Here's a question often asked by those who are doing video production for their Network Marketing training and informational videos.
"Do presentation aids actually help with the video?"
Presentation aids DEFINITELY make a difference in the effectiveness of your videos. Especially if it's just you sitting in front of the camera talking. Therefore, you need to learn how to produce simple ones and learn how to integrate them into your videos.
But be aware, only use these when they increase the clarity and effectiveness of your speech, if they are pointless, you might lose your audiences attention.
An interesting statistic is that recent research has shown that we typically remember only 20% of what we hear, while that number jumps to 50% when we both hear and see something.
Well designed presentation aids also enhance your credibility in the eyes of the audience. They show the listeners that you took extra effort in preparing something to help them better understand what you are saying.
These aids also improve your ability to get the message across. It gets you involved with your audience and not just standing there talking monotone like your least favorite professors did. (some of my professors do this and makes lectures a sleeping hour) This also helps with if you are nervous, just show the picture or share a graph/powerpoint with the audience, it helps to relieve some of that stress since they won't be focusing solely on you!
So it seems like presentation aids are great, right?
Just like anything else, these can be a disadvantage in your videos. You want to be aware of these potential problems to make sure you avoid them.
Presentation aids distract listeners, and if they are used incorrectly, your audiences attention will never come back to you.
These also can distract you, the one doing the video. How is that? If you haven't properly prepared what you are going to say while sharing the presentation aid, you'll probably lose track of what you are saying and this will definitely cause your presentation to struggle. In the end, causing the viewer to leave your video.
Presentation aids can be a great thing, but can also be a terrible thing. In my next post, I'll talk about some ideas for presentation aids.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Manage the Impressions that you make
As you get in front of a camera to speak, your listeners begin to form impressions of you that influence how they will respond to your video.
You may know of Aristotle, he called these impressions ethos. A person who has high ethos will be listened to with respect; therefore, ethos are KEY ingredients in leadership. You CAN build your ethos by helping listeners to form a favorable impression of your competence, integrity, goodwill and dynamism. You aren't lost if you don't possess these YET. Which is good, otherwise, there would be no point in learning and improving!
Competence:
Competent speakers seem informed, intelligent, and well prepared. You can come across in your videos as competent if you speak about topics that you already know something about and can do some research to qualify yourself as a responsible speaker about the subject.
An example would be if you were to know a little bit about the link between exercise and grade point average. This is an example of what I did in my Public Speaking class, I thought I knew some about this. But, I did not know that there was so much information that I still hadn't learned yet.
In my particular speech, I mentioned research that I had learned about in which Penn State University did a study on how different amount of hours of sleep per night affected GPA of students. The average for a study of 1,000 students found that students sleeping 6 or fewer hours a night averaged a 2.7GPA, students sleeping 7-8 averaged a 3.0GPA and those sleeping 9 or more averaged a 3.3GPA.
This was a surprise to me at first, but after more research I found out why. This made me competent on the subject when I gave my speech.
Elements for competent videos:
-The video must specify the qualifications of the expert(share some valuable info)
-Recent testimony from another expert
-If you can get a direct relationship between an expert and you, you have more value
-Speaker shows that there was careful preparation for the video ( make a plan and do the plan, hit the points you want but remember to have fun!)
Integrity
People who use Integrity in their videos come across as ethical and dependable. This is important to build trust in your viewers so your reputation has integrity. You can encourage perceptions of integrity by presenting all sides of an issue, and then explain how and why you chose your position. If you chose a particular company or product for a reason, explain WHY. People want to know this.
Goodwill
People with goodwill have our interests at heart, and we can tell when they care. They are not just a self-centered ass. They think more in terms of what is good for the group or community to which they currently belong.
Your viewers can tell when you are helping them, and people enjoy the company of those who have our interests at heart. You might even get someone to join you just because they know how much you care!
If someones watching your video, it shows that they care about you as a person, so make sure you care about the people who are watching your videos!
There is such a thing called Identification which is important, its the feeling of sharing or closeness that will develop with you and your viewer. It usually occurs when someone believes that they are like you and you have similar outlooks on life and you share similar backgrounds or values as your viewer. If you can identify what your audience is like, you can share more things about you that they may be able to relate to.
