How to express personality?

Minikinart

Minikinart

Active Member
Hopefully this is in the right subforum and I'm not breaking any rules.

Hi all. Ever since I filmed the very first video I've had problems expressing my personality on camera. I've been told by numerous gurus on Youtube that you should talk on the camera as you do to your friends and that you should exaggerate because everything gets toned down on camera. I've been told before that I sound/look way too professional and should relax a bit but I feel like I'm having so much trouble because I'm just afraid. I feel like there's a thin line between having a strong personality, being fun/funny and sounding... insane.

I've known my best friend for 18 years (whoa that makes me sound ooooooold) and that's the only person I feel comfortable being truly myself with, I've only known my camera for a few months, there's no comparison. I would love some tips that perhaps helped you relax and get more comfortable with camera. Also, is there really too much when it comes to showing off your personality in a video on Youtube? I can remember a couple of videos/creators that expressed their opinions/personality very strongly (the "leave Britney alone" guy and Fred for example) and yet they got a lot of views/subscribers.

What if I'm just a boring person? Am I doomed? (Just kidding, I'm a drama queen, which is slightly worse :p)
 
I kinda have the same problem, I guess. First off the only way to break camera shyness is to force yourself through it, unless someone comea with a better solution. On the topic of overreacting, I just find it cringeworthy. I also have the tendence to be more informative than entertaining (aka boring for the yt standards), and there are many channels around that are informative yet have a big audience, so not all is lost. After breaking the camera block just relaxing will be enough.
 
Expressing personality is the core to every creator. It's hard but with practice, and I mean loads of practice, you will get better at showing it. As for as your channel and videos are concerned I don't understand why you don't have a bigger following. You're very creative and your thumbnails are very eye catching. You're definitely not a boring person, it's just, you haven't yet felt comfortable enough it seems. I'm a YouTuber of 8 years and after making 1000 videos, I have a lot of confidence and can show my true colours. It just takes time and effort. You will go far!
 
It's the problem that every content creator faces in the begining. It's all about buinding that confidence. You don't need to try to be someone you're not,because subs are people too, and they will notice this. If you like bad puns, you have weird laugh and yada yada yada, don't be ashamed of it. Yeah, there will be people who will dislike it, bu I belive, the more YOU are YOU on camera and during recording (saying this as a gamer who posts videos without a camera yet), more and more people overtime will find it quite unique and each one will find something they like. Whether it's the voice or looks, or the actuall stories and topics you tell them about. Good thing is to practice in front of a mirror, like actors do. Find your way of telling and showing the thung you want (cuts, bg music, pictures, scits and etc.).

And remember, do it for fun, not just for "more views and subs"
 
@Conso1727 Exactly, there's a point where I like creators' reactions, personality and just their videos as a whole and then there are some where I just go okay, this is too much to handle. I guess the only thing is to practice and film a lot and analyze the video when editing so that I know what I'm comfortable with and what not. Good thing to know you can grow with more toned down videos. :)

@TheVlogTheory Thank you for your compliments; truly means a lot to me! I feel like especially these days when we have a lot of creators, personality is a big thing that sets us all apart, that's why I want to focus on improving that first. I guess a good practice would be vlogging, of course I wouldn't really upload those to Youtube (my life is pretty boring lol).

@Lazy Nik Thank you for tips! Some daily mirror practice should definitely help, as I'm quite shy in real life. There's more to me than just shyness though I just have to learn how to project that out properly. Making videos for fun is definitely something I try to keep in mind, though it can sometimes get discouraging when you don't get much feedback but in the end, I can look at the videos I made and be proud of that and that's what truly matters to me. :D
 
Just go for it. If you think that you might look insane, well it might actually be a good thing. So just experiment and see which video gets most views/likes/ comments :)
 
What if you got together with your friend? You could say the lines to her instead of the camera and just record the audio in audacity or something. Then just cut out everything you don't want. That way you're not speaking to no one. I think that's the hardest part.

I also suggest having a short intro where you look at the camera and say what the video is about. Then a really short outro saying thanks for watching, etc. I know you're shy in front of the camera, but again what if your friend was there holding the camera?

Of course, if your friend can't help then this is all useless lol.
 
@umbysworld I actually had proper intros when I first started but then I changed it to just saying a few words about the video and getting straight to the point. I'm not sure what worked better, I'll analyze the videos and keep experimenting in the future. Outros are actually a great idea and I'll definitely put that on my to-do list. I think filming with a friend would be worse, I'd probably get more shy, but I guess I could try that too. Maybe we could do a video together, that would be fun and different. Thanks for suggestions! :happy:
 
before you start filming, walk around your house talking out loud to yourself for a few hours to get used to it: talk about anything - the topic you want to talk about, the weather, how that one man stole the last doughnut on tuesday. then sit down and film and you'll be more comfortable with yourself speaking aloud to yourself.
 
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