TwentyThree Summit Interview - Puk Scharbau

Puk, thank you so much for making the time to be here today. I'm super excited to have this chat with you. And you were here at the TwentyThree Summit in 2024 and your previous keynote was already so successful, Camera Love. And this year your keynote was Touch Me With Your Voice. So for those who haven't had the chance to be there, what is the power of voice in transforming how people communicate, especially through video? It's a very good question because camera love is like a broader concept. And then the voice, when we do video also now, is a huge part of how we affect people, their nervous system, the atmosphere, their emotions. So the voice is actually a magical tool. Just a disclaimer, because my most important advice today was that you should relax and just use your own unique voice. There's a reason why you got the voice that you got. But a little bit more awareness can make it more kind of a tool to create clarity, connection, be more present. So the theme this year was if I watch a video, I actually spoke to this audio person, he says it's almost 50% of what we receive is linked to the audio. And of course, the voice is a huge part of that. And many people still find it intimidating to be on camera. Do you have golden tips to turn the audience naked? Does it actually work? It could be a lovely thing to do sometimes, depending on the audience. But my biggest advice is to accept that nervousness is a common trait, evolutionary, very effective thing, because it makes us alert that we should not out ourselves of the group. So if I'm on stage and I see people down there, it's a very biological thing to sense alertness, because I should take care of that situation, because I could be voted out. So it's a very, very old alert that goes on. So just to say, OK, as I know that I can use my breathing, smell the flower, as I like to say, before. And also, if I start to like Babylon, I get nervous in the interview or in the video recording. I can reconnect to my own most relaxed me by using my breathing. So I think it's an acceptance and saying it's energy. And if I can channel that energy, I can actually use it to be more present and come across more connected. Yeah. I wish I had that talk yesterday. Yeah. From the interviews that I was already quite nervous. So I'm glad I have some others that I can use. Sometimes I talk about it like, would you like to be in your ego? Like, how am I doing? Am I answering correctly? I'm like too much in my own head. And I should cancel that and more focus on you, your words, your presence. So I try to also what I call bubble the camera or bubble you. I could bubble the camera like we are connected here. I could like think the camera is looking at me. I have to be good. So it's two different ways of allowing yourself to just be. Yeah. Actually, our ego is was also in the list of our not so good gods in the previous speak that we have so self-aware and sometimes a destructed way. Yeah. Because we all just human. What are the most common mistakes that you see professionals making on video? And how could they well tackle that to engage better in the audience? Yes. And also about feeling more comfortable. And that's actually where the voice comes in again. Because if I speak to a camera like this, an intent could be to speak a little bit too loud and too fast and too monotonous. So I would like to deliver my message and just say what I agreed to say. But instead, I should connect as if I actually see someone in there. Hello. Hello. And I should try to explain that person what I actually want to share. So I should have a conversation with a little my favorite audience in the totally black lens. But imagine that there's somebody there that I want to share my message with. Because the black lens can like really intimidate you. Oh, my goodness. But if I think no, no, no. Joseph is in there. Hello, Joseph. I would love to share some insights with you. And then also the tonality, because there's also a tendency to like, oh, I want to use my voice to reach you. But I have to. I also say that in the talk, pretend that I'm not talking to a little creature here. Hi, Joseph. How are you doing? Hi, Joseph. How are you doing? That actually matches the distance. So main things, relax, be yourself, connect with people and not just a lens and use your voice also like in a conversational way. It seems that it all goes back to the point of being human, right? And we are humans talking to humans. Yes. And this year's theme of the 23rd summer is the human side of digital. Exactly. What does that mean in the digital space and in your work? I love the Nick Cage quote about that AI and the whole digital world have not experienced sorrows, joys, love, all these things that we can sense and feel in each other that when we speak, for example, or when we communicate. So there's just this richness of something that we don't find in the digital voice, for example. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Puck. You are welcome. And very human. Yeah.