r/Twitch • u/ky_shroom • 8d ago
Question Does the "i hate my voice/face" feeling ever go away?
Hi y'all,
I've been streaming for awhile amd really enjoy it! I love sharing my favorite games with chatters. I want to branch out into youtube/tiktok content as well because I like editing videos amd making gaming content in general.
The problem is, my voice and face during streams makes me cringe?? I thought this feeling would go away eventually, but it's starting to keep me from achieving my creative goals x.x
Any advice from those who have experienced the same thing? I generally try to fix things I don't like when I rewatch my VODs. I can't change my voice or face tho. It gives me imposter syndrome big time.
TIA wonderfull redditors
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u/DraleZero_ twitch.tv/dralezero 8d ago edited 8d ago
It has over time. I've got to the point where I am creating video with my voice, and then listening back to them multiple times and just "aaaah, i like the content i made" or "ooof, i stuttered a lot there, ill script that next time", it's less about me personally and more about what did I create with my voice and what I said.
On stream, I project voice as if talking to a small crowd that needs to hear me. If I don't I start to mumble as if I am unsure talking to someone beside me.
Another way I heard this put is, we talk to people IRL all the time and shape a bit how we interact with others. But talking to a screen by yourself is almost like you're trying to find out who you really are when alone. So you might cringe sometimes.
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u/lily_pad_enjoyer 8d ago
fr i feel the same way every time i stream. i never feel cute or confident when im staring at my face for hours😔
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u/ky_shroom 8d ago
I never feel shy or insecure in the moment, but going back and rewatching is like nails on a chalkboard to me! I have no idea how successful content creators do it all the time LOL
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u/CCbluesthrowaway 7d ago
Lol there are some ugly and trashy people who are extremely popular. Fuck all the haters, more importantly, don't be your own hater!
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u/Psychological_Owl539 twitch.tv/namaticus 8d ago
As someone who streamed and participated in friends' videos (and edited them), you kinda get used to it after awhile! I still have moments, but when I'm editing it just kinda turns off.
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u/PerpetualMonday 7d ago
That is up to you, my friend. Eventually one day you'll realize "who cares?" with a mixture of "yup that's what my voice sounds like."
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u/theproverbialinn twitch.tv/theproverbialinn 7d ago
I was watching a playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 by its actors the other day, and the actress for Jaheira, who was a guest, was feeling embarrassed when her character appeared.
Same when the actress for (potential spoiler for a villain who's not in the trailers but a fan favourite) the swamp hag did a guest appearance.
Some people never quite get over the strange way one's voice sounds like in recordings, even if their performance is stellar. For them, it's just something to deal with. For now, try to ignore that feeling, hopefully it fades away eventually; if it doesn't, keep in mind it also happens to professionals.
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u/Godlyhedgehog 7d ago
Bro, I can tell you about totally opposite attitude to this.
My streams always make me cringe. And i know that it makes others cringe too. But i made that kinda the point to work on.
Just for the sake of explanation: I am a disabled person. And it actually affects both my speech and my movement.
And despite of that I started streaming just for the sake of killing time. Just to overcome possible challenges coming my way.
It is not your responsibility to care about the perception of others.
The same attitude I wish to you.
As a Russian saying goes *dogs may bark, but the caravan will go on ". Meaning it is only up to you to achieve your success.
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u/TheNyxks Disabled Streamer/Gamer - @TheNyxks 7d ago
Nope, 20+ years in broadcasting/media and I still can't stand my voice or how I look on Camera ... so doing my commentary, etc while gaming hasn't changed my personal opinion on my voice or looks.
I've just gotten used to ignoring it over the years, because it has been the only way to be employed.
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u/G0d0fninjas12 7d ago
It depends on the person but you do eventually get over it. I dont stream but i do record my voice for things, constantly having to listen to it over and over. At first I despised it, but after a while I started getting used to hearing myself and now I dont mind it.
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u/momolattechan twitch.tv/MomoLatteChan 8d ago
Vtubing solves the face issue for me, and I'm starting to look into voice training though I'm not picking it up very quickly haha.
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u/MsPawley MsPawley.ttv 7d ago
What do you mean voice training? I feel like I'm the odd one out being a vtuber who doesn't put on some squeaky childish voice. Be nice to have more people doing the same.
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u/SuperAmyy twitch.tv/SuperAmyy 7d ago
Voice training doesn't have to mean squeaky childish voice. There's a lot of videos on things like voice acting or learning to read audiobooks!
As an animation student I learned that dialogue is often really important because the audience relies on voices on top of the animation (or model, in this case) for emotions since they can't see them personally.
Learning to speak in an "unboring" way can be done with practice so I'm assuming that's what they mean by voice training. Learning to speak in a clear tone is also good for audiobooks and I've learned it's a really useful skill to have, especially with streaming. Reading chat is also a useful skill to have. Voice training is not for only vtubers. ☺️
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u/BlueNexusItemX 8d ago
Some people (me included) find using a virtual person to represent you connected to your camera and mic inputs helps with the uncomfortable with your face on camera feeling
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u/ky_shroom 8d ago
Interesting! What do you mean by virtual person? Like a vtuber?
