Transcription
Mate, I've got a treat for you today. I recently came across this YouTuber called DEA. She gained 100,000 new subscribers in the last 12 months and is already making six figures from content creation.
When I discovered her channel, I was immediately captivated by her really natural presenting style. I've actually never told anyone this before, but I almost quit YouTube in early 2024 because I was so frustrated by trying so hard and the lack of results. And in December 2024, I hit 100,000 subscribers. I didn't quit because of the SP, and I wanted to find out the secrets behind her on-camera charisma. So I emailed her. We hopped on a call, and what she said blew my mind.
In this video, we're going to cover DEA's insanely simple but unique method of talking to camera that doesn't involve a script or teleprompter. The exact mindset that she uses to communicate magnetically in a carefree but value-driven style that keeps viewers hooked and coming back for more. And while focusing in on being an authority is actually a bad idea, and what she instead believes is the old ultimate long-term win for a content creator.
What is your presenting method? Do you go scripted, teleprompter, or off the cuff? Actually, for the first, I would say 100-plus videos I made on YouTube, they were fully teleprompter. So, like, I wrote word-for-word scripts for every single video. But I felt so disconnected from the audience when I was using a teleprompter. I felt like I was just like a newscaster. Like, I felt like I was just like a random person put there and reading off the words. And so I just felt like, this is so disconnected. I don't like it. Like, I want the connection. I want to like be excited about it. It's a conversation. Like, I love having conversations about things I'm interested in, and that's essentially what filming YouTube videos are really. And I was like, okay, I just need to do something else. Like, I need to try it a different way. And that's when we started doing, like, okay, I can't go full cold turkey and talk off the top of my head. So I was like, what's the middle ground? And we were talking about, like, maybe doing, like, outlines or, like, bullet points and stuff like that. And that essentially evolved into the slide content that we were doing. And, you know, I've always loved presenting on slides, um, even back when I was studying and everything. So I was like, okay, I feel like there's a happy middle ground there where I can look at the slides, I know what the points I'm going to hit are, but the rest I can talk off the top of my head.
So when I realized this, I was like, why have I not thought about this before? DEA will literally just make a PowerPoint and then record her screen whilst chatting through it. Her editor will then spice things up to make it look a little bit more interesting. Has some crazy advantages. The first one being that she has her points right in front of her, which means that she doesn't need to hide them. Most creators who aren't using a teleprompter or a script will have some kind of notes and some bullet points, but they're almost trying to hide that from their audience. Maybe look at their notes, take a deep breath, deliver the point, look at their notes. The advantage that DEA has here is that she's not making an excuse. She's literally got the notes there right in front of her. The audience knows that they expect that, and she can just refer back to them throughout it.
Also, it allows her to talk very conversationally. Obviously, she's not following a script. She has a very structured video already pre-planned out, which gives her a lot of confidence that she's delivering value, but she knows she can riff and add on further points and further expression beyond that. Finally, she can see the visuals as they're shown, which makes her more clear when she's presenting. Imagine that you knew exactly what your finished video was going to look like as you were making it. It's basically what DEA has right in front of her, which I would imagine gives her that extra bit of confidence when she is talking.
It felt revolutionary for some reason, but it wasn't. I mean, slides are what we do in university all the time. The more I was thinking, the more I was just like, why aren't we doing these as educational YouTubers? And then I remember telling Maya, actually, my video editor at the time, I was like, what if, like, slides just became our thing? Like, what if it just became something we did for every single video? And she was like, that would be crazy. And I was like, yeah, it would be crazy. And now that's what we do.
So next, I wanted to find out how DEA comes across so naturally that it makes her audience feel like they're just sitting in her living room with her. I'm super curious, what is your mindset when you are talking to camera? Like, what's going through your head? I always write or speak as if I'm talking to my best friend. And it's always like, my best friend is like, smart, kind, funny, creative, ambitious, all these things, right? Because I feel like sometimes people say, yeah, talk to a real person, but it's different when it's your best friend. And it's like, okay, you know, she's smart. She, she doesn't want to be talked to. Like, sometimes I feel like YouTubers kind of talk in a way that's like making the audience feel kind of like, maybe they're stupid or something. And I'm just like, that's not the vibe. When I get stuck or when I feel like I'm starting to lose who I'm talking to, I'm like, okay, let me just pretend like she just asked me this question and I'm just responding to her.
