by Gordon McMahan
When you’re giving a business presentation, you must enlighten and educate the audience based on your area of expertise. After all, they are in attendance because you have something important they want and need to hear. If you’re looking for a way to better engage your audience, consider the benefits of incorporating video.
Video is an incredibly effective storytelling tool, and here are five pointers on successfully incorporating video to make your presentation a success.
5 Tips on Effectively Using Videos in Presentations:
1) Set the Stage. A powerful video at the beginning of your presentation can set the tone, establish the theme, and provide context for your presentation. It can also grab the audience’s attention and build anticipation for the information you are about to provide. Depending on your topic or the goal of your presentation, a video can also be a very powerful close to your presentation.
2) Keep it Short and Sweet. Your audience doesn’t want a feature length film, and they certainly don’t have the requisite snacks and popcorn to get them through an extended business video. Depending on the topic, you should be able to communicate an idea that supports your presentation with a 2-4 minute video. Any longer and your audience may begin tuning out.
3) Keep it Professional. Production values matter, because a blurry, poorly-lit video shot on your iPhone is not going to have the same impact as a well-produced business video that reflects positively on your product or service. Learn more about Mighty 8th Media’s professional video services.
4) Make Sweet Sounds. In addition to understanding how you’re going to project your video in a meeting, the attendees also need to clearly hear it. If you aren’t plugging into a professional sound system, consider investing in a good pair of affordable yet powerful external speakers. Those laptop speakers just aren’t going to cut it.
5) Make it Relevant. Your video must relate directly to your presentation and add value. Bells and whistles don’t matter if they don’t support the rest of your talking points. By being selective with the story within your video, it can stimulate your audience, spark dialogue and heighten awareness around your presentation’s topic.
We recently created an exciting presentation video for Smarty Pants, a full-service market research and strategic consulting firm dedicated to helping corporate and non-profit clients better understand and connect with youth and families. They are currently giving presentations nation-wide based on their research of the Top 50 Brands that Kids Love, and this video is the start to each of those meetings.
Rather than offering a bland powerpoint that cycles through the brand rankings, we created a lively, energetic video that communicates the rankings while capturing the passion that kids have for the products.
Watch this brief, informative, professional and engaging video to see how we incorporated the 5 essential tips on effectively using videos in presentations.