Review of a video presentation

This is not the first time I show a video from MissK, and the reason is that she is a natural performer. Let’s have a look at this video and see what is good and what is bad:

Now you have seen the video, let’s review what we have seen here:

The good points:

MissK is not reading from a script. She may have rehearsed a couple of things upfront and she obviously had her mind on a couple of chapters in the book, but that is about it. I would give this video a 8/10 for spontaneity and a 8/10 for entertainment. Let me explain why:

Spontaneity is important because we tend to trust people who do not come across as slick and calculated, but speak from the heart. Especially on the web, we have no patience for the typical TV infomercials.
MissK speaks certainly from the heart and that is why she doesn’t need a script. She truly loves this book, no doubt about it.

Entertainment: Notice how her facial expressions change all the time. This is on purpose, because you have to keep wandering minds focused and you can only do that by making sure things happen at regular intervals. Most viewers have a concentration span of about 6 seconds, therefore it has to be renewed again and again. She throws in a little joke or two, very quickly, almost on a sideline, which is again for wandering minds because her behavior changes suddenly.

She shows the URL to her site all the time.  For commercial business, this is really important because in this way you brand the video and viewers can find you wherever the video is embedded.

The bad points:

There is a slight echo in the sound which is noticeable when you turn up the volume.  Possible cause: the audio compression in the resulting video is too strong. Never go below a datarate of 128Kbps. On YouTube, you can upload a video with 44.1kHz 160Kbps Stereo and even better.

MissK shows pages from the book, which is fine, but it is somewhat unclear. To enhance the experience, photograph or scan the page you want to show, and insert the image in the video in post production. That way, you get a clear view of the image and the text. I would certainly keep the footage where she turns the book towards the viewer, but then I would fade-in the static image for a second or two.

The URL to her site is partly obscured by the YouTube logo. If she made it a bit smaller, it would fit next to the logo.

Conclusion

The good points clearly overshadow the bad points, which are minor technicalities anyway, and nobody cares about things like that, except me, probably 🙂
For the record: I’m not a natural presenter myself, and on top of that, English is not my first language.  So, if you happen to see one of my videos, don’t take them as an example! Rather look at MissK and see if you can learn from her.

And that brings me to an importanrt issue: if you are not a natural speaker, you can train yourself.  Here is a site where you can find the right guidance: http://www.toastmasters.org/MainMenuCategories/WhatisToastmasters.aspx