Dynamism
Dynamism is the PERCEPTION that a person is energetic, enthusiastic, and in control of the current situation in the video. I know that you may be secretly wetting your pants while you're in front of the camera, but guess what! If you don't tell people, they won't know!
If you don't feel confident in front of the camera, you still need to act as if you are. If you appear self-assured in your videos, your viewers will respond as if you are self-assured. Also, because of this, you WILL start to become more and more assured that what you are doing is right. This is whats called "tricking your mind" and this creates a desired trait for you. Tricky, huh?
When you are in control of the video, your viewers become more at ease and their response to your video is positive feedback. This further reinforces your confidence in yourself and causes you to make even better videos!
You may know of Aristotle, he called these impressions ethos. A person who has high ethos will be listened to with respect; therefore, ethos are KEY ingredients in leadership. You CAN build your ethos by helping listeners to form a favorable impression of your competence, integrity, goodwill and dynamism. You aren't lost if you don't possess these YET. Which is good, otherwise, there would be no point in learning and improving!
Competence:
Competent speakers seem informed, intelligent, and well prepared. You can come across in your videos as competent if you speak about topics that you already know something about and can do some research to qualify yourself as a responsible speaker about the subject.
An example would be if you were to know a little bit about the link between exercise and grade point average. This is an example of what I did in my Public Speaking class, I thought I knew some about this. But, I did not know that there was so much information that I still hadn't learned yet.
In my particular speech, I mentioned research that I had learned about in which Penn State University did a study on how different amount of hours of sleep per night affected GPA of students. The average for a study of 1,000 students found that students sleeping 6 or fewer hours a night averaged a 2.7GPA, students sleeping 7-8 averaged a 3.0GPA and those sleeping 9 or more averaged a 3.3GPA.
This was a surprise to me at first, but after more research I found out why. This made me competent on the subject when I gave my speech.
Elements for competent videos:
-The video must specify the qualifications of the expert(share some valuable info)
-Recent testimony from another expert
-If you can get a direct relationship between an expert and you, you have more value
-Speaker shows that there was careful preparation for the video ( make a plan and do the plan, hit the points you want but remember to have fun!)
Integrity
People who use Integrity in their videos come across as ethical and dependable. This is important to build trust in your viewers so your reputation has integrity. You can encourage perceptions of integrity by presenting all sides of an issue, and then explain how and why you chose your position. If you chose a particular company or product for a reason, explain WHY. People want to know this.
Goodwill
People with goodwill have our interests at heart, and we can tell when they care. They are not just a self-centered ass. They think more in terms of what is good for the group or community to which they currently belong.
Your viewers can tell when you are helping them, and people enjoy the company of those who have our interests at heart. You might even get someone to join you just because they know how much you care!
If someones watching your video, it shows that they care about you as a person, so make sure you care about the people who are watching your videos!
There is such a thing called Identification which is important, its the feeling of sharing or closeness that will develop with you and your viewer. It usually occurs when someone believes that they are like you and you have similar outlooks on life and you share similar backgrounds or values as your viewer. If you can identify what your audience is like, you can share more things about you that they may be able to relate to.
Dynamism
Dynamism is the PERCEPTION that a person is energetic, enthusiastic, and in control of the current situation in the video. I know that you may be secretly wetting your pants while you're in front of the camera, but guess what! If you don't tell people, they won't know!
If you don't feel confident in front of the camera, you still need to act as if you are. If you appear self-assured in your videos, your viewers will respond as if you are self-assured. Also, because of this, you WILL start to become more and more assured that what you are doing is right. This is whats called "tricking your mind" and this creates a desired trait for you. Tricky, huh?
When you are in control of the video, your viewers become more at ease and their response to your video is positive feedback. This further reinforces your confidence in yourself and causes you to make even better videos!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Entertainment vs Value?
I was on RateMyProfessor.com at the start of the semester here at Buff State... I was given a scenario.
The choice was between 2 different professors,
one: very entertaining, great guy, tons of funny stories. But, he doesn't always explain difficult material in any systematic fashion, also doesn't leave you with whats important for departmental exams.
the other: very businesslike, makes expectations clear. starts each lecture reviewing what the last lecture was and answers questions at the start. Also points out whats important to know for exams..
hmm, the choice wasn't THAT difficult. Although I LOVE getting entertained and having fun in classes, I knew that VALUE is a lot more important than ENTERTAINMENT.....at least for college classes anyway :-p
So whats the deal? Why can't there be value AND entertainment? There isn't anyone who says that there can't be both. But, how are YOU and I supposed to do this with our videos?
