How do I get better at DMing?

Archaic* I had one job

don't be afraid to steal from things you like, this is something that took awhile to come to terms with but a good DM is a thief in the best ways possible

"good artist copy: great artist steal" - me

Archaic language is such a dumb thing to stress over imo, it doesn't add much to immersion

however using period appropriate sayings if you're playing a historic game is a nice little touch, but far from mandatory

Well user, you can always offer him a personal 1 on 1 session after the other players leave.

The same way you get better at anything.

First, spend a lot of time watching other people do it, both who are good at it and who are bad at it, so you can get ideas of what works and what doesn't, lift habits from the ones you like and clearly define what sort of behavior is bad so you recognize it faster in yourself.

Second, spend a lot of analyzing your own work, judging it, and thinking about what went well, what was surprisingly effective or fun, what fell flat, when you lost control of things and why. When you find something that works, think about how to recreate it. When you find something that fell flat, try to understand why, and work out how to avoid that in the past. Be critical of yourself and always thinking about ways to improve.

Third, plan. A lot of GMs brag about how good they are an improvising. Some even refuse to do prep at all, and say people who do it are wasting their time. Those GMs are always, ALWAYS underwhelming, and often outright terrible. You improvise when you need to, you don't rely on it for everything. Planning is crucial to success. Even if most of what you plan never gets used, the act of planning it makes you better prepared for when you have to improvise.

And lastly, practice. Practice on its own will not make you better, because if you do something wrong, you can do it for a hundred years and you won't get any better at it. But at the same time, nothing beats actual experience.

tl;dr, study other GMs, analyze your successes and failures, plan as much as possible, and always be willing to try again

I only show up cause the GM's a friend. Some games I don't even like but continue because I would otherwise have no context to hang out in.

Some players just feel obligated to show up.

youtube.com/watch?v=IL4vWJbwmqM

Delivery is important, especially if immersion is the goal. I would kill to have a gm who would just once try to deliver information like it's not being read from a fucking textbook

kek

I like to throw in some minigames every so often. Like, once the party ran across a trade caravan, and the merchants challenged them to a game of Liar's Dice. Or once a tribe they were helping asked each of them for a story. Literally any story. No matter what the players told, the tribespeople treated it like the hottest shit they'd ever heard.
It helps the players get a little more relaxed with roleplaying.

Also, make sure to accommodate your player's choices. If they save a character, give reminders that they're still alive every so often. If they fight an enemy and he escapes, have him show up for revenge later. If they have an inside joke, give them material (in moderation) for it.
Make them feel like their actions and choices have a lasting impact on their world. It gets them invested.