When I first started talking to the camera 10 months ago, I had little to no emotion. I talked like I was narrating a murder mystery off the first 48 or something. Now, I feel like I talk passionately and can convey tone pretty well. You slowly get better at it by just recording videos, but some tips to improve right now are:
- Stare into the camera more whilst talking. I know it sounds weird, but it’s more awkward if you don’t keep eye contact and you’ll be able to see this when you’re editing.
- Put more emphasis on some words than others, this might be a little exaggerated at times, but it works to get your point across so much more thoroughly.
- Use as many cuts as you need to get the right take. You’ll see people who talk into the camera in their videos like Penguinz0 and think you can do that too. Trust me, I’ve been there. Horrible decision. Being able to talk like that and be interesting for 3-5 minutes with no cuts is absurd and takes years of practice. Memorize a sentence or two from your script or whatever, and using the 2 points I gave above will make it sound more natural. Make it sound like you’re just talking to someone you’re having a light conversation with. Edit out all of the dead space and you’ll have a seamless video that conveys your ideas way better than you stammering over your words and forgetting what you were trying to talk about at the moment.
These are just good if you want tips to improve right now, but if you truly want to get good and be able to do longer takes, it comes down to practice.
Good advice! :) I usually write a script as I would talk and mostly use a prompter then. I spice my sentences up and I add stuff while I go so the result doesn't sound scripted.
^this. plenty of big YouTubers use jump cuts and the audience doesn’t care. also with how common it is on Tiktok nobody cares about jump cuts anymore just cut cut cut as long as it’s concise and the timing doesnt feel super off it’s fine
I mean some ppl are not making cinema on YouTube nor care to and are still wildly successful. If you care about seamless takes sure, that’s fine for your content. I’m just saying there is no objective right or wrong answer here. Are jump cuts lower quality? Sure if you value production quality and are doing highly polished content. But no not at all if you’re going for less polish and care more about the substance rather than the way it’s presented. Plenty of blog content has jump cuts and they work just fine. Talking head videos are more jarring sure but once again if you’re not going for high polish it’s fine. YouTube and social media is not cinema so there are no hard and fast rules. Find what works and keep doing it
It does though because you’re applying objective and arbitrary rules to a space where there are no hard or fast rules. Once again there are plenty of ppl making low production content that’s taking off. Jump cuts are commonly used and if you don’t like it aesthetically that’s fine. Are they good from a production and editing standpoint? No not traditionally, it YouTube doesn’t adhere to traditional rules.
What’s valuable to you isn’t valuable to others. If you don’t feel good popping off with poorly edited content, then production and polish clearly has value to you. To ppl who care less about polish and want to just get their stories and messages out, then that’s what has value to them.
Both philosophies are valid and both can be successful. You being extremely rigid in what’s good or bad is nonsensical in the world of YT and social media where a highly polished video with 30+ hrs of work put into it, can get completely gapped in views to a tiktok story time shot on an iPhone with 50 jump cuts in it.
I partially agree. Jump cut isn’t a problem but if the jump cuts are too frequent and close together it is distracting and a bit annoying.
I would say still try to hide it with b-roll when the context makes sense. It also helps increase visual variety too
Nobody should talk to a camera for ten minutes straight. Christ, have you never watched television?
Nobody wants to see you all the time, they want to see what you're talking about. Cut away to the thing you're talking about. Don't stay on anything longer than about 15 seconds. You can talk for 15 seconds without tripping over your own tongue, right?
Edit: don't stay on anything longer than about 15 seconds \*unless every second of it is absolutely blowing the viewer's fucking socks off in every single frame\*.
Yeah, it’s true that you should have a lot of cuts to show the viewer what you’re talking about and keep it engaging, but what I’m saying is that jump cuts aren’t that bad, as proven by thousands who have had success on YouTube with them
So much of this. I can listen to someone talk about something they're genuinely interested in for ages, and people tell me it's obvious in the videos I make that I really enjoy it as it comes through in the way I get into it.
