How do you develop your own voice and style as a video storyteller?

Sometimes trying to figure it all out at once my not be a great idea and leads to procrastination depending on your personality . Some people like me just start, jump in with a pilot scheme , nothing too fancy but just enough to get leg room and into a place where i can possibly get a feel of my intended audience ( if i know who they are) or get to discover my audience and then get ready to answer the other questions listed above. You sometimes need to be part of the audience to feel the need, vibe and get to know through their eyes what next steps to take.

A lot of "knowing your purpose" starts with knowing the brand you're storytelling for. A good Brand guide should already have a lot of these questions answered and it will naturally eliminate some options, which lets you be more creative in the right areas. For instance, I used to work at a company that positioned itself as a "rebel" in the industry. So the immediate purpose of our videos was to poke fun at, or gain attention by challenging standard narratives. My new company is more conservative but also has a global reach - which changes my purpose into making the standard narrative very emotional and "big" feeling.

Mixing and matching can be so satisfying and fun , if you are built to enjoy the process.It brings out your intriguing mature and exposes the Sherlock Holmes in a creative that leads to a path of discovery or a close but definitely a lesson at the end. However your choice is centred around factors one of them being 'time' and the other 'resources'. Storytelling is through your eyes and that what makes it special , we all have the ability to direct the narrative and decide what path the streams of your tale flows in order to connect with others or not at the river.

One of my favourite elements of the narrative is conflict. Conflict can be an awful thing in life but it sometimes is just what a great story needs. It has a beautiful way of bringing up numerous possibilities and giving the story options , options is a good thing in storytelling .

The script truly is the blueprint for the entire video, film, movie, etc. So, as a script writer, you’re really the initial architect of the whole video experience. And that experience is 100% yours to map-out and weave into the story. If you’re only writing narration or dialogue - you’re missing the real fun. (And you haven’t really finished the job.) Great script writers love to experiment with letting an actor or narrator start a thought and then letting the visual finish it - or, if you’re going for humor, letting the visual completely contradict the actor or narrator. Don’t forget to include instructions for music and sound effects. They play a HUGE role in the overall experience. Yes, all of this is for B2B video, too!

Before posting a video, I would recommend watching videos from other people first. Take note of their style, how they communicate, what you like and don’t like about their presentation. This is the “fact finding/research” part of the process and it’s very important in helping you craft your own message and delivery. Really think about your message and what you’re trying to convey. If you’re new to creating videos, writing and public speaking, it’s best to keep your videos short. As you become more seasoned, then you can expand. Showing your video to someone else before you post is also key. If possible, find someone who understands video content.

The first video I created for LinkedIn took me all day to plan and film. When I posted I felt physically sick! Guess what happened? Nothing! I now record videos all the time and have no fear whatsoever. Practice, practice, practice!

Have a group of critics as friends, feedback is a fuel for development and creativity, opinion may be distracting stay on track and pick what is needed. Depending on what direction you take it may open up layers for the story. I worked on a documentary about 'skin' a few years back , our main focus was on the health risk of lightening ones completion by using creams and lotions, after the first draft and a series of interviews , we aired it to a close group and realised from their feedback that there was an angle about the societal benefits of having light skin in that host community that was in high demand . That piece of information opened up the documentary to an awesome led that was more profitable.

Saber ouvir críticas. E elogios também. Nós comunicadores - n?o importa se de texto ou vídeo - estmos falando para alguém. E queremos ser entendidos. N?o adianta só você achar que criou uma obra-prima. Seu público precisa entender. Gostar ou n?o. E você precisa saber se sua mensagem está sendo absorvida. Por isso, feedback é fundamental.

Watch out you don't fall into the trap of a) only getting input from people who are already bought into the project, or b) getting only opinion-based feedback. The best feedback is always data. Number of video shares. Engagement and completion rates. Your numbers can and should improve with time. Don't be discouraged if they start off low - and think about the many factors why they might be. Everything from the video title, to the length, to the format can affect whether someone watches to the end or not. This is why marketers love to A/B test - and it could be worth doing for your video as well.

This article is excellent, and includes many points that I would have made if I were writing it. I teach video/television production to university students.