing, but because that section did not contribute value to the viewer. Murray’s movie theater test is as follows: if you walked out after viewing a film believing the film could have been 25 minutes shorter, the editor became too enamored with their own work. Similarly, business content creators who cannot bring themselves to eliminate unnecessary portions of their content ultimately find themselves in the same position.

Jump cuts were once taboo in broadcast journalism; they are now perfectly acceptable and should be used as needed. However, be careful not to become so fixated on making your edited product look polished that you sound like you’re trying to be perfect — perfection is often counterproductive.

Interviews, Listening & the “Why vs. How” Question

Scott Murray believes there are many problems associated with bad podcasts due to interviewing. Most podcast interviews suffer from this issue because the interviewer is asking from a predetermined list of questions rather than conversing with the guest. The symptoms are clear: the guest will often provide an answer to the fifth question (or whatever number) before answering the second; the interviewer is not truly listening, therefore does not recognize when the guest is repeating themselves; and both parties lose interest and energy.

He uses a personal anecdote as a great example of this phenomenon. An author Murray knows very well was so frustrated with being interviewed by podcasters that he almost quit appearing on podcasts. This frustration was not due to the quality of the hosts, but solely due to the fact that every single time he appeared on a podcast, the first question he received was: “How did you get started?” His plea was simply: “Just once, can you ask me ‘Why did I get started?'” Only changing one word. However, the answers were completely different. The guest did not have a pre-rehearsed response to this type of question and had never had to think about it before. Therefore, creating questions that cause guests to think about their responses in real time is what good preparation for an interview produces.

If you have an unresponsive guest (someone who is providing little value), Murray’s advice is simplified: use it as an opportunity to grow and move on. Do not attempt to create a memorable moment. He has interviewed several television actors who provided no resemblance to their on-camera personalities. You may attempt humor and it falls flat; do not continue to pursue it. Post-production is intended for that.

Clickbait, AI & the Indicators That Erode Trust

Murray states his stance regarding AI: if you believe that AI is a threat to your content, then you are likely producing the wrong type of content. Human creativity is not comprised of data; AI is. These are two separate concepts, and the distance between these concepts is precisely where true connection occurs through content creation.

While the tell that a piece of content was created by AI (or influenced by AI without human intervention or editing) is sometimes apparent within the actual wording itself, other times it can be evident based on patterns. Murray provides a real-world example: he was freelancing for a company generating audience-centric blogs; however, after a few days he returned to their blog and noticed that four consecutive articles opened with the exact phrase “In an ever-changing world.” He did not require further clarification. The indicator was undeniable. Dead giveaway indicators of AI influence include “landscape,” “unlock,” “leverage,” “discover” — terms that AI automatically selects since they appear throughout its training data, not because any human would instinctively utilize them when describing a concept or person to another human.

Regarding clickbait, Murray states that manufactured surprise destroys trust quickly. Once broken, trust cannot be restored. Humans develop habits (i.e., filters) in order to avoid false headlines — not only from the original creator but also from any other individual utilizing similar language. If your surprise is legitimate, then you must locate language that indicates the content is unique and genuine without utilizing the same bait as others.

What Scott Murray’s Book Is About

Undeniably Human Content is designed specifically for business owners and content creators who possess self-awareness sufficient to recognize that their content is ineffective and desire a step-by-step process and framework to correct it — not simply general principles. Murray explicitly states that the book does not waste time: 175 pages of each step in the STAMP framework applied, supported by over 100 references. Undeniably Human Content is NOT a “why you should humanize your content” book. There are numerous books in the industry discussing why individuals should produce humanized content. Rather, Undeniably Human Content is a how-to book.

Where to begin reading: skip ahead to whichever chapters reflect your weakness. If you’ve already achieved self-awareness regarding your content (you recognize you’re creating poor-quality content), skip to the communication-side chapters. Two-way communication, meaningful language, and predictive intelligence are where most business content fails — and those chapters deal with the audience-facing aspects of this failure directly.

Scott Murray’s book, Undeniably Human Content, is currently available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, and audiobook format (which Murray recorded himself). Scott is active on LinkedIn and reachable through his website at scottmurrayonline.com.