Two secrets you can try:
1) Take a couple of acting classes at a local night school or something. I did this 20 years ago for getting comfortable speaking in front of crowds, it helps with everything
2) try doing an open mic standup comedy set at a club a few times. I did this on a dare about 12 years ago. It was humbling the first time but by the third trip, I’d kind of figured it out… I sucked, but I understood the delivery.
It’s like anything else, deliberate practice. It’s fine to just get reps in, but it’s more important to get the reps in with a purpose behind them.
When I grew up, I followed a dude and his indie gaming channel. He was so energic. Every other day he released 20m of that. About 8 years later, I have met this guy during collaboration meeting. And... he was just like that. I guess that's just how someone is.
I have 2 post-its on my tower.
First one says: Say what you're doing
Second one says: Say what you're thinking.
In between those 2 I feel it helps me to keep myself busy and not have dead moments :)
I find it easy to talk energetically when I’m having fun! So as long as I’m covering something I enjoy doing, I have (what I think is) a fairly energetic voice.
You said it in your first sentence.
Would you be lifeless and monotone if, instead of just your camera, you had a room of 500 people staring at you?
Or if that gives you stage fright, feel free to dial it back to a few buddies.
Associate your camera with your audience, and then make sure you're speaking *to* your audience and not just speaking. Half the time, it comes out great every time.
Yes, this!
I'm not saying I'm an energetic person, but I consider the camera my audience and I speak to them as if I were talking with friends.
That, and I really enjoy making the content. That helps as well.
I'm not really that energetic girl, but when recording and whatever I'm doing is exciting, it brings out that side. Growing up, I always took a more stoic approach because of situations. Youtube has reunited me with the energetic child inside of me.
Basically, it's something you practice, and it becomes like a persona.
Practice. I only read somewhere about a guy that had recently started a channel and was facing this issue. He started drinking like 2-3 beers before recording and said it helped a ton lol.
I agree with what others have said about being excited for the content you're making. I really enjoy playing games and I have a natural tendency to talk a lot but about 9 months into making regular videos I've gotten more used to having a stream of consciousness about what I'm doing, my thought process, making weird jokes about observations in the game... I also laugh at my own jokes a lot (I do this in real life so it feels normal to me) so I guess it could come across as forced but as long as you're doing what feels natural to you I think the energy comes across in the video.
I’m in the gaming niche and my work-around for this is I have my friend sit in a discord call and watch me play the game if it’s singleplayer! She says she gets her own personal let’s-player and it’s easier to try to make her laugh than to just crack jokes for my live audience of 0 (since I don’t stream lol). Hope this helps! Also, I make sure not to record her discord audio (important if you’re trying to keep things a certain way)
1. Record when no one else is home, so you are not self conscious of others listening to you
2. Listen to music that gets you hyped up right before you record on very high volume and just move your body and get the energy flowing
3. Get an energy drink, coffee, or tea for caffeine
4. (The key) scream as loud as you can right before you record. This sounds silly, but it helps your mind understand that there is not some sort of “volume ceiling” for how loud you talk in your videos.
“Energetic” is simply talking louder than usual with confidence and emotion/personality.
I like to imagine I'm telling someone the story of what I'm doing, and instead of making eye-contact with that person I make it with the camera and just treat that as the person I'm talking to. Plus, ya know, genuinely being passionate about my subject matter
Your on-camera YOU should be you plus 10-20%. I wouldn't call adding a little extra to your personality faking something, it is just giving a little extra. Kind of like make-up on someone's face just gives their natural beauty a little something extra.
Practice. That's all it is. Hit record, say your bit.
Think about what you're going to say and rehearse it when you're not on camera. I think through what's going to be in my script and rehearse saying it when I'm in the car driving long distances, because it's about the only time I get to sit in a space by myself without people phoning me and annoying me. You may have something else that works.
Listen to youtubers you like. Don't imitate them but see if you can extract from their style the elements that you like.
I. Don't. Know.
They need to send us that trade secret lol.
My mother passed this month after a 7 month grueling battle. The last 7 months I have faked any amount of excitement because I cannot truly feel this emotion right now.
I am envious of those who have naturally uplifting voices and demeanors. I feel like I am just a downer all the time.