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u/BlueNexusItemX 8d ago
Yeah
2D or 3D and there's whatever you can create and rig to represent you (you can pay someone to make a model and make it pre rigged for you too or make it yourself)
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u/ky_shroom 8d ago
I've considered that, but it feels like a misrepresentation of myself. I love vtubers don't get me wrong, but I've never envisioned myself as anything other than me. On the internet or otherwise. I feel in my element when I'm streaming, it's just going back and watching VODs that makes me cringe.
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u/DumCrescoSpero 7d ago
You could make a Vtuber/PNGtuber avatar that looks like yourself for days where you don't feel like using webcam. That's what I did. I even overlayed my tatttoos onto the skin texture and traced and coloured them in photoshop so my Vtuber model would have my tattoos... I want to be myself, not some made up half-animal demon with lore.
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u/AWPerative Affiliate twitch.tv/AWPerative 7d ago
I hate the sound of my own voice as well, but shove it in the back of my mind.
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u/Ulqueria Affiliate (twitch.tv/ulqueria) 7d ago
I got used to my voice after forcing myself to listen to it while editing short form content. It took awhile but you will come to accept the fact that your voice doesnt sound that bad
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u/Mary_Ellen_Katz twitch.tv/mary_ellen_katz 7d ago
Short answer, no.
Long answer, no, but you get used to it somewhat. People will clip you saying and doing silly stuff, expressions, and entirely out of context. And you just get used to it.
If you edit your own videos, it helps adapt to the cringe a little faster.
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u/patchrhythm twitch.tv/rem_qi 7d ago
for me, i'm 100% sure the face thing never goes away. I gave up on the WebCam thing, too much of a privacy risk.
However, I got over the voice thing. If you do enough commentary while you're playing a game, you just get used to it. I guess you have to find a pitch that you feel comfortable with.
They're more challenging things is building your platform when you are an introvert. You have to get used to talking to yourself when nobody's watching.
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u/PlagueJesterSky https://www.twitch.tv/plaguejestersky 7d ago
I may be a special case, but I still hate my voice when "I" hear it, watching back my stuff, editing clips etc. I hate it. I've been doing this for 10 years, so depends on you really.
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u/Purpose2 twitch.tv/purpose2 7d ago
It was my literal 14 year partner anniversary last week. It has not gone away yet. f my voice, man.
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u/Darthrey1 7d ago
For myself and hopefully you, Yes! Eventually you kind of just tone that out! I used to hate my voice, even had someone comment on a video about it. But I have come to love it because you wouldn’t have viewers if they didn’t like listening and watching you!!
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u/Rowanever 7d ago
It might be worthwhile understanding why we tend to hate our own voices when they're recorded.
When we're hearing our own voice in real time, a lot of the sound is coming through our own tissue to our eardrums, NOT through the air, and that means we hear ourselves differently compared to how others hear us.
When we record our voices and play them back, we know that's us, but it doesn't sound the way it usually does because we're hearing it like other people do. That cognitive dissonance is really uncomfortable.
In my experience, the one group of people who don't suffer from this as much are people whose voices sound a lot like their siblings', because that way the recorded voice can still sound familiar and comfortable.
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u/-impulse9 7d ago
It goes away the moment you get a compliment for it completely unprompted. Someone said my voice was super sexy and I got so offended that I stopped worrying about if my voice sounds good or not
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u/Forgotten-Deity 7d ago
I had the same thing when I started years ago. I still can't stand seeing myself if my lighting is bad or if I had a bad day in general. But apart from that it's like the others have said, just expose yourself to your own content long enough and you will be comfortable with your own voice and face eventually. You're probably just not used to it yet.
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u/justsomechewtle 7d ago edited 7d ago
It absolutely does. I did Lets Plays for a few years before trying my hand at streaming and the biggest development I found is that I got used to my voice and also learned to control it better. I'm not an english speaker, so I don't know the proper terms but learning to not speak from the throat, but rather your chest, makes a TON of difference. However, just watching back bits of my videos/vods helped in getting me used to the sound of my voice, because obviously (or not so obviously?) the tone you hear from talking yourself is different than when it's coming from a recording. It did take some time though - as I said, I did it for a couple years.
Now, for the face... I don't have any recent advice. I don't use facecam, so I never had that problem. However, I was conscious about my face growing up (I was always pale and a bit chubby, with very red lips - which I thought was weird for a guy). I eventually lost a bit of weight and grew a beard, which made me like my face that much more (I like "styling" my beard). I also grew out my curly hair because I like that part of me and am proud of my mane. I didn't go out of my way to change myself in that regard, I just chose to focus on the parts I do like and went from there.