***My head starts spinning****
It seems super confusing doesn't it? Putting value into a message while having fun. Seems like something no one can do. You and I have experienced it, high school classes, college classes and even bosses. They bore you to death with stats, numbers and scenarios that aren't engaging, that don't make you think, react OR make a decision.
Well, maybe one decision....whether to skip class or not haha.
So, I'd like to throw some TIPS to you on providing VALUE and providing ENTERTAINMENT.
Take out a sheet of paper, or open up MS Word.
Write down at the top the message of your video.
underneath that, write down the 5 most important things about this message.
That's the value/otherwise boring part of the video.
Now is when the fun comes in.
Whats an interesting thing you could DO while stating these tips/important things?
Maybe you can dance, do a little dance in the video mid-way through the message, or maybe you can sing good, sing one of the messages, hell, maybe you can rock climb!
in that case, video tape yourself rock climbing and you could have someone edit the video so it looks like the tips are falling off the rock and barely missing you while you are climbing. Have fun, get creative.
STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD. If everyone is in a suit, wear your suit backwards. If everyone is walking one way, start running the other way.
If everyone is doing a dance, start singing.
Be different, be original, be YOU.
The choice was between 2 different professors,
one: very entertaining, great guy, tons of funny stories. But, he doesn't always explain difficult material in any systematic fashion, also doesn't leave you with whats important for departmental exams.
the other: very businesslike, makes expectations clear. starts each lecture reviewing what the last lecture was and answers questions at the start. Also points out whats important to know for exams..
hmm, the choice wasn't THAT difficult. Although I LOVE getting entertained and having fun in classes, I knew that VALUE is a lot more important than ENTERTAINMENT.....at least for college classes anyway :-p
So whats the deal? Why can't there be value AND entertainment? There isn't anyone who says that there can't be both. But, how are YOU and I supposed to do this with our videos?
***My head starts spinning****
It seems super confusing doesn't it? Putting value into a message while having fun. Seems like something no one can do. You and I have experienced it, high school classes, college classes and even bosses. They bore you to death with stats, numbers and scenarios that aren't engaging, that don't make you think, react OR make a decision.
Well, maybe one decision....whether to skip class or not haha.
So, I'd like to throw some TIPS to you on providing VALUE and providing ENTERTAINMENT.
Take out a sheet of paper, or open up MS Word.
Write down at the top the message of your video.
underneath that, write down the 5 most important things about this message.
That's the value/otherwise boring part of the video.
Now is when the fun comes in.
Whats an interesting thing you could DO while stating these tips/important things?
Maybe you can dance, do a little dance in the video mid-way through the message, or maybe you can sing good, sing one of the messages, hell, maybe you can rock climb!
in that case, video tape yourself rock climbing and you could have someone edit the video so it looks like the tips are falling off the rock and barely missing you while you are climbing. Have fun, get creative.
STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD. If everyone is in a suit, wear your suit backwards. If everyone is walking one way, start running the other way.
If everyone is doing a dance, start singing.
Be different, be original, be YOU.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
YouTube Embed Code Tool
I came across an interesting tool by Lon Taylor and feel that you will benefit from it.... then again I KNOW you will benefit from it, since I already have!
You might be aware that you can copy the code from a YouTube video and paste it into your blog or page. But did you know that they also now have a HQ High Quality format that eliminates all the crappy fuzzy and really not good quality videos that YouTube used to always have?
A lot of us marketers are hesitant when using YouTube embedded videos mainly because they put a bunch of those "related videos", a dumb Genie Menu and that stupidly annoying YouTube Search Box at the end of all the videos that you'd be putting onto your web page.
But, there are some "hacks" using the YouTube's API's that allows for you to customize all of those annoying things! That's only if you know how to modify the Embed code though...
I came across a tool that allows you to do all of that. You just copy the video's URL, paste it in, pick options including the HQ option then hit "Generate" and BAM, you got it!