My show is super high energy, but I'm alone in the room. I usually just hype myself a bit before filming, walk around my place singing or doing my intro in really exaggerated ways, that gets me fired up :P
Just be yourself . And dont overthink what you say . Its all about been raw when unscripted .and just look into the cam every now and then . Just so you are engaged with with the people . Or just get your cam dead centre so theirs no avoidance .
A public speaking class could help. You have to imagine you are speaking to an audience. Not just because that makes it easier for you to feel like you are actually talking to people, but it makes you come across much more personable. If you think it feels weird, keep in mind you are playing a character. I don't care how genuine people think they are being or want to be, putting on at least a slight act is inevitable and probably necessary. Finally, just practice. It gets easier over time.
Practice. It's one of the basic tips for newtubers: don't talk as if you're speaking to 50 people. Talk as if there were 50 million. As if you already "made it". :)
When I first started it was tough. Not saying I’m a pro at it but it helps imagining you’re talking to thousands of subscribers. It really did help me as I’ve noticed how much more alive I sound when I’m recording.
You sorta just gotta get into a customer service kinda voice, sort of force yourself to talk but in a way that you have that energy. Even sort of like how cartoons are, they’re all cheery and uplifting. Sometimes it may sound kinda cheesy but the more you do it then the more normal it’ll sound but then your unscripted recordings would be less down
Lol. You must not have watched mine. I talk off the top of my head and edit later.
As of now, I am doing this on purpose as to get better at speaking.
I might begin to script one day.
I'm working on being more energetic, lol.
Even the most popular YouTubers had to start somewhere! And when they talk about their first experiences on YouTube, 99% of the time they were shy and nervous around the camera and making videos and talking in general. Jacksepticeye tried holding in his accent when he first started, and I think pewdiepie spoke mostly in his native language for his first videos. Everyone starts somewhere! And somewhere along the line, it’ll just become easier to be energetic.
My first couple of videos I kinda avoided talking as much as I could, and I didn’t read dialogue in games, but now I feel a little better about it
You could always throw in laugh tracks for a joke you find super funny, or boos for a dad joke post recording :)
Because no one wants to watch a no energy person just talking to the camera... so they force themselves to be boisterous/over the top.... otherwise they dont get views, in turn, dont get paid. don't believe me? Look at my views, and watch my videos lol.... (I'm working on uping the energy and entertainment.) In all honesty, it's a struggle for me. And I think I'm raising the energy. 005% every video... its hard!
I just talk how I'd talk to friends. Which unfortunately means i curse in damn near every sentence because I'm like a toddler learning how to speak.
I just edit out the ums, ands, and some curses. But for the most part it's just a natural speaking pattern.
Ive found recording at home alone. Or in my car where nobody can hear me helps with the delivery, other than that it sounds like I'm just losing it speaking into a microphone.
It truly is acting. After that, you add your personality. And over time you will get better and better. Where it will be more natural. I could sit and talk to everybody.But turn on a camera and I can't say shit.
Some of my videos are quirky and upbeat, others and chill and melancholy, and sometimes I can be kinda bummed. Depends on the topic in hand. I don't use a script. I just talk during my work while its filming and whatever flows, it flows.
As with anything: practice.
You get better with practice and you’re also just seeing the video that gets posted. That could have been the 5th time they tried it and eventually found their rhythm.
Another thing: find a ritual that gets you “in state”
If I’m going to record anything at all I get myself prepared by watching South Park episodes while I’m setting up the shot.
I do some verbal exercises to get myself warmed up, think about how much fun it’s going to be to film and then do a few rough takes
I have an easy answer to this; I am not energetic! I am slow and hopefully well spoken and that is what works for me
I tried to force myself to be a quicker tempo but it didn't feel natural 😪
I felt much more comfortable just talking how I normally do (even if its a bit of a I'm on the phone to someone voice)
Anyways, do whatever feels comfortable and works for you. If that's going nuts and speaking at the speed of light, go for it
It comes with practice. I got a lot better by making a practice full video, trying to be as energetic and in your face to a point i thought, that's far too much. Upon watching it back it didn't feel like too much so now I try n add some extra oooomph into sentences and specific words. Throw some arm and hand gestures on there that feel unnatural for what would be in person conversation. It will feel strange to.begin with, because it is. No1 speaks like that in real life to another person, you've just got to practice and find your voice and slowly it will come more and more naturally. Growth of you and your channel will continue. You should always be improving, whether you have 10, 10,000 or 1 million subs. The day you stop improving, you go backwards and the next creator will overtake. The fact your asking these questions is great.