That was one video where I think you were like scratching your face or something or like getting hair out of your face. But like, even in the intro of the video, it was literally, I felt like I was in the living room, and you were just like, yeah, so like, I wanted to tell you about this concept. And sort of like, really, really fresh. It was very endearing. And to me, it made you stand out in a way. It's funny because, like, now you might go away and think about this, I got to like brush my hair out my face. I'm like, I'm going to engineer this. Yeah, I think that's really important. I think that when it comes to content creation, people think they need to be so professional. So they'll like, put every hair in place. And then they'll, and then it's almost like a robotic tendency comes up because they'll be like, right, everything's perfect now. Okay, in this video, we're going to talk about this and this and this and this. It's the opposite of the vibe of like, you know, I'm just, I'm just sort of nestling into the sofa and I can't wait to like, you know, have a chat with you about something. Yeah, it's so hard because it's always like a balance, right? Because you cannot just go full into, I'm just chilling because, yeah, the YouTube algorithm is just not for that. Like, the YouTube algorithm is like, the intro needs to be like, perfect, otherwise retention drops and then everything is ruined. And it's really hard to find the balance.
I think you're doing a great job. I really, I don't, I don't think you need to uh, worry too much about it. I think you've got the balance really, like, really on point. Oh, that's so sweet. Thank you. That's so nice.
So this is a genius tweak on the more typical advice that your mom might give you of, "I'll just talk to your best friend." When you're talking on camera, instead of talking to your actual best friend, you can talk to a best friend who has very positive and aspirational characteristics. And what this is going to do is allow you to feel more warm and connected to your camera, your audience, yourself. Because you're not talking down to anyone, you're not talking up to anyone. You're talking to somebody who is on the same path as you, who's also ambitious, who's also creative, or whatever word you want to associate with your channel. It's also very charismatic to see the best in people. So if you treat your audience as if you are seeing their potential, they're going to feel more warm, charmed, and respected by you, which is going to obviously make them have a better time watching your videos and therefore to keep watching.
The final thing I wanted to know was if DEA puts forward any specific personality attributes when she speaks to camera. Are you sort of thinking warmth? Are you thinking trust? Are you thinking likable? I think very actively about likability, not for myself, most of the time, like when I consume other people's content. So much of it is like, but did I actually like this person? Like, did I feel connected to them? Do I feel like we could be friends? I think it's so easy on YouTube to go down the rabbit hole of like, authority, like you were saying, like income and like, I make so much money and I'm so much better than all of you and all this stuff. A lot of times after I would finish watching the videos, my sense of feeling would be overwhelmed. I would feel stressed. I would feel like I'm not doing enough. I would feel like, oh my gosh, like this just totally overstimulated me and like, I don't know what to do with all this information. I also very rushed a lot of times because they're like, I feel you always leave people feeling that way. Eventually, they're not going to come back. They might come back for a little dopamine hit every once in a while, but I think if that's generally how people feel after your videos, I think there are long-term effects of that. So that's like not the route I want to go down on. Even though I think the YouTube algorithm really rewards that route, the vibe route is really what I would prefer, and I think it's the long-term play. I want people to feel connected. I want to build trust. Trust is like the number one thing I optimize for in my business. I don't optimize for revenue because I think money is a byproduct and trust is like the main thing. And that also helps me make better decisions. I think a lot of times I talk to my team a lot. I'm like, the number one thing I want people to feel at the end of the video is like, wow, that was great. Like, I feel like I just hung out with DEA. That was so warm. She was really supportive. And she wasn't just like, you're not doing enough, like work harder, work, wake up earlier and do more. But it's like, no, like everything is balanced and she wants the best for me. And even though there was like specific tangible business value and strategy advice, it was still the connection was there and like it was friendly and kind, you know? So that's something I'm very conscious of is like, what do I really want? You know, do I want, do I would I rather have authority or vibe? And for me, it's really, I would rather be vibe and have a smaller audience than a, a 1 million subscriber where everything I do is like, you guys don't know everything and I know everything and stuff like that. Because that's also not true. It's like, not authentic. I don't know everything, you know? Like, that's also not how I talk to my friends. When I talk to my friends, I'm like, yeah, I don't know everything. Like, this is what I do know. This is what has worked for me. And yeah, let's see, let's work on it together.
So the big takeaway for me here is that focusing on trust and likability is typically what a vlogger or entertainment YouTuber would do. But by doing that in the education and information space, DEA is gaining traction really quickly. And I think it's an amazing combination of attributes, mindsets, and techniques that she used, which are all working together to make her channel and business grow.
If you're a business owner and want to go from awkward and frustrated on camera to talking magnetically fast, I'm putting together an accelerator program that is starting in April. If you're interested, I'd highly recommend signing up to the waitlist, which is in the description below, as spaces will be very limited. Until next time, stay creative. Bye-bye.