Almost nobody feels comfortable on camera at first. Stiffness is not a lack of talent: it is a lack of repetitions. And it is fixed with concrete drills, not by waiting for confidence to arrive.

Why your voice sounds wrong to you

When you speak, you hear your voice through bone conduction, deeper and rounder. The recording captures only what travels through the air, which sounds higher.

There is nothing wrong with your voice. You are hearing for the first time what everyone else hears. After twenty recordings it stops bothering you.

The drills that remove stiffness

  • Talk to a person, not the lens. Put a photo of a friend next to the camera and tell that person.
  • Film thirty seconds a day for two weeks. Without publishing. The aim is repetition.
  • Start in movement. Walk into frame or come in holding the product. Stiffness appears when you are still and staring.
  • Read the script aloud first. If you stumble reading it, it is badly written.
  • Drop a gear. Almost everyone speaks fast from nerves. A slightly slower pace sounds more confident.

Filming in your second language

This is the Costa Rica specific part, and the one that causes the most fear. Filming in English feels twice as stiff, because you are thinking about pronunciation instead of the message.

Three things genuinely help. Write shorter sentences than you would in Spanish. Rehearse the whole script three times before filming, not once. And accept your accent: foreign brands buy authenticity, not a neutral broadcaster voice. A clear, comprehensible accent works perfectly well in paid media.

What does need care is the pronunciation of the product and brand names. Ask how they are said before filming.

How many takes are normal

Between five and ten for a thirty second piece when starting out. In English, add a couple more at first. With practice it drops to two or three.

What matters is not nailing it first time: it is not restarting the whole take every time you slip. Stop, breathe and pick up from the previous sentence.

What brands actually want

They are not looking for a voiceover artist. They are looking for someone who sounds like a customer telling you something that happened to them. A hesitation, a laugh, a repeated word make the video feel more real and often outperform the perfect take in paid media.

Where to go next

On camera ease is a trainable skill, and the one that improves your deliveries fastest. Our guide on how to become a UGC creator covers the rest of the craft.