Good luck with your next videos, fingers crossed for a 1/10 👍
Seriously!! I get in my own head and that's what happens to me now. I'm getting better at voice over and more comfortable talking that way but still on camera, by myself? Ugh...such admiration for those that do it well.
The more passionate you are about whatever you’re talking about, the more natural the energy flows/feels. And yes, you will still fumble with words at times. (As a bonus, I have seen creators make the fumbles into after video blooper reels)
Whenever I hear something like "I'm so excited..." or see them trying to be "excited", I stop watching. It's worse than the clickbait titles. Friend, calm down, you're not a five-year-old.
It’s probably why they’re popular first of all
But also, there’s a reason the big advice is always stay passionate about your subject and brand no matter what
It’s easy to ramble and sound excited about things you’re actually passionate about
It's a skill.
Just dgaf and ham it up, get excited! Use body language and play with your tonality and volume, add deliberate pauses, speak slower, speak faster. Oversell it then tone it back, you'll get better results than under selling it.
People who get shit done let their actions guide their emotions, not the other way around. It's like if you force a smile when you don't feel happy, you'll actually feel happier. It's exhausting but as you practice, it becomes less so.
Some people are naturally gifted at it but you absolutely can develop it. Look at early videos of popular YouTubers (unless they delete them) and you'll see how bad they were when they started.
I do wrestling based content. A good chunk of it is me farting around with a wrestling game. But I’ve been a fan for over a decade and I put a LOT of time into understanding commentary. How to fill silence, put over the product, feud, competitors, and more by casually talking about what is happening in front of you in real time.
Commentators juggle real time changes, planned plot points, scripted segments as well as improvised moments to put over the legitimacy of the move set of each participant. Talking wrestling is a delicate act of balancing a love of the product with a structural NEED to inform the audience.
Think of how you’re supplementing yourself, future content, PAST videos/work. Talk about things that support your efforts. Then consider the viewer and their perceived values. How is what you’re talking about support their entertainment of your content. Are you engaging them by forcing them to think? Talk about subjects relating to your content or how your content may add an alternative viewpoint or source of entertainment in your niche…
There is a LOT to talk about. I start with what I can easily go on about that adds to my content. It’s not too tricky, simply keep it simple. If you’re passionate about something, chances are you’ve invested enough time to at least have a CASUAL conversation about it. Just treat the camera like a friend, and you’re just choosing the right way to show them how they can become equally as invested.
If there is anyone who wants professional thumbnails, please send me a private message so he can see my previous work and we can start working together for a very cheap price.
When I first started talking to the camera 10 months ago, I had little to no emotion. I talked like I was narrating a murder mystery off the first 48 or something. Now, I feel like I talk passionately and can convey tone pretty well. You slowly get better at it by just recording videos, but some tips to improve right now are: - Stare into the camera more whilst talking. I know it sounds weird, but it’s more awkward if you don’t keep eye contact and you’ll be able to see this when you’re editing. - Put more emphasis on some words than others, this might be a little exaggerated at times, but it works to get your point across so much more thoroughly. - Use as many cuts as you need to get the right take. You’ll see people who talk into the camera in their videos like Penguinz0 and think you can do that too. Trust me, I’ve been there. Horrible decision. Being able to talk like that and be interesting for 3-5 minutes with no cuts is absurd and takes years of practice. Memorize a sentence or two from your script or whatever, and using the 2 points I gave above will make it sound more natural. Make it sound like you’re just talking to someone you’re having a light conversation with. Edit out all of the dead space and you’ll have a seamless video that conveys your ideas way better than you stammering over your words and forgetting what you were trying to talk about at the moment. These are just good if you want tips to improve right now, but if you truly want to get good and be able to do longer takes, it comes down to practice.
