How to Be an Introverted YouTuber and Thrive
As an introvert, getting a space at most tables is hard. Extroverts seem to have a much easier time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it!
I know that the main roadblock is myself and my insecurities. So here are some tips I tell myself before I start filming so I can film confidently and thrive.
Starting from what might be the most obvious, to the least.
Table of Contents
Tip from an Introvert 1: It’s fine to say “uhm” A LOT
It’s one thing to know you’re not the most confident public or even personal speaker out there. But wow you do NOT know how many times you actually say “uhm…” until you get into video editing. This applies whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert since public speaking is a separate skill.
You also don’t realize how many times you pause in the middle of a sentence until you film yourself.
That being said, the beauty of pre-recording is that you have the absolute power to cut all those awkward pauses and grammatical errors during video editing.
I mean, think about it – maybe not at night, right before you go to bed – but all those embarrassing moments you wish you could take back? Or those clumsy moments when you trip on totally flat ground and everyone totally saw?
Well, this is your moment. Okay, not this exactly, but later when it’s time to do the video editing. You can make it appear as if your mistakes never even happened, and you never took those embarrassing photos. If that’s not absolute power, I don’t know what is.
Now, if only that works out in real life…
Meanwhile, since we’re on the topic of “Things you never knew about yourself until you do your own video editing…”
Tip from an Introvert 2: Your face is WEIRD
There’s just no way around it: your face is WEIRD. I don’t say this to be mean, or make you self-conscious, I swear.
In truth, EVERYONE’S face is weird, so just accept it. We just don’t see that until:
- You’re staring at your or someone else’s face talking to the camera.
- You have to continuously play-pause-play that preview until you find the EXACT moment where you need to make your cut.
I found out that when I talk my face sort of moves one side more than the other. I don’t even know how to express how much that threw me for a loop!
The first few times I shot and edited my videos. It was something I noticed on my very first video so the ones I shot after that, I tried to see if I can just…not do it? But I can’t even notice when I do it, so that was a moot point.
It wasn’t until recently that I saw a YouTuber I follow talk about the same thing. It wasn’t until filming herself that she noticed facial quirks. The funny thing was I didn’t even notice until she mentioned it.
Anyway, whether it’s a micro-expression, facial tic, or just a quirk some people have, EVERYONE has them.
Just accept that it’s been there all along, and it’s gonna be there to stay. So find a way to move on from that, cause we are moving on to…
Tip from an Introvert 3: It’s STUPID (if you think about it)
Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh. Let me rephrase that: recording yourself feels SILLY because it IS.
Look at me: I’m all by myself, staring into a camera lens. Meanwhile, I’m talking into a microphone that’s covered by something that is sometimes referred to as a “dead cat.” Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, it’s still a little silly.
But in the same way most – or everything – we do is ridiculous. I mean, in a nicer world we could’ve been living in cute little cottages by the coast, trading homemade clothes for our neighbor’s homemade butter and jam. Instead, we created standardized tests and taxes. That’s insane, and yet here we are.
There are a lot of other ways we could be living, and a lot of other jobs we could be doing. Although being qualified for that or not is a different conversation.
But ALL of those other job options are going to have their ridiculous quirks. The only difference is that it makes sense to the right people, but remains an alien concept to others.
The point is: sitting down to record yourself isn’t THAT much more ridiculous than being directed and recorded by someone else, in a green room full of other people. That helped me get over myself, maybe it will help you too?
Speaking of being recorded and directed by someone else…
Tip from an Introvert 4: There’s no TIME LIMIT
This might sound like a comfort before you start, but… There’s no one other than you who decides when to start and when to end.
The first video I posted clocks in at around 9 minutes and 8 seconds. But the raw footage for that video is a total of 1 hour and 8 minutes long because I recorded the whole thing TWICE. Technically, my total recording time is 1 hour and 41 minutes if I include my FIRST attempt.
So I sit corrected since I recorded my first video THREE TIMES over 2 different days. That first video hasn’t even seen the light of day. Maybe if we can get to 1,000 subscribers, then we’ll talk.
Why the heck did I do this? Because I’m cursed with perfectionist tendencies, for one. But mainly, I didn’t feel confident about the first two attempts, so I kept re-doing it.
No one was there to stop me and tell me the first two attempts were good enough. Which was a BAD thing.
Those first tries straight-up sucked, but that’s beside the point.
Let’s take a class setting for example: let’s say I’m in my public speaking class. If I suck at it so bad maybe the professor will pity me and tell me to stop. That or I’ll hit the time limit. I’m not gonna get a good grade, but I’m getting a reprieve. I can slink back to my seat in shame, and the pain is over.
In a work setting, the director is there to yell “CUT,” and tell you what went wrong and how you can do it better.
Starting a YouTube channel on your own, as an introvert, you don’t get any of that. Everything is totally up to YOU, and that’s both empowering and TERRIFYING all at once.
Now for the least obvious YouTube tip:
Tip from an Introvert 5: Being LIVE is easier than pre-recording
Okay, maybe this doesn’t apply to everyone, but this certainly hit me like a ton of bricks. Bricks sitting in my stomach, for about a whole hour, psyching myself in and out, before I finally hit that “record” button.
Which was utterly irrational. Because by the time I tried YouTube, I had 9 months of experience live streaming on Twitch. I don’t know why I felt so weird and embarrassed about it. I started just nervous-sweating and didn’t stop until I hit “Stop Recording.”
Later, I realized that being live was a lot easier for me since I couldn’t overthink and second-guess myself.
With Twitch, I had a schedule since I knew my friends were online and specifically waiting for me. I hit the “Start Streaming” and “Start Recording” buttons on OBS Studio, whether my introverted self was ready or not.
It was also impossible for me to read a script while playing video games, so I had no other option but to just wing it. I realize there is a part of me that does better in an impromptu setting, than memorizing a script. Now when I say better, I mean I sound closer to my natural talking way & speed. Me winging it is absolutely not thorough – I forget to mention SO MANY things.
Now, I have a script because it’s a lot more efficient, not to mention consistent that way. I’m hoping with experience, I would eventually be a lot less stiff than I feel I look like.
At the end of the day,
I don’t know when that would be or what that level of comfort would look like. But this is at least another tiny step towards that goal.
If you’re a fellow introvert who’s been thinking about doing YouTube, I hope this helps you feel less alone. We might have more obstacles than most but don’t think you can’t do it just because it doesn’t come naturally. Looking confident in front of the camera is a skill that anyone can learn. There’s no reason why introverts can’t thrive on YouTube too!
This is also just the tip of the iceberg on some of the mental blocks you might have to face. There’s a lot more I didn’t talk about. Insecurities about our appearance, and the toll social media can take on our mental health, for example.
But that’s because those are struggles that not just introverts face, so that deserves to be a separate video at a later point. Much later, when I feel I can articulate it better and do it justice.
