How to Twitch IRL
I streamed games on Twitch for years, but for the last three months, I’ve been hanging out solely in IRL. And audience engagement has gone through the roof.
I believe IRL is the best way to connect with an audience on a deeper level, and if you’re streaming on Twitch, that depth of connection is unbelievably important.
IRL is kind of the future.
Yes, I’m mostly an IRL streamer. This doesn’t mean I won’t ever stream Witcher III again, but at this moment, IRL serves a much deeper purpose for me.
The biggest difference between streaming games and streaming IRL is the level of attention you are able to give. When streaming a video game, it’s easy to get sucked into the gameplay itself. You’re fighting, you’re dying…a lot…looking at you, Dark Souls…and we’ve all heard the advice: “Make sure you’re talking on your stream! Just annotate what you’re doing!”
This advice is great for people who are trying to get more comfortable with speaking on camera. But at some point, you need to do a dodge-roll out of combat and be present with the people watching you. Some people are great at this, right out of the gate. But practicing this skill can seriously help you develop a stronger on-screen personality, which is important — we all know this! Don’t focus too much on the game and not enough on your presence. Unless you are a top-tier esports player…but you are not them! With competition as strong as it is on Twitch, it will help you down the road to develop a strong on-screen personality.
But how, Ashni, how do I do that?
So, we know camera presence is important. And we know you can have this during games as well. Do you lack enthusiasm? How is your energy level? Are you present as an entertainer, or are you saying things just to say things? We want to get your confidence to the level where playing games feels just as conversational as an IRL stream.
So, here’s what you do. Learning to develop a stronger presence can be done in two ways. One, start a YouTube channel and research how to run it well. Two, spend time in IRL. My standard advice: spend the first hour of your cast in IRL. That’s not gonna work for everybody — especially if you’re small or new to streaming. It’s great for people with a base audience, but if no one is there at the beginning of the stream, it might make you feel super goofy to sit there and talk to yourself for an hour.
The people who can comfortably monologue to themselves in IRL have a leg up on people who can’t. But that leg up isn’t a make or break situation. Don’t be afraid to stop playing your game and switch over to IRL to focus on a conversation. Getting more viewers is all about getting people to feel like they matter. How incredible would you feel if a streamer completely switched to IRL to hang out with you?
As soon one person hops into your stream, try to be in IRL — because the first people in your stream are your brand advocates. These people saw your ‘going live’ tweets, saw you’re going live at the scheduled time, and they were there for you. Probably because they love you. Which is exactly what you want, right? So, focus on the people who are your advocates. Spending time with them is how you repay them for being there. Respect these people and make their time at the beginning of your stream as amazing as you can. Every interaction they have with your brand should be a positive one.
Don’t make your starting soon screen last forever…
Don’t jump immediately into the game and make them feel ignored…
Don’t leave your stream right when you start…
Don’t start at inconsistent times all the time…
Try to bring them the best energy that you can. When you respect people in this way, they will show up routinely for you. And when you have a strong beginning of your stream, you have a much stronger middle and end.
So, what kinds of things should you do to be a great performer in the IRL category?
Step one: Think of it as a performance! You are on a stage. You are the main focus in the stream. You goal is to make people feel like they matter.
So, you come on camera and bam — connection! It’s best to create some kind of ritual here that people can expect. Personally, I introduce myself, tell them the date, and then tell them what to expect from that day. Then you say ‘hi’ to everyone. And then you go into using a question of the day or just general conversation. I recommend using a question of the day strategy — not just a basic question, like a favorite ice cream or whatever — but something that will promote depth and intimacy for you and the community. Make sure people feel like you are grateful for their presence. Say whatever feels right to you, but make it authentic and from the heart. Then just talk to them!
Even if it is one person, that is freaking gold. Keep conversation flowing by looking for more questions that can build upon the questions you’ve already asked. You need this little voice in the back of your mind: “Could I ask them that? Could I ask them that? If that’s true, what else could be true?” What question makes the best sense in the context of your conversation?
Once you have more than one person in your chat, you can start opening the forum for more group questions. It could be something as simple as, “How do you all feel about hosting versus raiding?” This gets them talking to you, but more importantly, it gets them talking to each other. That’s how you develop a community — getting them talk to each other. Get them invested in the space, not just you! And if they don’t answer your question — don’t panic! That’s normal. People have their own lives and responsibilities and sometimes they just wanna lurk. Lurkers are Twitch’s backbone — build your space in a way that’s welcoming for them.
Also, use silence as an opportunity for monologuing. Get on your soapbox and voice your beliefs about things. That is how people get to know and trust you. Fill that dead air like you’d fill a balloon!
Another thing that’s key — try to get to know people and ask them about their lives from time-to-time. When people think you know about their interests, it says a lot about you as a streamer. It just shows that you care.
Something that holds some streamers back is the need to keep up with every single chat message. When chat is slow, you can absolutely keep up with everything — and you should. I’m definitely not advocating that you shouldn’t respond to people in a timely manner — because you should be. But when you’re specifically in IRL, acknowledging everything in your chat can be cumbersome to your own experience and could be holding you back.
This can be difficult to gauge if you’re newer/smaller or haven’t had a ton of chat activity, but the messages you focus on in chat or the ways you direct conversation will impact the value your stream gives. Consistently let people know that if you miss their message, repost it. This has the benefit of adding more chat activity — which is great! And when responding to message, respond with depth and care — and try not to just follow up with another question.
Also, don’t be afraid to be weird. Be weird!
Your goal is to build relationships with as many people as you can. And you want them to then go on to build relationships with each other. Because your stream isn’t just about you. It’s a gathering place for many different types of people — and all these people matter. Lurks, hosts, views.
Make your valuable viewers feel like they matter — that’s exactly what an IRL stream is, at the end of the day. Don’t forget that. That is how you cultivate an amazing IRL stream that grows relationships — and that is the entire point of Twitch.
Written By: @iamseanic