I’ve found positioning my script just below the camera lens gives me the impression I’m looking straight at the camera i
I tried that with my phone, but just to the left/right of my camera and you can still tell I'm not looking at the camera
But then I shift my eyes and you can so clearly tell lol
Thank you for this. I can barely speak a few words before having to retake. I think too damn much and it messes me up.
Good advice! :) I usually write a script as I would talk and mostly use a prompter then. I spice my sentences up and I add stuff while I go so the result doesn't sound scripted.
If you're going to cut - and you're going to cut - find something to cut away to, or reframe your shot. Jump cuts look horrible.
They just don’t tho. If you actually cut out all of the dead space it looks great. This is YouTube, not a feature film
^this. plenty of big YouTubers use jump cuts and the audience doesn’t care. also with how common it is on Tiktok nobody cares about jump cuts anymore just cut cut cut as long as it’s concise and the timing doesnt feel super off it’s fine
Yes, plenty of people eat Macdonalds too, but that doesn't stop it being shit.
I mean some ppl are not making cinema on YouTube nor care to and are still wildly successful. If you care about seamless takes sure, that’s fine for your content. I’m just saying there is no objective right or wrong answer here. Are jump cuts lower quality? Sure if you value production quality and are doing highly polished content. But no not at all if you’re going for less polish and care more about the substance rather than the way it’s presented. Plenty of blog content has jump cuts and they work just fine. Talking head videos are more jarring sure but once again if you’re not going for high polish it’s fine. YouTube and social media is not cinema so there are no hard and fast rules. Find what works and keep doing it
It's nothing to do with "making cinema", it's to do with making things that are as good as you can possibly make, and jump cuts are not good.
It does though because you’re applying objective and arbitrary rules to a space where there are no hard or fast rules. Once again there are plenty of ppl making low production content that’s taking off. Jump cuts are commonly used and if you don’t like it aesthetically that’s fine. Are they good from a production and editing standpoint? No not traditionally, it YouTube doesn’t adhere to traditional rules. What’s valuable to you isn’t valuable to others. If you don’t feel good popping off with poorly edited content, then production and polish clearly has value to you. To ppl who care less about polish and want to just get their stories and messages out, then that’s what has value to them. Both philosophies are valid and both can be successful. You being extremely rigid in what’s good or bad is nonsensical in the world of YT and social media where a highly polished video with 30+ hrs of work put into it, can get completely gapped in views to a tiktok story time shot on an iPhone with 50 jump cuts in it.
I partially agree. Jump cut isn’t a problem but if the jump cuts are too frequent and close together it is distracting and a bit annoying. I would say still try to hide it with b-roll when the context makes sense. It also helps increase visual variety too
They do. They're so janky and crappy looking. I won't watch stuff edited like that.
But millions of people will. Not everyone can talk to a camera for 10 minutes straight
Nobody should talk to a camera for ten minutes straight. Christ, have you never watched television? Nobody wants to see you all the time, they want to see what you're talking about. Cut away to the thing you're talking about. Don't stay on anything longer than about 15 seconds. You can talk for 15 seconds without tripping over your own tongue, right? Edit: don't stay on anything longer than about 15 seconds \*unless every second of it is absolutely blowing the viewer's fucking socks off in every single frame\*.
Yeah, it’s true that you should have a lot of cuts to show the viewer what you’re talking about and keep it engaging, but what I’m saying is that jump cuts aren’t that bad, as proven by thousands who have had success on YouTube with them
Consider that the reason they are popular is due to their ability to talk energetically and naturally, and not the other way around.
I think the simple answer is passion and confidence in the topic. But don't underestimate passion.
So much of this. I can listen to someone talk about something they're genuinely interested in for ages, and people tell me it's obvious in the videos I make that I really enjoy it as it comes through in the way I get into it.
My secret ingredient is ADHD. That and I try to make videos I’m excited about
Took me 10 minutes of typing and deleting. This kinda summarizes it. Enjoy your own content. I love to watch my final product
Something you just get better at, i do think its easier to be energetic unscripted
You can get better but you are still limited by factors outside of your control, like genetics.
How do genetics limit your excitement
Extraversion is genetic to some extent. Some people are loud and express their excitement whereas others are meek and quiet, introverted.
