Upgrade your training videos by doing this one thing

When was the last time you saw a training or instructional video and thought, “that was really good, I want to watch the next one!”? Is it even possible for that experience to happen? Especially in the corporate world, aren’t training videos supposed to be a dull medium with the sole focus of conveying information??

Welp, you ask some good questions, lemme tell ya!?Unfortunately, this is usually the case.?I’m sure I’m not the only one who has pulled up a required training video, clicked play, and minimized the window/switched tabs to get back to what I was doing.?It really is a shame that this is so commonplace when it doesn’t have to be!

What’s missing in these videos??I’ll tell you: Personality! ?

There’s something that happens in a persons mind as soon as they step in front of a camera that causes them to think they have to be “professional and mature” or whatever.?If you’re a video producer like I am, or have ever been on a set you know what I’m talking about. You’ll be laughing and joking around and then you say “aaaannd we’re recording” and you see the snap happen.?It’s all business.

I’m an in-house video producer, so I work with my colleagues to create videos, they aren’t professional actors, they’re project managers, developers, learning and development content creators, sales engineers or whomever else might need a video made to train new teammates or customers. So how do you get them to act like themselves after the camera turns on??Because THAT is what engages an audience.?

As a viewer, I want you to make a joke. I don’t want you to act like you’re perfect, I want you to act like a human being. So do that! Encourage your talent to be weird on screen, make a joke, trip over your words, laugh at yourself, recover and keep going.?Not so much that it distracts from the information you’re trying to convey, but enough to catch people who are expecting a regular old training video off guard.?And then you have them, or at least, their attention.?

Part of this is on you or your video editors too. Maybe don’t cut out the part where they trip over that alliteration, it humanizes them.?Have them do several takes of each paragraph even if they don’t mess up, it causes them to be more comfortable with the content and sound more natural. I frequently tell talent, “Act like you’re explaining this to your friend over a beer or in a coffee shop”.?Even though it creates more work for you in post, it gives you more options to choose from, and there’s a sweet spot for non-actors I’ve found where they are uncomfortable with a paragraph, then they become very comfortable (the sweet spot) and then they become annoyed that you asked them to take it again.?Haha we try not to push toward the third phase ;)?(Another good trick is right after they get a good take, I’ll say, “That was awesome, let’s do it one more time just for fun, but I think that last one was a great take!”?The NEXT take is usually the golden one, because you’ve relieved the pressure of “getting it right”. ?

So put that personality back in your videos, go for entertaining AND informative.?It’s a great feeling when the Sales rep that’s onboarding says, “Those videos were great, I learned so much and they were pretty funny!?I was actually looking forward to the next one.” ?