So, you’ve been working on your channel for a while now or you’re ready to jump into the YouTube world, but one thing you know is important, but hard to master, is being entertaining. No one wants to watch a gaming video that’s boring, and YouTube is incredibly personality-driven, so you need to shine amongst the other thousands of people making content. But don’t let that put you off! Even if you’re not usually the loudest in the room or make the most jokes, there are ways to make your audience engage with you online.
Whether that’s making a game do the heavy lifting for you or getting a friend to help, there are plenty of simple ways to make sure you shine on YouTube. So here are eight easy tips to get started with right now.
1: Smile More
Now this might sound weird. Obviously you don’t want to be grinning maniacally, but being aware of smiling can make a huge difference in how you come across on camera. Smiling, even if you don’t feel like it, can also put you in a better mood to start with. It’s a great way to trick yourself into a better attitude, and people are going to enjoy a happy person more than they are a miserable one most of the time.
Secondly, and more importantly though, it helps your voice sound better. Putting on a smile instantly livens up what you’re saying. It helps you sound more alive and interesting because people will hear the smile in your tone, not just see it. Opening your mouth wider, showing your teeth, these are ways to get your muscle in the perfect place to let your voice out in the best possible way. It might feel strange at first, forcing yourself to smile, but if you’re gaming on YouTube you’re going to love what you’re doing anyway so it shouldn’t be too hard to manage a grin.
2: Be Yourself
I know, I know, this sounds like one of those meaningless feel-good tips you see everywhere, but when it comes to selling yourself, knowing who you are is important. There are thousands of people trying to make it in the online gaming space everyday. But don’t let that put you off, no one is going to be exactly like you, so tap into that.
Think about what your friends like about you, or what you feel confident in. Are you always making people laugh with impressions? Bring that into your channel. You could create stories in something like Minecraft with great character voices, or perhaps make jokes at bad NPCs in an RPG.
Are you always bringing the best memes to the group chat? Add them in when you’re editing. Do your friends love your optimism? Then let that positivity shine!
Whatever it is that makes you stand out as an individual, dial that up and have fun with it.
3: Bring A Friend
Look, being confident on camera doesn’t come naturally to everyone, especially when you’re starting out. However you don’t have to go it alone. A lot of people are their best selves when around friends, so bring that to your channel. Get a friend you bounce well off and stream a co-op game with them, do a let’s play where you take turns doing levels, or just have them as moral support to watch you as you capture and make jokes with them.
If they also have a YouTube channel it’s a great way to promote one another to each other’s audience too. However, even if they don’t have a channel, they can be a way to help you relax and be your best self. So many great gaming channels are made up with duos or teams of people for that very reason. Talking to yourself is tiring, but you can chat to friends forever.
4: Write It
While some of the funniest moments on YouTube come from genuine reactions, it’s hard to fill a whole ten minute video with just that stuff, especially as it can be so random to capture. So sometimes it pays to plan a little. Think about what your video is trying to do and build yourself a script around that. Even if it’s just the intro and outro. A well written script can keep your audience engaged, rather than clicking off after too much rambling.
You can even create narratives to your gameplay, making a story for your character. That can be as simple as a few talking points, even if it’s not fully scripted line by line.
You can get as complex or as simple as you like, but planning what you say can help you to sound better overall. Plus there are tons of free autocue softwares out there to stick on your phone or PC when recording that make it easy for a script to sound like genuine speech.
5: Watch The Pros
Want to get better? Watch people who are good at what you want to do. Yes that’s right, hours binging your favorite YouTubers is actually helpful! Well, if you’re trying to learn. Make sure to go back and watch your favorite videos with a critical lens. See what it is you enjoy. Do they have clever scripts, a great group of people, amazing editing?
You can’t become someone else, and you definitely shouldn’t try to be, but watching someone you admire can be really inspiring. Try watching a video you love before filming, keep their energy in mind while you record and you might be surprised how much it helps.
6: Play Good Games
Now I don’t mean you should play games with high review scores, but games that people will enjoy watching. No matter how funny or interesting you are, your audience will eventually switch off if the game just isn’t fun to watch.
So make it easy for yourself and pick games that are fun, no matter who’s playing. Then the game does a lot of heavy lifting for you when it comes to being entertaining. Hate being scared? Try a horror game for genuinely funny reactions. Know an RPG with silly NPCs and funny glitches? Try it out. There are so many games people love to watch so start with those and once you build an audience it’ll be easier to branch out to other genres.
7: Practice Makes Perfect
Now this might seem obvious but it’s worth reminding yourself of, especially when first starting out. A lot of the YouTubers you love have likely been doing this full time for years if not a decade now. It’s taken them time to refine their personal brand and, in time, you will too.
Keep filming, keep making videos. Try out new ideas, experiment and eventually you’ll start to find out what works best for you. Plus you can actually do some of that practice without the camera. No matter how confident we are in a stream, you’ll never feel as relaxed as you are when people aren’t watching. So have a go at doing your regular content offline to refine jokes and discover what works for you.
Plus if you’re not live, you can practice lines and gameplay as you film. Give yourself a few tries to get the perfect one. It might feel weird, but no one will know except you, that’s the magic of editing.
8: Make sure you’re comfortable
Whether that’s stocking up on snacks and water or changing into something comfy, a relaxed and comfortable person makes for better watching. You might think you’re fine for twenty minutes or so, but generally, filming can take a long time, so make sure you’re in the best possible headspace before launching in.
The happier you genuinely feel, the better you’ll come across on camera. It seems obvious, but taking care of ourselves can often fall down the list of priorities, so make sure you’re looking after the star of your channel: you.
Conclusion
So those are eight ways to be more entertaining on YouTube. It can be a lot to take in at once, but just trying one of these tips can instantly boost your videos. So grab that friend, try a script and you’ll soon bring in an audience.
Just don’t forget:
- Keep smiling
- Be yourself
- Bring a friend to help
- Write yourself a script
- Watch your favorite YouTubers
- Keep practicing
- Always look after yourself
So, now you know how to be entertaining, where do you go next? If you’re new to making videos check out our article on how to get started making a channel, if you’re trying to refine your online brand how about creating a personalized logo? Keep checking back with us at Career Gamers to turn your passion into your job.