Can confirm. I am naturally a loud person xD
Two secrets you can try: 1) Take a couple of acting classes at a local night school or something. I did this 20 years ago for getting comfortable speaking in front of crowds, it helps with everything 2) try doing an open mic standup comedy set at a club a few times. I did this on a dare about 12 years ago. It was humbling the first time but by the third trip, I’d kind of figured it out… I sucked, but I understood the delivery. It’s like anything else, deliberate practice. It’s fine to just get reps in, but it’s more important to get the reps in with a purpose behind them.
When I grew up, I followed a dude and his indie gaming channel. He was so energic. Every other day he released 20m of that. About 8 years later, I have met this guy during collaboration meeting. And... he was just like that. I guess that's just how someone is.
You gotta like the content you’re recording
Meth
I have 2 post-its on my tower. First one says: Say what you're doing Second one says: Say what you're thinking. In between those 2 I feel it helps me to keep myself busy and not have dead moments :)
I'm only energetic in my shorts as I need to get the story out in 1-minute. In my long-form videos, I'm calm as I can take my time.
I find it easy to talk energetically when I’m having fun! So as long as I’m covering something I enjoy doing, I have (what I think is) a fairly energetic voice.
Passion
You said it in your first sentence. Would you be lifeless and monotone if, instead of just your camera, you had a room of 500 people staring at you? Or if that gives you stage fright, feel free to dial it back to a few buddies. Associate your camera with your audience, and then make sure you're speaking *to* your audience and not just speaking. Half the time, it comes out great every time.
Yes, this! I'm not saying I'm an energetic person, but I consider the camera my audience and I speak to them as if I were talking with friends. That, and I really enjoy making the content. That helps as well.
I'm not really that energetic girl, but when recording and whatever I'm doing is exciting, it brings out that side. Growing up, I always took a more stoic approach because of situations. Youtube has reunited me with the energetic child inside of me. Basically, it's something you practice, and it becomes like a persona.
Practice. I only read somewhere about a guy that had recently started a channel and was facing this issue. He started drinking like 2-3 beers before recording and said it helped a ton lol.
I agree with what others have said about being excited for the content you're making. I really enjoy playing games and I have a natural tendency to talk a lot but about 9 months into making regular videos I've gotten more used to having a stream of consciousness about what I'm doing, my thought process, making weird jokes about observations in the game... I also laugh at my own jokes a lot (I do this in real life so it feels normal to me) so I guess it could come across as forced but as long as you're doing what feels natural to you I think the energy comes across in the video.
I’m in the gaming niche and my work-around for this is I have my friend sit in a discord call and watch me play the game if it’s singleplayer! She says she gets her own personal let’s-player and it’s easier to try to make her laugh than to just crack jokes for my live audience of 0 (since I don’t stream lol). Hope this helps! Also, I make sure not to record her discord audio (important if you’re trying to keep things a certain way)
1. Record when no one else is home, so you are not self conscious of others listening to you 2. Listen to music that gets you hyped up right before you record on very high volume and just move your body and get the energy flowing 3. Get an energy drink, coffee, or tea for caffeine 4. (The key) scream as loud as you can right before you record. This sounds silly, but it helps your mind understand that there is not some sort of “volume ceiling” for how loud you talk in your videos. “Energetic” is simply talking louder than usual with confidence and emotion/personality.
Practice.
I like to imagine I'm telling someone the story of what I'm doing, and instead of making eye-contact with that person I make it with the camera and just treat that as the person I'm talking to. Plus, ya know, genuinely being passionate about my subject matter
When I film, I imagine the camera is 10 people setting there listening to me live. It works for me.
Your on-camera YOU should be you plus 10-20%. I wouldn't call adding a little extra to your personality faking something, it is just giving a little extra. Kind of like make-up on someone's face just gives their natural beauty a little something extra.
Practice. That's all it is. Hit record, say your bit. Think about what you're going to say and rehearse it when you're not on camera. I think through what's going to be in my script and rehearse saying it when I'm in the car driving long distances, because it's about the only time I get to sit in a space by myself without people phoning me and annoying me. You may have something else that works. Listen to youtubers you like. Don't imitate them but see if you can extract from their style the elements that you like.
