Voice not loud enough?

Dewmonic Abyss

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It's no secret, that for many genres on YouTube, especially that of the gaming, vlogging, and comedy niches, louder personalities tend to make it big. A lot of people love seeing energy and screaming. But, that's not really me. And I got some criticism about that the other day. I was told that whenever I speak, I tend to sound like I'm whispering, like I want to scream but just can't. And I think that might be true. I didn't realize that, but, because of my past, I'm more prone to being quiet and reserved. And even though I think I have good projection, for me, in my videos, that would come across as quiet to other people. I've always been known as that kind of person. And then, of course, you need to be quiet if you live with other people, so there's always that factor. And if you're vlogging, you can't really shout in public. So, I was wondering if anyone else struggled with this, and possibly have any advice?
 

Hirudov

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If your voice doesn't sound loud enough, you can amplify it with software. Most audio and video editing software allows you to amplify sounds and eventually remove sound quirks like splashing, swallowing, nose whistle and other parasite sounds that you can hear in amateur video shootings. Screaming doesn't make any sense. Most microphones have limit and even if you scream, they will not record it as loud as it was in the scream, even sometimes cutting part of the higher frequencies. If you want louder recording, just move your microphone closer to your mouth. If you have many quiet pauses with not talking just splashing, you can cut them. Remember, most of the people that you watch on video are not the same persons in real life. Acting and editing makes them look quite different persons.
 
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Dewmonic Abyss

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I don't think it's really the volume of my voice, because I do edit with audio software, but instead possibly the tone or the strength of it. I'm not sure if possibly just adding more base and gain is a solution? The hard part is that I can't really tell what's good projection, since I don't usually talk that much. I can hear myself fine, but I'm not sure what the 'one size fits all' is, if that makes any sense.
 

Mikes

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The volume sounds fine, and, well, everything sounds fine overall.

From about five of your most recent videos, it only sounds like that a little with the video THIS VIDEO IS A CRY FOR HELP (first 7 seconds). However, I don't hear it at all with the others. It's like an airy sound that's added on top of your voice, and it also sounds like you might be making your voice deeper rather than making it louder. Maybe you're forcing it a little?

Try recording a session of you speaking in different ways, and you'll probably notice the differences. Try speaking how you normally do, then speaking in character, and finally what you think would be projecting your voice. I don't hear the "whisper-can't-scream" sound outside of that one video, but it'd help to know what video the criticism focused on to begin with.

Even then, that's not something I'd even notice much. I think I do that as well if I try characterizing my voice rather than speaking normally. I guess enthusiasm and excitement don't really go too well together with my voice and the way I speak (it can sound really forced/cringe-worthy), so I just use compression to raise the volume.

But yeah, it sounds fine.
 
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Dewmonic Abyss

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Thank you! That's very reassuring to hear. I do believe it was my more recent videos where I was hearing this, so I did want to make sure. I wasn't seeing any problem with my own audio, but I do know that in real life people naturally have trouble hearing me. My vocal chords are just probably not that strong, since I'm an introvert and don't speak all that much. I'll see about compression and amplifying and try to compare my speaking styles. :)
 
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Ryan Ng

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If you weren't in front of the camera how would you act? How would you talk? Study yourself and that is the way you act in front of the camera. You can't be someone that you aren't, but you can be yourself and that is all you need. If I were watching your vlogs and you were acting fake it would be obvious and that turns off a lot of people.
So my advice to you. Act the way you act around your friends and family. That is what the people want to say.
 

Crown

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Amateur dramatics (theatre groups) or public speaking lessons would help you overcome that.
 
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