The growing popularity of video games due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of new users to live-streaming platforms like Twitch and Youtube Gaming. Some seek out entertainment watching the streams, some try out live-streaming themselves playing games. While some people feel comfortable being in front of an audience, others might find it a bit harder for them and they’re wondering how to get better at streaming.
There are a lot of things you can do to improve your stream or youself as a streamer, but one of the most important things when it comes to being a good streamer is viewer interaction. Yes, that’s right. You don’t really need good equipment and an expensive custom built PC to be good at streaming. All you need to do is be good or get better at engaging with your viewers.
Think about what kind of streamers you usually end up watching for longer. Imagine a streamer who talked a lot and was very entertaining and a streamer who was quieter and talked less. Of course it depends at lot on what the streamer was doing at the time, for example an Art stream where the steamer is quietly painting a picture with a soothing background music can be interesting enough, but statistics show that most people tend to stay in streams where the streamer is talkative and making the viewer feel included. If the Art streamer would use a microphone to describe what they are doing that would add a lot to their stream.
As a streamer you are the entertainer.
You might find yourself thinking: “I don’t know what to talk about. It would be easier if there was someone in the chat to talk to.” While that’s true, you as a streamer need to give your potential active viewer a topic they can join in on. As a streamer you are the entertainer not the other way around.
- Describe what you’re doing
Describing what you are doing currently is the easiest way to get started with the interaction. Talk about what you are doing in the game, what are you thinking about doing next, describe your game tactics, drawing technics or whatever it is that you are doing. Describe why you do something or where you learned about that and just let it flow.
- Talk about yourself and your day
Second topic to talk about could be just talking about your day, week or whatever comes to mind about yourself and your life. People love to hear about other people’s experiences and they want to get to know you. Try not to get too negative with this topic and keep the talk light. Tell people about something funny that happened at work/school, what did you buy/eat recently or even what do you think about the weather.
The key to getting better at interacting is simply talk, talk, talk. Keep talking about whatever comes to your mind and trying not to leave a long silence period.
Make people feel welcomed
When someone new finally joins your stream via chat, make them feel welcomed. Don’t pressure them to follow your channel and just try to keep the conversation flowing. If they leave and the chat goes quiet again, don’t let yourself down and just keep talking out loud to yourself. It can be a longer road than you hoped for, but eventually you’ll have regulars tuning in and looking forward to your streams.
What if I am afraid to use the microphone?
When I first started out with streaming I was afraid of the same thing. I don’t like to talk out loud very much and I keep my thoughts to myself, but I also really wanted to be a streamer. I knew that it’s a hobby that requires a lot of talking and practising it in front of a smaller viewerbase was really helpful as it took a lot of the pressure of performing off of me.
- Use smaller viewerbase to your advantage.
This is actually one of the best time to start training your interaction skills. If there aren’t a lot of eyes on you, there shouldn’t be so much fear for failure. Get comfortable with talking to yourself and you’ll notice eventually that you can’t even stay quiet anymore. You’ll notice that you actually like to talk and it comes more easier to you with each stream.
First published on steemit.com personal blog on 3.12.2018. Text edited on 16.05.2022 Article length: 732 words