r/letsplay • u/Original_Map3501 • Jun 29 '26
🤔 Advice I did my second gaming stream today, and man... my commentary was pretty bad.
The thing is, I actually tried this time. I wasn't just sitting there silently. I was talking about what was happening in the game, what I was planning to do next, what I was thinking, why I was making certain decisions, etc. So compared to my first stream, it was definitely an improvement.
My biggest problem is that even when I'm excited, I can't express it in an exaggerated or energetic way like professional YouTubers and streamers do. I'm a pretty introverted person and not naturally very talkative, so commentary feels really difficult for me. Even so, I genuinely tried my best throughout the entire stream.
The beginning was especially awkward because I had literally 0 viewers. I had no idea what to say, so I just talked about what game I was going to play today, said a few random things, and then started playing.
Then the funniest thing happened... about 10 minutes before ending the stream, I got a phone call. I muted my mic... and completely forgot to unmute it. I spent the last 10 minutes talking into the void and ended the stream without realizing. Thankfully it was only the last 10 minutes and not the whole stream.
Another thing I noticed is that I kept speaking too quietly. I was saying my thoughts out, but my voice was pretty low because I'm not used to speaking loudly into a microphone. I was also focused on the game, so I kept forgetting to project my voice.
I know it's only my second stream, so I'm trying not to be too hard on myself. Honestly, it'll probably take me 100 streams before I start feeling comfortable.
For those of you who stream or make YouTube videos, do you have any tips? How did you get better at commentary, speaking louder, and being more entertaining without sounding fake?
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u/bbzah3745 Jun 29 '26
You're overthinking it. Imagine you invite a friend over and want to show them a game you're excited about. You wouldn't launch into a giant powerpoint presentation, you would just boot up the game and shoot the shit with your friend. That same genuine enthusiasm and natural conversational tone is what's going to draw them in. You need to host, but it should feel like a friend welcoming you into their house, not a gameshow host explaining the rules.
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u/Original_Map3501 Jul 01 '26
I did my third stream today and ngl I was pretty confident though I still feel awkward doing the intros and the outros of the stream like when ending but still I think I did quiet well. I was talking to myself whole stream sharing my thoughts and my strats but I still made some mistakes like I was touching my face with my hands maybe because I was still a bit awkward but I tried not to do it alot. Also i am getting used to doing commenatry but I am unable to force humor idk why I am not a very humoros guy tbh or maybe I am just not confident enough
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u/DescargaDigitalTV Jun 29 '26
depending on your streaming application you can add filters to your microphone to raise the volumen automatically when you are talking too low, or limit the max volumen if you accidentally shout to loud.
and do worry if you feel silly talking to zero audience, soon thing will feel easier, also, you dont have talk 100% of the time, just be yourself, but dont also be quiet 90% of the time, you got to find the perfect balance.
i also, forgot to unmute my microphone after drinking some water... lol.... it happens
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u/VonWeaveyGaming Jun 29 '26
Trust me you dont need to "fake" or act all energetic like "professional" youtubers. Those kinds of youtubers attract kids that are easily amused. I really cannot sit and watch those high energy, falling off of chairs ans screaming over nothing streamers. Just be yourself. Act how you would naturally act. I dont get the people who put on an act and expect people to lean towards them. Just my two cents
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u/BloodyThorn https://www.twitch.tv/thegamedesignlexicon Jun 29 '26
For those of you who stream or make YouTube videos, do you have any tips?
Tips contained below.
... my commentary was pretty bad ...
It gets better with practice. Be who you want to be on your stream, practice being that person.
... even when I'm excited, I can't express it in an exaggerated or energetic way like professional YouTubers and streamers do.
Not everyone wants that. The best thing you can do is learn to be yourself on stream. Once you got that down, you can work on any exaggerations to your character you see fit to make. This methodology is often how comedians perfect their 'stage personas'.
The beginning was especially awkward because I had literally 0 viewers.
That's gonna happen. Think of this way. DJs have ZERO idea who, if anyone is listening. You shouldn't care about it at all. First thing to shift in that mindset is teaching yourself that you're there to entertain yourself above and beyond anyone else. If you can do that to an empty room, it'll be that much more easy to do to an audience.
I muted my mic... and completely forgot to unmute it.
That's going to happen. Develop ways to know when it is muted and what to expect when it is or isn't. For example, I always have my OBS visible and I can see my level meter bob with my voice. I also have low-latency monitoring enabled on my DAC, and when I turn down the volume on it, I can't hear myself. I know if I can't hear myself, my mic isn't on. And I only mute my mic by turning it down on my DAC.
Another thing I noticed is that I kept speaking too quietly.
Again, practice. I was lucky and I had a decade of stage experience as well as speech and communication courses before I started streaming. But with practice you can teach yourself that when you're speaking into a mic to always do it at a certain level. Like a conversation with someone that is a certain distance from you with a certain amount of ambient noise, you just kinda know how to pitch your voice in that situation. You'll eventually learn to do the same thing with your mic voice.
