“Dumb it down.” It’s one of my favorite storytelling phrases, especially when I’m talking with people who are smarter than me. Big words and technical jargon can be hard to understand. When you really want someone to understand what you are saying, sometimes you have to dumb it down and speak in words that are easier to grasp.
Here’s an example: Right now we are working on a video project for a hospital featuring some state-of-the-art surgical procedures. The idea is to show the high level of care available at the hospital. But the procedures are complicated. It would be very easy to get bogged down in medical details and lose sight of the real purpose of the videos.
So we’ve decided to tell these stories from the patient perspective. The idea is to have real patients share their own experiences. The surgeons explain how the technology combined with their skill benefits the patient.
If you want to get your point across, think about the way you tell your story. Do you speak in words that make sense to most people? If not, don’t be afraid to dumb it down.
Showing posts with label storytelling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label storytelling. Show all posts
June 30, 2011
February 21, 2011
5 Deadly Sins of Business Video Storytelling
I stumbled across an interesting article on the American Express Open Forum this week. “7 Deadly Sins of Business Storytelling” was written by authors Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith. The article got me to thinking about the biggest mistakes companies make when presenting their company story on video. To borrow a page from Aaker and Smith, let’s call this list “5 Deadly Sins of Business Video Storytelling.”
1) Too long: Just because your annual report takes up 50 pages of paper does not mean the video that introduces your company to the world should be 10 minutes long. Feel free to leave out some facts and figures. If you make your story compelling and tell it concisely, you will leave your viewers wanting to know more.
2) Boring: Video is an engaging medium. Too often companies create videos that feature the CEO looking directly into the camera painfully reciting some kind of corporate mission statement. Think visually.
3) Missing people: The best stories involve real people. So do the best videos. Seek out interesting employees or customers who have benefitted from your product or service. Satisfied customers are a great resource. Make them part of your story.
4) No clear goal: Before creating a company video, you need to determine what you want it to accomplish. You can’t wait until the day the camera shows up at your office to decide who you are trying to reach. Knowing the end goal will help you develop the right kind of story.
5) Poor quality: How many videos have you seen where the production values don’t match the image of the company? There’s nothing wrong with shooting your family vacation on a home video camera. But it makes little sense to try to save money by doing the same thing with the video that you put on your company’s website. There’s a formula we live by in the video business:
Bad Lighting + Bad Sound + No Tripod = Unwatchable Video
To put your best foot forward and avoid these deadly sins, you need to invest in a professional production team like ours at Point Across Media.
1) Too long: Just because your annual report takes up 50 pages of paper does not mean the video that introduces your company to the world should be 10 minutes long. Feel free to leave out some facts and figures. If you make your story compelling and tell it concisely, you will leave your viewers wanting to know more.
2) Boring: Video is an engaging medium. Too often companies create videos that feature the CEO looking directly into the camera painfully reciting some kind of corporate mission statement. Think visually.
3) Missing people: The best stories involve real people. So do the best videos. Seek out interesting employees or customers who have benefitted from your product or service. Satisfied customers are a great resource. Make them part of your story.
4) No clear goal: Before creating a company video, you need to determine what you want it to accomplish. You can’t wait until the day the camera shows up at your office to decide who you are trying to reach. Knowing the end goal will help you develop the right kind of story.
5) Poor quality: How many videos have you seen where the production values don’t match the image of the company? There’s nothing wrong with shooting your family vacation on a home video camera. But it makes little sense to try to save money by doing the same thing with the video that you put on your company’s website. There’s a formula we live by in the video business:
Bad Lighting + Bad Sound + No Tripod = Unwatchable Video
To put your best foot forward and avoid these deadly sins, you need to invest in a professional production team like ours at Point Across Media.
February 8, 2011
Storytelling During the Super Bowl
For the millions of people watching Super Bowl XLV on television, the game provided all kinds of storylines. So did the commercials. As a visual storyteller, I watched the commercials looking for the best job of storytelling during the Super Bowl.
It is easy to find opinions about the commercials, from professionals in the world of advertising to viewers who rank them for USA Today. Many people admit they watch the Super Bowl more for the commercials than the game itself.
