With today’s technology, hosting a live stream is relatively quick and easy. That said, holding engaging discussions requires more preparation and skill. Thankfully, if you’re willing to learn the ropes, becoming an engaging streamer is far from impossible. Keep reading to discover three invaluable tips for making live streams more compelling.
Upgrade Your Tech
If you’ve been settling for mediocre equipment up until now, consider investing in professional-grade alternatives. Of course, anyone who wants to bring professionalism to their stream needs the equipment to match, but many streamers start with cheaper options.
Lackluster equipment can hinder a stream’s engagement for various reasons. For instance, if your microphone isn’t delivering clear sound, the audience will disengage. Suffice it to say that the audience wants to hear what you have to say if they’re tuning into your broadcast.
Use this same principle for all your gear, including the camera, camera stands, capture cards, lights, and so forth. As with audio, your video should be clear enough for the audience to see, so shoot for something with 1080p or 4K capability, which will deliver crystal clear images. That said, always remember to back up good gear with good content; they go hand-in-hand when it comes to live broadcasts.
Have Something To Say
One of the most important tips for making live streams more compelling is to have something compelling to say in the first place. Covering current events and trendy topics is great for creating relevant content. However, if you have nothing to say about a current topic, then don’t say anything.
Reiterating other people’s points just to include relevant topics in your stream is another easy way to bore or annoy viewers. This doesn’t mean you can’t tackle topics you initially knew nothing about—just do your research first.
When audiences tune in to streams, they want to hear what the host has to say about the topics they discuss; they want your point of view. Otherwise, the audience can find that story on a news outlet without missing out on anything. If you have nothing to bring to the conversation, either keep your discussion brief or don’t have the discussion at all.
Have a Structure
Although this sounds obvious, lack of structure or focus is a common live streaming issue. Constant tangents or discussions that don’t really offer valuable conversation can create boredom among viewers. So, always have a concise structure for streams.
For example, you can compile a list of topics, specific points you want to address for those topics, and the duration for which you can discuss each point. This is a simple form of prep that will help immensely with creating concise, interesting content.
One of the best ways to stay on track is to plug your structure into a teleprompter and refer to it throughout the stream. Some streamers use a piece of paper with notes to stay on track, but using a teleprompter gives you the advantage of never losing strong eye contact with the audience. Understanding the importance of teleprompters for streaming opens up surprisingly helpful doors for future broadcasts.