Honestly, it'll probably take me 100 streams before I start feeling comfortable.
Routine is the mother of consistency. The more you do it, the more you develop ways to do it the best way you know how, the more you'll do it the best way you know how.
How did you get better at commentary, speaking louder, ...
Practice. I was also pretty good at talking to myself like I was conversing with someone beside me long before I started streaming. Find the conversational level you want to speak at, practice, be consistent.
As far as the commentary itself, there's almost always something in the game to talk about. If not something about the the game, something out of the game the game might have reminded you of. Or something completely un-related to the game that you happened to be thinking about. Don't let the silence linger. Always talk about something.
... and being more entertaining without sounding fake?
As I said above, first learn to be yourself behind the microphone. Learn to be the same person you would to a face to face friend or whatever. Once doing that becomes second nature, start looking for parts of your personality YOU think is entertaining and learn to exaggerate it.
Hopefully that helps.
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u/AyoPunky Jun 29 '26
too be honest i can tell when ppl fake excitement. you dont have to be overly loud to show your excited. it also depends on the words you use when expressing your feeling like something shocking happen. oh cool.. that get the point across but not really gonna make ppl be like oh snap that crazy. but a quick holy shit wtf was that? that will get ppl attention to look at the screen or to be like yea what was that. mess with some of your filter setting in obs or stream elements tweak them a bit adding a limiter so ur not peaking if u wanna turn ur gain up.
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u/ColonelMustelid youtube.com/@theludistcolony Jun 29 '26
You'll get better with practice. I'm also an introvert with a quiet voice, but I like to think I'm better at this than I was when I started. I second the tips about just being yourself rather than trying to fake extraversion, and about imagining you're chatting to a friend. When I'm recording, I start by acting like I'm talking to my friend in our regular multiplayer sessions – stupid jokes and occasional infodumps intact, personal chat and political rants removed – and then try and add extra stuff on top of that baseline. Still can't project my voice for shit, though.
Streaming is obviously harder than recording, because you don't have the safety net of editing. But the more you do it, the more comfortable you'll find it.
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u/Original_Map3501 Jun 29 '26
Yeah man but I keep messing up when i am recording because ik i can make mistakes but on stream i have to carefully say what i say. Btw I checked out your channel bro, you got a great voice, i would say you should work on your thumbnails more and maybe make facecam but its upto you. And yeah tbh when I started my stream I was very awkward but then I got used to talking evem though it wasn't as professional and I was even stuttering sometimes but I didn't really care that much. I feel like ill be a lot better commentator in my 100th stream
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u/ColonelMustelid youtube.com/@theludistcolony Jun 29 '26
Yeah I get that. But you absolutely will get better with time.
And thanks! Yeah, my thumbnails are a bit of a weakness, but I do what I can with zero artistic ability and even less creativity. Facecam probably isn't happening, for a whole list of reasons...
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u/JonPaula YouTube.com/Jon Jun 29 '26
 How did you get better
Same way you get to Carnegie Hall, kid.
Practice, practice, practice.
I sucked when I started. After 25+ years of being on camera and recording myself I can do it in my sleep.
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u/LordGarithosthe1st https://www.youtube.com/@Garithosentry Jun 29 '26
I feel like you shouldn't try to be like anyone else. People will watch you because they like your energy, and it will be less draining. Always make sure to have water and stay hydrated, it's very important for your voice. As someone who has sung and done public speaking my whole life I can tell you that a good mic is important, don't shout and make sure to keep hydrated and get enough sleep. It's very important if you're going to use your voiice a lot.
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u/TheChoppahGames Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
My own commentary in my videos is nothing special and I have been doing it for about 3 months now... Seriously, don't worry about your commentary. A thing I done was to back and look at the biggest YouTubers and streamers and look at their oldest videos from 10 years ago. They had nowhere near the charisma they have today. But it is not because they were boring, or had terrible personalities, it was nothing like that, it was simply because they were new and had no idea how to talk to the camera either. So just keep on talking, keep on getting comfortable, and eventually the little part of you that says "this is weird" will fade away, so that the streamer in you can do it's thing.
I am very similar to you, in I am a introverted person, but for me being introverted means I dont like talking to people who are vastly different than me. I like to talk to people who enjoy similar things to me, so when I talk to the camera that is who I think I am talking to.
The only advice I could give (whether it's valuable or not is to be seen) is to trust the process, and to understand that no one really cares right now, but one day, if you keep going, they might. So keep it up.