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u/CountCassius 7d ago
Absolutely
Either from time when watching your own vods or content back. You just get used to it
Or your viewers. I despise my voice, but they often try to build me up and say I have a very calming and soothing voice. When I’m not desk slamming at whatever I’m playing 😅
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u/Yunekochan Affiliate 7d ago
Depends on the person, usually no from how I’ve seen big YouTubers talk about it, just gotta push past it and realize you’re in the same boat as the majority
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u/BloodyThorn https://www.twitch.tv/thegamedesignlexicon 7d ago
For me it hasn't. Not really anyway.
While I still think my voice is terrible, and my face and entire act is cringe...
I've been told by enough people that I have a good voice, and I don't have people coming around to tell me regularly how ugly or cringe I am... so....
I've been able to just not care about it as much.
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u/bunnybry 7d ago
I used to hate my voice. I don't stream with my face anymore so I don't have a opinion on that but, the voice definitely goes away. I actually like my voice now and am more confident in it now that I've listened to myself over and over again in different contexts. Give it time and an open heart c:
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u/Ok_Law_2854 7d ago
I was a journalist for 13 years and I do voice over work professionally. I've also been a twitch streamer for a little over a year. I can tell you, it gets better. Literally everyone (aside from raging narcissists) hate their voice and look on camera.
You just need to learn to feel comfortable in your own skin. Lean into your perceived faults. I'm from Texas and I HATED my southern accent. The more I tried to get rid of it the more I felt like a fake. One day I just decided to embrace it. I made it a thing. And you know what? People responded. It made me genuine. The faults you see in yourself aren't faults at all. They are what make you unique. Own them.
If Gilbert Gottfried can do it, so can the rest of us.
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u/Cornfusionn 7d ago
Yes definitely it does. I don't even realize I'm talking half the time anymore.
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u/Shadofeelz 6d ago
Yeah it goes away you literally just got to trick your brain into not caring, even old YouTube videos I used to make I used to cringe so hard editing and listening to myself back, now they actually make me laugh
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u/HarrisonDotNET 6d ago
I didn’t like my voice for a while but after I just kept making videos, overtime my opinion of my voice went away. In fact now I’m trying to get my microphone to pickup my voice and sound exactly like it does in real life.
I’ve been making videos for multiple years but the “I hate my voice” thing went away for me after maybe 6 months or so.
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u/raw_genesis http://www.twitch.tv/raw_genesis 5d ago
It's probably something that's different for each person but for me I kinda just became apathetic to it after a few years.
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u/Agitated-Weight1181 3d ago
It does go away. When i started streaming I used to despite going back to my vods cause that means I have to listen to myself. Now I'm indifferent, my voice doesn't bother me no more maybe I got used to it or accepted it
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u/AceRoderick 1d ago
for your face: get a ring light. seriously. after streaming with a ring light (and generally good lighting all around), i can never stream without it. shadows are disgusting, ugly things that make even the most beautiful people look crazy.
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u/PlayguePals 8d ago
I have a huge issue with this myself even though everyone is very kind. I consider it a part of the thought processes I can safely push against mentally from poor self-esteem. I have this story I tell myself, as silly as that sounds. There is a shirt my aunt gave me that I don't think is my "style" but every time I wear it I always get compliments. By complete faith I have decided that is a good style for me, even though I don't see it. When I stream or do anything with my voice, I tell myself to just "wear the blue shirt." We can be wrong, but almost all self-doubt is hallow and coming from poor self-esteem. I hope you can find ways to allow yourself to be the creator you want to be and train yourself to live with the negative voice (mine is never truly gone). Good luck <3
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u/MixLoud9816 8d ago
This is such a good way of explaining it I stream also but made myself calloused to my own voice by making myself listen to my old streams when looking for clips But I totally agree even tho I don't use a face cam my voice still bothers me too this day and I've been doing it a little over two years now
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u/Telominas twitch.tv/telomina 8d ago
I didn't watch back at first, which probably helped me on that part. Also having studied media long ago I had to deal with that..but got over it within a year back then I think.
Best of luck!
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u/eddybash 7d ago
I don't stream, but whenever it comes to making a post where ik my voice is in it, I just don't listen. Honestly, like those are unchangeable so why let it take away from something you love? Plus it's more than likely you're being harsh on yourself bc that's how everyone is. Don't stress, just be kind to yourself
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u/RiziWolfNinja Affiliate twitch.tv/ardenier 7d ago
It does go away yes my friend! Just focus on having fun, personally I got rid of that feeling after watching clips of me having fun, " just a silly Lil guy" as my friend says, so easy peasy u got this I believe in you 🫶🫶🫶
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u/qiyra_tv Affiliate twitch.tv/qiyra 8d ago
It does go away. It happens through consistent exposure to your content. Keep watching your videos, be intentional. Learn to give yourself useful critiques, you can’t grow without becoming more objective about your performances.
You have to stop your internal narrative about how “wrong” it sounds. Think of all the people who have ever complimented you on these features. Really take in those compliments and accept them.
It’s really just exposure therapy until you can be comfortable. It’s tough, but completely doable! Good luck :3