Copy and paste correctly modified code directly to your blog or web page!
Check it out at http://www.screencastprofits.com/youtube/
You might be aware that you can copy the code from a YouTube video and paste it into your blog or page. But did you know that they also now have a HQ High Quality format that eliminates all the crappy fuzzy and really not good quality videos that YouTube used to always have?
A lot of us marketers are hesitant when using YouTube embedded videos mainly because they put a bunch of those "related videos", a dumb Genie Menu and that stupidly annoying YouTube Search Box at the end of all the videos that you'd be putting onto your web page.
But, there are some "hacks" using the YouTube's API's that allows for you to customize all of those annoying things! That's only if you know how to modify the Embed code though...
I came across a tool that allows you to do all of that. You just copy the video's URL, paste it in, pick options including the HQ option then hit "Generate" and BAM, you got it!
Copy and paste correctly modified code directly to your blog or web page!
Check it out at http://www.screencastprofits.com/youtube/
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Tagging Your Videos Correctly
How important are TAGS for your videos that you upload to video sharing sites?
1)Very Very Important
2)Not important
3)I'm too drunk to understand this question
4)Is there really any other answer than 3?
So what are TAGS?
Tags are keywords that describe videos.
An example of this would be say you are looking for a video on soccer, some tags for soccer videos might be "boots","goals", "jerseys" etc, things that are relevant to soccer. People who enjoy soccer videos are looking for terms that relate to soccer and if people search for those terms, they can find the soccer videos. Clever isn't it?!
Tags help you with labeling your videos that you upload so that others can find them fairly easily. BUT there is a problem with uploading these to YouTube....
YouTube only allows single tag words and not long keyword phrases such as "best soccer boots" or "great soccer players"
Some Great Tagging Tips for you:
1. Start off researching videos in your niche, find the videos with a LOT of views.
What tags are they using? Checking these can give you some ideas...but more importantly:
ask yourself the question of
"What combination of tags do these users put in to get specific results?"
Think of these combos as keyword phrases used in Adwords and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
So for a promotion for soccer, if you want soccer in New York in your video, you could include "soccer" and "New York" in your tags. Users who search for "soccer New York" find your video more easily than users who search for "soccer" or "New York"
2. Use your Tags in the Description text for your videos.
Including them in the text likely makes your video appear more "relevant" and more desirable for YouTube to return as a search result.
3. Do Keyword Research to find good tags.
Another tactic is to do good keyword research for what your market is searching for. AdWords ads can provide valuable info in this area. Why? Because, if someone is spending money to advertise for specific keywords & phrases then you can bet your ass it's because those words are getting searched...and are profitable. If they weren't guess what? No one's using them!!!
People search YouTube the same way they search Google and Yahoo.
Some of my favorite tools for doing keyword research area:
PPC Web Spy
This new tool from keyword legend Brad Callen integrates with Firefox and provides outstanding data with the click of a button. I LOVE this tool and use it to research all my keywords! Oh...and it's yours - keep your wallet in your pocket,unless your thirsty, then just go get a beer and refer to answer number 3 at the beginning ;-)
SEO for Firefox
Another tool I use is called SEO for Firefox from SEO Tools. Their motto is: "Learn. Rank. Dominate"
This is true, in everything! This thing has a huge list of features. Just check them out.
1)Very Very Important
2)Not important
3)I'm too drunk to understand this question
4)Is there really any other answer than 3?
So what are TAGS?
Tags are keywords that describe videos.
An example of this would be say you are looking for a video on soccer, some tags for soccer videos might be "boots","goals", "jerseys" etc, things that are relevant to soccer. People who enjoy soccer videos are looking for terms that relate to soccer and if people search for those terms, they can find the soccer videos. Clever isn't it?!
Tags help you with labeling your videos that you upload so that others can find them fairly easily. BUT there is a problem with uploading these to YouTube....
YouTube only allows single tag words and not long keyword phrases such as "best soccer boots" or "great soccer players"
Some Great Tagging Tips for you:
1. Start off researching videos in your niche, find the videos with a LOT of views.
What tags are they using? Checking these can give you some ideas...but more importantly:
ask yourself the question of
"What combination of tags do these users put in to get specific results?"
