How to be a confident streamer: A helpful guide on building confidence

One of the biggest barriers (if not the biggest) to gamers starting streaming is: the F-word. That’s why we created this helpful guide on how to overcome it and be a confident streamer.

 

The F-word: FEAR

A lot of gamers are confident with their in-game skills. They love to play, and it feels second nature to them. Gaming is their comfort zone – a space where they don’t have a lot of stressors and worries. A world where they’re the unbeatable hero, who conquers quests. A world where everything is possible. 

But these same gamers who are so at home playing their favorite games would falter at the idea of getting in front of the camera and playing in front of an audience. We get it. Playing games as a hobby is fun. It’s relaxing and enjoyable. But doing it as a performance – nope. Hell noooo. A lot of gamers would rather stop playing than play in front of a crowd. 

That’s why even if these gamers want to monetize their passion for playing, they can’t because they’re afraid to put themselves out there, playing their favorite games in front of other people. 

They can’t bear the thought of getting embarrassed. Of being criticized. And being not good enough at something they enjoy. 

But let us tell you this. That fear you feel is conquerable. Much like that last dungeon boss that took you 3 days to defeat, your fear of putting yourself out there can be defeated, so you can start streaming, and eventually monetizing your passion for playing!

In this article, we’ll give you eight pieces of advice you can use to be a confident streamer! 

 

Shift your mindset

The first thing you need to do, to be a confident streamer is to put your focus where it needs to go. We’re sure that right now when you think about streaming, you’re thinking about everything that could go wrong. You’re thinking about the haters, the bashers, and the criticism you might get. 

STOP. 

Stop thinking those thoughts and replace them with a different story. Imagine your first stream going well. You’re playing your best game – getting one kill streak after another. Victory after victory. Think about how good that feels. Then imagine your stream getting more and more viewers every time you go online. Visualize those numbers going up every time you look at it. Then think of the applause, the compliments, and even the tips your fans would send you. 

Instead of having negative thoughts about streaming, choose to replace them with happier ones. This would make you feel more excited than scared. And eventually, this will motivate you to start streaming and have a fun time doing it. 

Remember: they’re just thoughts – neither of them is a reality yet, so why choose to have the scary ones, when you can have the good ones?

 

Have affirmations ready

Shifting your mindset and changing your perspective is good mental preparation for starting your stream. It helps you have better feelings – more excitement, joy and positivity. But sometimes, when the camera starts to roll and the stream starts to broadcast, you’ll feel a little pressured. 

And this is when your affirmations can save you. 

Having a couple of calming phrases ready – whether memorized or taped on your monitor – would help you overcome any waves of fear and anxiety while streaming. 

Based on experience, some of the best affirmations we’ve come across are quotes from our favorite characters. Perhaps it could help you too. 

“I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me.” – Joshua Graham, Fallout 

Affirmations aren’t woo woo — they’re real tools you can use to overcome fear be a confident streamer.

 

Stick to what you know

Sometimes, you’re afraid to start streaming because you think what you know isn’t enough yet. So, you go on this spree of research trying to cover your shortcomings. But it now makes you more anxious because you realize that you still don’t know a lot. 

Here’s a secret you need to know now: What you don’t know doesn’t matter. It’s what you do that does. 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to play the most popular character in Valorant and your best pick is the most boring one. Choose your best pick. People won’t care. They might even find a new appreciation for your favorite character once they see you play. 

Don’t let the things you don’t know stop you from doing the things you don’t know. Because people won’t know what they don’t know. 

 

Think of your viewers as your friends 

One of the biggest fears of performers is the audience. No matter how confident they are with their skills – they can be the very best at what they do – they’re still afraid of what the viewers would say. And thinking about this would paralyze you in fear. 

The best way to be a confident streamer is to change how you see your viewers. Instead of thinking about them as an audience who are watching you perform, or a bunch of critics waiting for you to make a mistake to judge you, see them as your friends. 

Think of your viewers as friends who are just watching you play on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Remember those days with your buddies? Just hanging around, taking turns on the controller, and having a good time.

See your viewers as friends who are there to watch you play and have fun with you. This not only help remove the fear you’re feeling. It’ll also help you have a more entertaining stream because you’ll be interacting with your viewers like you would with your friends. 

 

Keep working on your craft

The real secret to be a confident streamer is constant improvement. The more you get better at one thing, the better you’ll feel about yourself. That’s why it’s important that you keep on learning and working on your craft. 

Sharpen your sword day after day and upgrade your tools regularly to conquer harder quests. 

This leads us to our next point… 

 

Practice makes perfect

Sharpening your sword by reading, watching, and playing is not enough to build your confidence. What you need to be doing is streaming consistently. Put yourself out there more and more. Then practice streaming too – record yourself and analyze what you’re doing well and not so well. 

 

Focus on enjoying the game 

Always remember that at the end of the day, you’re playing a game. And games are supposed to be fun and exciting. 

When things get a bit too hard – you feel the stress and pressure from your audience and whatnot, you can’t control your thoughts, bring your focus to the game. 

Just focus on the game and enjoy every moment of it. Forget everyone else – the metrics, the audience, the stream. 

 

Just go for it

Ask whomever you know who took a leap outside their comfort zone and they’ll tell you the same thing. The best way to conquer your fear is to jump in front of it as soon as you can. Don’t let your brain think you out of it this time. Because odds are, nothing fatal will happen to you if you pursue your dream to be a confident streamer

So, just leap and start your stream with everything you have. Don’t wait until you know everything. Don’t wait until you have the right tools. Don’t wait until you are part of the 1% in the rankings. 

Set up that streaming channel, tell your friends about it, ask them to tell their friends, and just stream! 

 

We hope you find this guide on how to be a confident streamer helpful. Good luck with your stream!