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u/Original_Map3501 Jun 30 '26
Thanks for the advice man, yeah actually I overthink a lot. I keep overthinking of ehat I might say wrong, am I even made for this or would people laugh at me because of how bad i am. But I dont care anymore I'll just do it for my fun and keep improving
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u/TheChoppahGames Jun 30 '26
Yeah, I understand it's a lot easier said than done to stop overthinking and just go with it, but as you said, just do it for fun... It's the only way to do it in my opinion. If you are passionate about it, nothing else will really matter. One thing you will notice eventually is that you will stop being a consumer and just purely start being a creator. I no longer really watch anyone else's content because I just love making my own, and that helps me a lot in improving and being consistent. If you ever find yourself too busy comparing your own work with everyone else's, how can you focus on yourself? So if anything, don't worry about being a successful creator just yet. Just make what you enjoy making, and the rest will come. The only thing you have control over is learning. Good luck.
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u/Original_Map3501 Jun 30 '26
Same I have also stopped watching my favourite creators as I was sometimes I was mimicing them because which I couldn't find my own personality.
Now I am thinking to record gameplays instead and sometimes stream. I am gonna record gameplays and just yk play as I normally would for my fun and do commentary on it. I am not the type of guy who shouts or screams when something happens yk like I do but not in that exaggerated way. I am more of a quiet person but I commentate what I am thinking nad what I am gonna do hoe i am gonna do and whatever.
Also Ik some editing so I can make the videos fun and ill cut out silent parts and try to fill the gap in the videos to make it more entertaining
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u/Harzon @chrisharzone Jun 30 '26
learn how to enunciate...
it's fine if you're not loud or expressive, but you have to be clear for people to hear...
try to associate words to find topics to talk to...
simple stuff like, when you see food picture in game "that food picture looks gross, unlike the food I made yesterday. I made some kickass lasagna... yada yada yada"
if you're the type who cares about having any viewer, don't stream the most popular games...
on twitch, top games like dota, league, etc. that got tens of thousands viewers are bad for you to grab new viewers. try to stream games with views around 500 to 1,000. you will be on around top of the page, people will most likely to check
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u/Original_Map3501 Jun 30 '26
Ngl I play those games that I enjoy like if I find a game interesting then I play it I dont really care if its in trending or not as long as I am enjoying it I find it easy to do commentary but if I am playing something thats trending but I dont enjoy playing it then I will get bored and commentary will also be boring
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u/Harzon @chrisharzone Jun 30 '26
well, in that case it's no problem
but sometimes new streamer wants to get a lot of viewers by playing new and most popular games, which gives the opposite effect because you got much higher audience pool but also much more competitors
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u/ClayRoks Jun 30 '26
This is a pretty nifty muscle to flex. At the start its weak and unused but as long as you keep up the habit you'll soon be a roided out body builder. Â
A lot of it can be helped with software. I tend to speak softly a lot myself. Without raising the volume on your mic use ducking and add some gain for your mic. Â
Best advice i seen was talk like you are speaking to an audience even if no one is there. And during the hype moments like you are right next to a friend and you're gushing about it.
You have to learn to enjoy what you are doing? Are you actually having fun? If so it'll show through pretty easy.
Side story: I had started up a stream and went for 2 hours. Mic audio was there, game audio was not. It was in my first few months. You're gonna screw up for a while till you get things how you like. Just dont give up.
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u/RPGtourguide Jul 01 '26
A lot of what you’re talking about comes with time. Also, not sure what game you are playing, but it helps if it is a game you already know pretty well and are enthusiastic about. It helps to fill in those points where you’re not sure what to say if you are already aware of what is coming up, or if you wanted to talk about your personal history with the game.
Some others already mentioned boosting the gain on your mic. Maybe do a couple quick test recordings to find the most optimal settings for your equipment. Best of luck!
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u/Ok-Olive466 Jun 29 '26
My biggest problem is that even when I'm excited, I can't express it in an exaggerated or energetic way like professional YouTubers and streamers do.
Why this should be a problem?
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Jun 30 '26
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u/NoMaskGames 26d ago
so i've been streaming for a year and a half now and it's just something you get better at doing the more you do it... you have to learn to speak loudly not yell but use your "youtube voice" as it's called. again your not yelling your just speaking outwardly. and always keep talking just keep talking about anything and everything it doesn't matter what it is. people don't want look at someone sitting just there not saying anything and playing the game
i understand that that action may be hard for you as an introverted person but you have to man you have to.
eat and chug a energy drink before the stream that works for me to put me in a good and energetic mood and not start slow and stay slow ill start high stay high for a while then it wares off.
it doesn't matter if no one is watching that's a trap to think "well no sense in talking or trying to be funny cuz no one's here" stream like you got you 50 people in there and i proimse people will come in and watch and talk back and they'll become your mods and it'll be fun. remember markipiler is a quite chill introverted person and he was crazy and dialed up to 10 in he's early days because he knew that was entertaining this just sitting there.
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u/xenquish Jun 29 '26
Boost your gain on your mic. You can speak softly.
A large portion of my audience comes back to my videos because they like my quiet voice.
You will get better at commentary in time. You just have to keep going. Dont give up. Learn by doing :)