Once you start streaming, what should you focus on first? Some skills like being comfortable in front of a camera only come with time, while others like handling difficult situations with your viewers are impossible to necessarily specifically fully prepare for every situation but as a new streamer, we want to focus on the key building blocks and recommend focusing on the streaming fundamentals. Once you get comfortable with these, you can combine these to handle more complex situations like being on camera anywhere or something something crazy coming up.
Here are the skills you should focus on:
Versatility
Handling things when you're streaming can be a challenge. Sometimes, the chat is unruly, other times you're having trouble with your audio or video, and in some cases, you may just be having a bad day. When that happens, it's important to have a game plan to help you handle it and keep the momentum going while you're streaming.
Doing so will help you keep your stream on track, boost your confidence and give you something to fall back on when things go south.
The best way to develop that game plan is to watch other streamers and see how they handle these situations. Take note of what works for them, whether that's being funny, loud or calm and collected. Then try out those approaches yourself using the same character traits. Once you've nailed down what works for you and what doesn't, use those techniques as needed. This will help keep things moving when there are glitches in the system or if you're having an off day.
Stamina
Remember, streaming is a marathon, not a sprint—but it's also a long-distance race AND a sprint. There's no simple way to describe it! It's not just about the game you're playing, but the interacting with your audience, and making sure that your voice sounds just as excited after three hours as it did in the first fifteen minutes.
Your audience has to know that you can keep up the pace for two or three times longer than you ever thought possible. But how do you keep up that pace when you're tired? You practice!
There are lots of ways to practice stamina. You can try writing or reading for long periods of time. You can try doing math problems in your head. Or maybe you like to draw or paint? Pick one of those activities and set a timer for thirty minutes, then spend that whole time doing nothing but that activity. Then when you're done, take a break and start again!
You'll be surprised at how quickly your body gets used to these practices. After all, streaming isn't just about keeping your eyes focused on the same thing—it's about keeping your mind focused on the same thing. And if you can get your body used to it, then your mind will follow along!
Talking to Yourself
Talk to yourself and work on your enunciation and monologuing skills. Pay attention to your pronunciation, cadence, and tone, even what you’re saying, how many jokes you’re using, or how informative you’re being with explanations.
This can give you an idea of if you’re really hitting what you’re focusing on with your content, and lets you practice doing more.
To get started, talk until you like hearing your own voice, keep talking to yourself until you like talking to yourself. This comes in handy when no one else is talking to you or if the messages you’re getting back or the conversations you’re getting back is not necessarily the direction that you want to go.
Conversational Skills
When you're just starting to stream, it can be daunting to try and figure out what to actually talk about.
"I'm not interesting enough," you might think, or "What do I have to say that people will want to hear?"
Well, the good news is that there are countless different things you could talk about, and a million different ways you could talk about them. And there's no better way to start than with your comfort zone.
Take a moment and write down topics that you know you can hold a solid conversation about—things you're excited about, interested in, or would love to have a discussion about with absolutely anyone who'll listen.
Then, when you start streaming and talking about those topics, take note of whatever clicks with your audience. You may even find that some people stick around just because they like your voice!
Casual conversation can help build interaction with your viewers, which in turn fuels your stream. Even noting who is interested in a topic can help you be aware of what to talk about when those same people return. If you ever go through an entire list, don’t be afraid to repeat topics. Not everybody will be able to watch for the entire session, most especially at the beginning. Maybe no one was there for the conversation you were having and it makes it even easier to repeat. Most likely, your audience is now hearing it for the very first time.
That said, again, make sure you keep adding and thinking of new topics and if you stick to the same content for too long, even if it’s working, you might end up sounding like a broken record. A great way to develop content ideas is to read the news. It doesn’t have to be the new york times, find a website that covers your passion. Reddit is a great discovery tool for new topics. Even the comment section within that. A specific game blog group within that, the comment sections within any of those. The important thing is to keep your audience engaged so always keep your eyes open for topics to talk about and ways where you can start to lead the conversation.