You can divide this year’s ads into two categories: humorous and dramatic. The one I've chosen for best in storytelling falls into both categories.
The Budweiser “Wild West” commercial is one minute long, but notice how there’s not a spoken word until almost 20 seconds into the spot. Sound plays an important role in this commercial. The jingle of spurs…the pounding of the Clydesdales’ hooves… the powerful music…all set the tone for an Old West saloon fight.
Then comes the element of surprise. Did you really expect the cowboy to start singing? The predictable outcome would’ve had the cowboy shooting his gun, not turning the saloon into a giant karaoke bar.
All good stories have an identifiable beginning, middle and end. Most commercials aren’t really stories. They just try to capture your attention and promote a product. There’s nothing wrong with that. But telling a story is a great way to make a product memorable. In my opinion, Budweiser won out for best storytelling during the Super Bowl.
Do you think any stories stood out among this year’s Super Bowl commercials?
October 22, 2010
Storytelling Political Ads: 30 Seconds to Win Your Vote
You can’t watch television right now for more than 10 minutes without being hit by another political advertisement. With less than two weeks to go until the election, the airwaves are dominated by “Vote for Initiative X or Candidate Y.” More often than not the message is negative, telling us why we should vote against Initiative X or Candidate Y.
Most political advertising on television looks the same. Grainy images with dramatic music for the negative ads, colorful smiling pictures with happy music for the positive ones. Someone must think these ads work. CNN reports spending on TV ads for this election could top one billion dollars. No wonder the networks, cable outlets and local stations love political season.
Why so much spending on television? Tim Groeling, Associate Professor of Communications at UCLA, says television has unique advantages as a forum for political messages.
“TV is fundamentally a very emotional medium, very well-suited for communicating emotional information very quickly with the right audiovisual combination of words, music and images. While emotion is dismissed by some as being inferior and unrelated to reason, recent research suggests that the effective use of emotion in political advertising can actually help improve viewers’ reasoning processes and information retention,” Groeling says.
After being bombarded by so much advertising, I decided to seek out political commercials that do more than just attack an opposing position or candidate. I wanted to find ads in this election that effectively tell a compelling story…the same goal we have when we create video for our clients.
Example 1 is from Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Senator Grassley wants to show how he’s in touch with his constituents.
Example 2 is from Rick Snyder, a candidate for governor of Michigan. Snyder is a political newcomer who is relying on his business experience to impress voters.
Example 3 is from Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold uses football as a metaphor to respond to his opponent.
When you watch these political ads, is the candidate’s message clear?
Which ads have you seen lately that have made an impact on you?
Most political advertising on television looks the same. Grainy images with dramatic music for the negative ads, colorful smiling pictures with happy music for the positive ones. Someone must think these ads work. CNN reports spending on TV ads for this election could top one billion dollars. No wonder the networks, cable outlets and local stations love political season.
Why so much spending on television? Tim Groeling, Associate Professor of Communications at UCLA, says television has unique advantages as a forum for political messages.
“TV is fundamentally a very emotional medium, very well-suited for communicating emotional information very quickly with the right audiovisual combination of words, music and images. While emotion is dismissed by some as being inferior and unrelated to reason, recent research suggests that the effective use of emotion in political advertising can actually help improve viewers’ reasoning processes and information retention,” Groeling says.
After being bombarded by so much advertising, I decided to seek out political commercials that do more than just attack an opposing position or candidate. I wanted to find ads in this election that effectively tell a compelling story…the same goal we have when we create video for our clients.
Example 1 is from Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Senator Grassley wants to show how he’s in touch with his constituents.
Example 2 is from Rick Snyder, a candidate for governor of Michigan. Snyder is a political newcomer who is relying on his business experience to impress voters.
Example 3 is from Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. Feingold uses football as a metaphor to respond to his opponent.
When you watch these political ads, is the candidate’s message clear?
Which ads have you seen lately that have made an impact on you?
September 13, 2010
Video Is Good Medicine for Healthcare Companies
We are working on a video for a hospital that is using a new procedure to diagnose and treat heart conditions. The hospital is looking for a way to enhance its image as a cutting-edge medical facility. The basic idea is to reach out to prospective patients (read: customers) with a compelling message.
