Ladies: do you struggle in social situations? Do you find yourself constantly lost for words? In the modern era we live in it can be hard to find confidence. We are constantly bombarded with images of photogenic individuals who are living and breathing their dreams and are just oozing confidence but we know in the real world that isn’t everyone’s reality.
Recently through YouTube there has been a mass storm of an activity called vlogging. The word ‘vlogging’ literally means ‘video logging’ which involves filming what is going on in your life and informing the world what you have been up to. It’s not just for the technically minded, oh no, you can take a quick video on your smart phone and upload it straight to the web.
But why is this so important? Well, studies have shown that through the social medium of vlogging can increase your confidence by 50%. It is also important to note that YouTube is almost equal in the gender of its users, and voted this year at the BBC Teen Awards was female Vlogger Zoella, so girls, the power is yours, get out there and begin your route to confidence! So we hope to give you a few tips on how to build your confidence through Vlogging.
You must relax, don’t panic! Many vloggers use pauses within their videos, this gives the viewer’s time to take in what they are watching, and allows you to think about what you wish to say next. To relive the stress take your time by using words such as ‘so’, ‘well’ and ‘anyway’ to help you to gather your thoughts and change the subject. Take a lesson from TomSka; a YouTube star who has battled with depression for the last three years, which took toll on his confidence. His use of pauses and words like ‘so’, ‘well’ and ‘anyway’ helped Tom to get though his videos even when the topic was difficult.
Remember that vlogging is a great release from your problems and it lets you get all your issues off your chest. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from you have to get a release. When creating a video, come up with a main topic and perhaps some side topics to add variation to your video also by having different topics you can express multiple issues in one video, giving a wider variety to your vlogs and allows you to speak about more issues in one go.
Although this is a personal video it is vital you know who will be watching you. You must understand that not everyone will love you. Know who you want to direct your vlogs at to gain an appropriate response. Titling your video as all ‘men should be castrated’ because your date didn’t turn up last Friday will consequently draw negative attention, triggering negative comments which will be upsetting. Make sure your language is appropriate for your audience.
However, whatever you do you will not be loved by everyone, but you must be direct in who your audience is. If you are aiming your vlog at people your age: don’t be patronising! Remember this isn’t formal, you don’t need to use butler English, relax, talk to the camera as if it is your friend.
Be interesting in your topic choices. To really send that confidence sky high you need to be broad in your subject topics. You may feel uncomfortable at first but it is vital that you look to explore a whole range of topics. We know this can be hard, and its ok if you show this! Choose a subject and stick to it, use words that link to your topic, for instance if you are talking about your date night, talk about the flowers, the restaurant, and maybe even the kiss
If you feel lost for words and begin to stutter or um and ah as you can’t remember what but that is ok, don’t worry about editing it out, leave it in, they will help you to remember what you are trying to say. When you have created a few vlogs you will gradually use less and less.
Remember it is vital to be bold in every respect that you can. There is nothing worse than watching a YouTube tutorial where a monotone speaker is lulling you to sleep… Mix it up a bit! If you are explaining a hilarious anecdote, act it out! At first this can be a daunting request, but trying it bit by bit will help boost that confidence. Have a look at Danisnotonfire’s videos, he openly admits he finds social situations difficult, and to explain this effectively to his audience he acts out his anecdotes. We encourage you to do this! Try Changing the pitch and speed of your voice to demonstrate different people you past situations, it adds humour to your video, smile, have fun!
Also remember… you have hands… so use them! Show your emotions, that’s what people want to see and that is what will lead you to feel more confident if you can express what you feel to others. For example: Are you angry? Did someone steal your hair strainers? Grab your face if you are showing distresses, shout, get up and walk about your space, this adds variation. Sad? Did your favorite band just break up? Pretend to cry to show this. Are you extremely happy? Have you met the man of your dreams? Laugh, smile scream with joy, and make sure everyone knows! It is vital that you show how you truly feel.
So there you have it, our top five tips to help you to be that confidence, we really hope that you follow these steps and you are building a path to a more confident you! If you like this blog please follow us for more tips and tricks of the trade for young women, until next time, have a great week!
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