TWHS#068: The Secret To Creating Great Videos Quickly

Creating video is essential these days.  Maybe it's explainer videos, social media posts, customer case studies or internal videos for your team.  Get it right and you engage people, deliver your message effectively and become unforgettable.

But I see some really common hurdles for folks: 

• People are too scared to try it and never do it.
• It takes 55 takes to record and people get put off.
• People look at their end result and aren't happy with it.

My secret to overcome this …

The Teleprompter

I've worked with loads of clients to create customer case studies, create internal videos, share personal stories and had amazing results.  I've won over the most sceptical folks.

Why Is A Teleprompter Great?

• You can write the script anywhere, anytime.
• You know what you will say will be punchy and good.
• It takes less takes to nail it.

Higher quality in less time.  What's not to love?

Gotchas

But there can be some gotchas.

• You sound like a semi-human whitepaper.
• Your voice sounds like you've been asked to read Macbeth at secondary school.

These are completely solvable with my tips below.

My Top Tips

• Get an app on your phone and try it.  There's loads of free apps and some really cheap ones.  I use Elegant Teleprompter Pro on my Android.  It's brilliant and there's a free version.
• Write like you speak. The first big mistake people make is to write the script as you would an email.  But when you read it out loud, it sounds like …. an email.  Write like you speak.  Put slang in there, use simple natural words.  Don't try to be a posh version of you.
• Focus on voice dynamics. You don't want to sound like you're reading.  Read it out loud like you speak.  How do you do that?  Vary the pace you speak at.  Put pauses in.  Vary the volume and pitch.  Think how you speak when you're not reading, and do that.
• Get the length right.  You speak at about 150 words per minute.  A 2 minute video is only 300 words.  Write the script to hit the length you want the video to be.

I use teleprompters all the time.  Here are a couple of examples:

• LowFi on my phone.
• Higher quality with a SLR camera and greenscreen.
• The intro on the podcast used one. (both the yellow sting and guest intro)

Just last week I created a video case study for a tech company.  I helped them write a natural script.  I coached them on voice dynamics as we recorded it.  Then "Bob's Your Badger" we had a high quality, case study ready for all to see.

Creating great video is powerful.  Raise the quality and reduce the time to create them with teleprompters.

Hope this helps.

Ben