While it is easy to focus on the talented doctors and nurses in the operating room, the real story is about who benefits most from their skill. During the planning phase of our project, the hospital’s marketing department told us they had identified a patient who would share his surgery experience on camera. Not every person makes for a good interview. However, this particular patient was terrific.
This patient’s unique story became the centerpiece for a powerful video. The answer lies in connecting the visual piece with the message of the story. As storytellers, the healthcare industry offers a rare opportunity to create stories that generate a response from the viewer. From new drugs to new technology, what is happening in the healthcare industry can directly affect our lives.
More people are going online to get health information. Kevin Kruse is the organizer of an upcoming conference geared toward reaching and supporting digital health consumers called e-Patient Connections 2010. In a recent interview, he made an interesting point about storytelling and healthcare.
“This year our focus is really on how do you not just connect with e-patients, but how do you connect in a way that leads them to take action. How do you spark healthy behavior change? To this end, we think an underutilized secret weapon is storytelling. We are often moved by other people’s stories, our emotions fire up when we hear stories more than facts.”
There are many different mediums in which to pass along stories. But we live in a video age. The healthcare story is so important and so relevant that it is a natural fit for video.
While it is easy to focus on the talented doctors and nurses in the operating room, the real story is about who benefits most from their skill. During the planning phase of our project, the hospital’s marketing department told us they had identified a patient who would share his surgery experience on camera. Not every person makes for a good interview. However, this particular patient was terrific.
This patient’s unique story became the centerpiece for a powerful video. The answer lies in connecting the visual piece with the message of the story. As storytellers, the healthcare industry offers a rare opportunity to create stories that generate a response from the viewer. From new drugs to new technology, what is happening in the healthcare industry can directly affect our lives.
More people are going online to get health information. Kevin Kruse is the organizer of an upcoming conference geared toward reaching and supporting digital health consumers called e-Patient Connections 2010. In a recent interview, he made an interesting point about storytelling and healthcare.
“This year our focus is really on how do you not just connect with e-patients, but how do you connect in a way that leads them to take action. How do you spark healthy behavior change? To this end, we think an underutilized secret weapon is storytelling. We are often moved by other people’s stories, our emotions fire up when we hear stories more than facts.”
There are many different mediums in which to pass along stories. But we live in a video age. The healthcare story is so important and so relevant that it is a natural fit for video.
July 19, 2010
Boeing's Storytelling Moment
“Farnborough is going to be a good opportunity to tell our story.”
Jim Albaugh, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive to the Seattle Times, July 18, 2010
Boeing is presenting its new 787 Dreamliner airplane at the world’s largest air show in Farnborough, England this week. This is a unique chance for Boeing to shift focus away from all of the 787’s production problems.
You may not have a 180 million dollar airplane to sell like Boeing, but you do have a story. Maybe it’s one you tell to your customers face to face. Maybe it’s one you share internally with your employees. Good storytelling inspires people and leads them to action.
It is important to think about the story you tell when you are not in the room. If your website is filled with stock pictures and text, you are missing a golden opportunity to engage visitors by telling your story through video. When we create video for our clients, we pay special attention to the lasting impression someone has after they watch the video.
Boeing flew the 787 to England for the same reasons: to tell their story and leave a memorable impression. Boeing is out to show us all how good storytelling is good business.
Jim Albaugh, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive to the Seattle Times, July 18, 2010
Boeing is presenting its new 787 Dreamliner airplane at the world’s largest air show in Farnborough, England this week. This is a unique chance for Boeing to shift focus away from all of the 787’s production problems.
You may not have a 180 million dollar airplane to sell like Boeing, but you do have a story. Maybe it’s one you tell to your customers face to face. Maybe it’s one you share internally with your employees. Good storytelling inspires people and leads them to action.
It is important to think about the story you tell when you are not in the room. If your website is filled with stock pictures and text, you are missing a golden opportunity to engage visitors by telling your story through video. When we create video for our clients, we pay special attention to the lasting impression someone has after they watch the video.
Boeing flew the 787 to England for the same reasons: to tell their story and leave a memorable impression. Boeing is out to show us all how good storytelling is good business.
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