How to yap on the internet

You must know what yapping is by now, but if you’ve been away from the internet, here’s a quick recap on what is yapping:

Yapping is like talking to the camera without a script and without a filter. Sometimes straight to the point, but sometimes around the point, through the story, and then to the point.
Yapping is not a tutorial and not a vlog and not a demo and not a professional talking head, and not all those other things. It is just you, your thoughts, and the camera!

Thanks to AI and hyper-polished videos, yapping has become a huge thing in the ad world and the general content world because it’s raw, genuinely authentic, and effortless. But don’t be tricked by the “effortlessness”. Even though a good yap looks casual, unplanned, and like the creator just happened to record it, it isn’t.

Yapping is a performance that has to “not look like a performance”.

Why do you need to be a good yapper?

Yapping is a high-in-demand skill right now, and there are very few good yappers out there. You don’t have to be the best at yapping, but you do need to be watchable, and retention rate and views are pretty important for clients in paid ads.

There’s also a long game to be played here because creators who can yap can also build a better audience/community. You will have people commenting, sharing, and tagging on your videos if you make them interesting.

A “yap” feels spontaneous, but is premeditated storytelling.
- Carmen Vicente

How to be a good yapper?

Yapping is a skill, which means you can get better at it! Here are 4 steps to become a good yapper:

Step 1: Pick your format

A yap can be done anywhere, and it can range from a simple one with minimal editing to a chaotic one with overlays, text, stickers, and everything else.

Candid yap:The easiest entry point for beginners because it’s just you, your phone, and a natural setting

Walking yap:The movement gives a feeling that you caught yourself mid-thought. It’s a bit tricky to pull off because you need to know your angles and walk slow enough that you’re not out of breath to talk.

Car yap:This is a classic because you’re already sitting with a natural framing, and there’s something about a moving or a parked car that makes viewers think that you’re thinking out loud.

You can pair the graphic yap with any of the above. A graphic yap is where you put in a bit more effort by adding visuals like images, text overlay, and sound effects. It can go two ways:

• The planned graphic yap:More intentional and you already know what goes where (captions, text overlay, visuals) and where you stand in the frame. You build a storytelling environment that supports what you’re talking about.
• The chaotic graphic yap:Exactly what it sounds like: visuals thrown in haphazardly, no planning, no overthinking the frame.

Step 2: Plan your yap (loosely)

Good yaps need some planning, at least in the beginning. You need to pay attention to your life and create a running bank of things worth talking about.

You need to build something called a yap map!

• your workday frustrations
• repetitive themes from your personal life
• a reaction to something you watched/read/heard
• a thought you had in the shower that you just can’t get out of your mind

Once you have some ideas, you need to have an observation or an opinion on them. A yap is not a ramble, so reaaally need a take on things. We’re not just talking about our day or complaining, we’re talking about why it affects us so much, what thought we had from that, how did we get this insight, and so on.

Step 3: Add a structure (not a script!)

A good yap doesn’t come from a script, and in the beginning, it doesn’t come winging it either. You can choose between a loose script, outlines, and going off the top. Experiment with all formats and find what works for you.

Like any good story, it’s nice to have a structure that you can follow like

• a beginning, a middle, and an end, or
• a hook, personal/fictional story, point one, point 2, end.

Step 4: Talking to the camera

The first few moments of your yap are going to be bad. It’s not because you’re bad at talking to the camera or because you didn’t prep enough, but because you’re entering the zone cold.

Justin Schuman calls it the jacuzzi method. If you’re sensitive to temperature, you don’t jump into the jacuzzi. You dip your toes, your ankles, and then you ease in. Yapping works exactly the same way. The beginning is going to be rocky where you forget the words, get distracted while finding your eyeline, and speak in a wobbly voice. But once you start, around minute one or two you get comfortable and find yourself on camera.

The fix is simple: warm up for a while and then once you feel like you’re in the zone, cut out the beginning. You’re going to be judged for what you post, not for how you got there 😉

What works for yapping:

• Start mid-thought, like you started filming in the middle of the conversation. The less setup you give, the better (no one has the time for it)
• If you feel awkward with your hands, hold something (a pen, a mic) or do something (make tea, cut fruit, play with slime)
• Add vocal variety. Monotonous videos mean a quick scroll. Lower your voice for a secret message or act out a scene for added drama. Show those emotions.

What not to do:

• Do not write a full script to read. Scripted yaps don’t have the same energy or enthusiasm that you get from just chatting to the camera
• Don’t judge the first moments of your yap; they 👏 are 👏 going 👏 to 👏 be 👏 bad

In a nutshell

You don’t have to master all of this before you start. You need to just start first.

• Volume over perfection: the data from bad yaps is more valuable than something you didn’t post because you weren’t ready.
• Write everyday: try not to overthink. Just write whatever comes to mind, without filter, without polish. You need to learn to form cohesive arguments on the fly.
• Do a safety take: after your best take, record one more time. Less pressure means you’re more comfortable.

If you’ve never yapped before, tell your audience it’s a challenge!It gives you an excuse to mess up, it gives them a reason to root for you, and you don’t worry about being perfect.