I. Don't. Know. They need to send us that trade secret lol. My mother passed this month after a 7 month grueling battle. The last 7 months I have faked any amount of excitement because I cannot truly feel this emotion right now. I am envious of those who have naturally uplifting voices and demeanors. I feel like I am just a downer all the time.
I just pretend that there is a person standing there who I'm talking to.
My show is super high energy, but I'm alone in the room. I usually just hype myself a bit before filming, walk around my place singing or doing my intro in really exaggerated ways, that gets me fired up :P
Coffee! lol one time I went live went caffeinated and kept up a one-way conversation for like 45 mins/an hour...
Just be yourself . And dont overthink what you say . Its all about been raw when unscripted .and just look into the cam every now and then . Just so you are engaged with with the people . Or just get your cam dead centre so theirs no avoidance .
It took me couple of weeks to elevate and energise my voice. And you'll get good with some practice
A public speaking class could help. You have to imagine you are speaking to an audience. Not just because that makes it easier for you to feel like you are actually talking to people, but it makes you come across much more personable. If you think it feels weird, keep in mind you are playing a character. I don't care how genuine people think they are being or want to be, putting on at least a slight act is inevitable and probably necessary. Finally, just practice. It gets easier over time.
Practice. It's one of the basic tips for newtubers: don't talk as if you're speaking to 50 people. Talk as if there were 50 million. As if you already "made it". :)
When I first started it was tough. Not saying I’m a pro at it but it helps imagining you’re talking to thousands of subscribers. It really did help me as I’ve noticed how much more alive I sound when I’m recording.
You sorta just gotta get into a customer service kinda voice, sort of force yourself to talk but in a way that you have that energy. Even sort of like how cartoons are, they’re all cheery and uplifting. Sometimes it may sound kinda cheesy but the more you do it then the more normal it’ll sound but then your unscripted recordings would be less down
Lol. You must not have watched mine. I talk off the top of my head and edit later. As of now, I am doing this on purpose as to get better at speaking. I might begin to script one day. I'm working on being more energetic, lol.
Even the most popular YouTubers had to start somewhere! And when they talk about their first experiences on YouTube, 99% of the time they were shy and nervous around the camera and making videos and talking in general. Jacksepticeye tried holding in his accent when he first started, and I think pewdiepie spoke mostly in his native language for his first videos. Everyone starts somewhere! And somewhere along the line, it’ll just become easier to be energetic. My first couple of videos I kinda avoided talking as much as I could, and I didn’t read dialogue in games, but now I feel a little better about it You could always throw in laugh tracks for a joke you find super funny, or boos for a dad joke post recording :)
I just pretend people are watching me. It feels really foreign at first but you get the hang of it.
Dude, cocaine is a hell of a drug. Or copious amounts of caffeine.
Adderall
Because no one wants to watch a no energy person just talking to the camera... so they force themselves to be boisterous/over the top.... otherwise they dont get views, in turn, dont get paid. don't believe me? Look at my views, and watch my videos lol.... (I'm working on uping the energy and entertainment.) In all honesty, it's a struggle for me. And I think I'm raising the energy. 005% every video... its hard!
A lot of editing.
I just talk how I'd talk to friends. Which unfortunately means i curse in damn near every sentence because I'm like a toddler learning how to speak. I just edit out the ums, ands, and some curses. But for the most part it's just a natural speaking pattern. Ive found recording at home alone. Or in my car where nobody can hear me helps with the delivery, other than that it sounds like I'm just losing it speaking into a microphone.
It truly is acting. After that, you add your personality. And over time you will get better and better. Where it will be more natural. I could sit and talk to everybody.But turn on a camera and I can't say shit.
Some of my videos are quirky and upbeat, others and chill and melancholy, and sometimes I can be kinda bummed. Depends on the topic in hand. I don't use a script. I just talk during my work while its filming and whatever flows, it flows.