Think of these combos as keyword phrases used in Adwords and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
So for a promotion for soccer, if you want soccer in New York in your video, you could include "soccer" and "New York" in your tags. Users who search for "soccer New York" find your video more easily than users who search for "soccer" or "New York"
2. Use your Tags in the Description text for your videos.
Including them in the text likely makes your video appear more "relevant" and more desirable for YouTube to return as a search result.
3. Do Keyword Research to find good tags.
Another tactic is to do good keyword research for what your market is searching for. AdWords ads can provide valuable info in this area. Why? Because, if someone is spending money to advertise for specific keywords & phrases then you can bet your ass it's because those words are getting searched...and are profitable. If they weren't guess what? No one's using them!!!
People search YouTube the same way they search Google and Yahoo.
Some of my favorite tools for doing keyword research area:
PPC Web Spy
This new tool from keyword legend Brad Callen integrates with Firefox and provides outstanding data with the click of a button. I LOVE this tool and use it to research all my keywords! Oh...and it's yours - keep your wallet in your pocket,unless your thirsty, then just go get a beer and refer to answer number 3 at the beginning ;-)
SEO for Firefox
Another tool I use is called SEO for Firefox from SEO Tools. Their motto is: "Learn. Rank. Dominate"
This is true, in everything! This thing has a huge list of features. Just check them out.
Using Your Language Effectively in Videos
"Give me the right word and the right accent, and I will move the world." -Joseph Conrad
Does this mean anything to you as someone who is using Videos for your Network Marketing Business?
If it doesn't, then maybe you need to realize how powerful it is to use your language effectively in your videos. You might, make that ARE losing money and prospects if you aren't using your words effectively in the videos your producing.
I have started to notice that when I watch videos, if the person seems like they have an agenda to get through and has a good flow of his or her words I receive the message better. Also, if the speaker takes advantage of rhythm in his/her words, this REALLY causes me to engage.
Here's just a few facts that might help you with what to do with your videos:
-Most of us think in words, and the words of our language shape the way we think.
-Using Language effectively is more spontaneous than written words and people like spontaneity!
-Words are the essence of our being, of what and how we think about ourselves
So, this brings me to my next big question for you...
What Makes the Spoken Word Special?
Is there really a difference between the spoken word and the written word?
YES, YES, YES, YES... did I mention YES?
The spoken word is more COLORFUL and INTENSE than the written word.
Oral language is much more interactive, it engages the listeners in the feelings and thoughts of the speech as they develop the words. This helps to create more of a conversation with the audience than just reading boring words.
So... I'd just like to leave you with a few little tips for when you're making your next/or first video.
First is to be yourself.
Second is to try to be spontaneous in your videos, this helps to KEEP the attention of the viewer.
Third, create a picture using your words for your audience as much as you can. This takes some time and practice, but doesn't anything that's worth learning takes tons of practice?
Does this mean anything to you as someone who is using Videos for your Network Marketing Business?
If it doesn't, then maybe you need to realize how powerful it is to use your language effectively in your videos. You might, make that ARE losing money and prospects if you aren't using your words effectively in the videos your producing.
I have started to notice that when I watch videos, if the person seems like they have an agenda to get through and has a good flow of his or her words I receive the message better. Also, if the speaker takes advantage of rhythm in his/her words, this REALLY causes me to engage.
Here's just a few facts that might help you with what to do with your videos:
-Most of us think in words, and the words of our language shape the way we think.
-Using Language effectively is more spontaneous than written words and people like spontaneity!
-Words are the essence of our being, of what and how we think about ourselves
So, this brings me to my next big question for you...
What Makes the Spoken Word Special?
Is there really a difference between the spoken word and the written word?
YES, YES, YES, YES... did I mention YES?
The spoken word is more COLORFUL and INTENSE than the written word.
Oral language is much more interactive, it engages the listeners in the feelings and thoughts of the speech as they develop the words. This helps to create more of a conversation with the audience than just reading boring words.
So... I'd just like to leave you with a few little tips for when you're making your next/or first video.
First is to be yourself.
Second is to try to be spontaneous in your videos, this helps to KEEP the attention of the viewer.
Third, create a picture using your words for your audience as much as you can. This takes some time and practice, but doesn't anything that's worth learning takes tons of practice?
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