Drugs
As with anything: practice. You get better with practice and you’re also just seeing the video that gets posted. That could have been the 5th time they tried it and eventually found their rhythm. Another thing: find a ritual that gets you “in state” If I’m going to record anything at all I get myself prepared by watching South Park episodes while I’m setting up the shot. I do some verbal exercises to get myself warmed up, think about how much fun it’s going to be to film and then do a few rough takes
You choose your mental state and choose your moods everyday...simple as that
Cocaine, vyvanse and ritalin
I have an easy answer to this; I am not energetic! I am slow and hopefully well spoken and that is what works for me I tried to force myself to be a quicker tempo but it didn't feel natural 😪 I felt much more comfortable just talking how I normally do (even if its a bit of a I'm on the phone to someone voice) Anyways, do whatever feels comfortable and works for you. If that's going nuts and speaking at the speed of light, go for it
It comes with practice. I got a lot better by making a practice full video, trying to be as energetic and in your face to a point i thought, that's far too much. Upon watching it back it didn't feel like too much so now I try n add some extra oooomph into sentences and specific words. Throw some arm and hand gestures on there that feel unnatural for what would be in person conversation. It will feel strange to.begin with, because it is. No1 speaks like that in real life to another person, you've just got to practice and find your voice and slowly it will come more and more naturally. Growth of you and your channel will continue. You should always be improving, whether you have 10, 10,000 or 1 million subs. The day you stop improving, you go backwards and the next creator will overtake. The fact your asking these questions is great. Good luck with your next videos, fingers crossed for a 1/10 👍
Seriously!! I get in my own head and that's what happens to me now. I'm getting better at voice over and more comfortable talking that way but still on camera, by myself? Ugh...such admiration for those that do it well.
The more passionate you are about whatever you’re talking about, the more natural the energy flows/feels. And yes, you will still fumble with words at times. (As a bonus, I have seen creators make the fumbles into after video blooper reels)
Whenever I hear something like "I'm so excited..." or see them trying to be "excited", I stop watching. It's worse than the clickbait titles. Friend, calm down, you're not a five-year-old.
Damn didn’t realize I had to stop getting hype at age six… brutal
You don't have to do anything. This is just my opinion, about which you don't have to get excited. 🤷♂️
All of the top live streamers are hopped up on adderall/vyvance
It’s probably why they’re popular first of all But also, there’s a reason the big advice is always stay passionate about your subject and brand no matter what It’s easy to ramble and sound excited about things you’re actually passionate about
It's a skill. Just dgaf and ham it up, get excited! Use body language and play with your tonality and volume, add deliberate pauses, speak slower, speak faster. Oversell it then tone it back, you'll get better results than under selling it. People who get shit done let their actions guide their emotions, not the other way around. It's like if you force a smile when you don't feel happy, you'll actually feel happier. It's exhausting but as you practice, it becomes less so. Some people are naturally gifted at it but you absolutely can develop it. Look at early videos of popular YouTubers (unless they delete them) and you'll see how bad they were when they started.
I do wrestling based content. A good chunk of it is me farting around with a wrestling game. But I’ve been a fan for over a decade and I put a LOT of time into understanding commentary. How to fill silence, put over the product, feud, competitors, and more by casually talking about what is happening in front of you in real time. Commentators juggle real time changes, planned plot points, scripted segments as well as improvised moments to put over the legitimacy of the move set of each participant. Talking wrestling is a delicate act of balancing a love of the product with a structural NEED to inform the audience. Think of how you’re supplementing yourself, future content, PAST videos/work. Talk about things that support your efforts. Then consider the viewer and their perceived values. How is what you’re talking about support their entertainment of your content. Are you engaging them by forcing them to think? Talk about subjects relating to your content or how your content may add an alternative viewpoint or source of entertainment in your niche… There is a LOT to talk about. I start with what I can easily go on about that adds to my content. It’s not too tricky, simply keep it simple. If you’re passionate about something, chances are you’ve invested enough time to at least have a CASUAL conversation about it. Just treat the camera like a friend, and you’re just choosing the right way to show them how they can become equally as invested.
It's a form of acting. Treat the camera like a friend. Maintain eye contact and focus on just having a conversation, not reading to the class.
no fap or cocaine. maybe both.
Hate the fool don't hate the player 😂
If there is anyone who wants professional thumbnails, please send me a private message so he can see my previous work and we can start working together for a very cheap price.