Communication is easy… write something down, open your mouth, give someone a dirty look. Everyone is communicating something. The tough part is doing it effectively.

That’s why storytelling is so powerful. Anyone can list facts and figures, but they’re unlikely to grab people on an emotional level. That’s what storytelling can do.

Simply producing a video isn’t good enough. Add storytelling to video and you have a combination that’s really going to grab your audience.

–Tony Gnau

Pretty pictures are nice. Information is good. The two of them together are even better. The thing is you need more. More if you’re interested in creating a video that will connect with viewers.

Enter storytelling. Incorporating your information into a story and marrying it with good images will draw in your audience and make them more receptive to your message.

Create a story that’s relevant to your viewers and you’re on your way to making an impact.

–Tony Gnau

Storytelling is the name of the game. Sure, you have a marketing message… of course, you have a PR purpose… and it might all be part of a sales strategy, but storytelling is the way to make sure people watch and listen.

Otherwise, it’s just information.

Pure information won’t get anyone’s attention and hold it. You have to find a way to touch their spirit.

Luck for you, video can grab someone’s attention. Add a great story and you have a vehicle that can elicit emotion and drive people to action.

–Tony Gnau

Okay, I typically hate critiquing other videos, but this one represents a terrific cautionary tale.

A Southwest Airlines video about the company taking part in Meals On Wheels popped-up last week on my Facebook wall. I love that Southwest participates in giving back to the community. I love that they want to share it with us in a video. The execution… not so good.

First, the Facebook text above the video read…

A sea of blue t-shirts made up of 500 Southwest Airlines Employees just wrapped up delivering more than 1,800 meals in this year’s Meals On Wheels Association of America blitz to serve Dallas families.

Then you click on the video and the first on-screen graphic reads, “June 8, 2010.” Read the Facebook text again. They “just wrapped up”… “this year’s Meals On Wheels.”

The next on-screen graphic reads, “400 Southwest Employees.” Back to the Facebook text, “500 Southwest Airlines Employees.”

Seriously? If you’re going to show us last year’s video, just tell us it’s last year’s video. Don’t use the text to make it sound like it’s from this year.

Next, the sound bite they chose is extremely confusing. Who is the speaker addressing? I assume it’s the Southwest employees making the deliveries.

Also, the on-screen title threw me off. It reads, “Brit Carpenter, President & CEO Visiting Nurse Association,” but he’s standing in front of Southwest banner. By the time I looked at him, the banner, and then the on-screen title, the title was already coming down. All I caught was President & CEO.

I assumed he was the Southwest Airlines president, but then what he said in the sound bite didn’t make sense. I had to re-watch the sound bite a few times before I figured out he leads the Visiting Nurse Association, which I imagine is associated with Meals On Wheels, but that isn’t explained later.

Why do I point this out? It’s a great example of why business leaders need to hire storytellers. I can only imagine that this video was put together by someone at Southwest who has technical expertise, but not a storytelling background.

If you’re going to create a video and share it with the world, make sure you’re telling a story that people will understand. The video will only help your organization if the audience walks away feeling good about your company… not confused.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Southwest Airlines and Meals On Wheels

My wife is coming up with so many blog topics lately I’m going to have to start giving her a writing credit. She spotted the following video at designmom.com and thought I might have some ideas about it.

As usual… she was right.

The video is titled, 50 People, 1 Question-Chicago. The question… what’s your favorite memory?

The video looks great, sounds great, and it does what video does well… it touches an emotional cord.

This is the type of video businesses should be doing. The options are seemingly endless. Ask a number of employees what they like best about working at your company. Ask a bunch of customers how your business has helped them.

Ask a question and let a skilled video producer bring the answers to life.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: 50 People, 1 Question-Chicago

You can pay just about anyone to shoot some video. Chances are they’re also capable of editing together that video. What you should be paying for is someone with a storyteller’s vision.

It’s their creativity that will set your video apart. It’s their creativity that will drive engagement. It’s their creativity that holds real value.

Don’t look for a vendor. Hire an artist.

–Tony Gnau

An authentic voice isn’t always polished. People who speak from the heart occasionally stutter, and sometimes they say, “um.” Don’t worry about it. Leave those things in your videos.

It’s okay for a couple of reasons. First, audiences don’t even notice it. Okay, if someone says something like, “you know,” four times in the span of 10-seconds, people will notice. They rarely notice the occasional verbal misstep because that’s simply how we all speak.

This is your video so you’re dissecting it word by word. Audiences don’t watch and listen that way. Stuttering and stammering is what we hear everyday, so hearing the same in a video only sounds like natural conversation.

Second, because it does sound natural, the content of what’s being communicated comes off as much more genuine than a polished answer. Unless you’re a great actor or experienced politician, sounding sincere while delivering a practiced answer is nearly impossible.

The best thing to do during your videos is to speak from the heart, hum, and let your passion show.

–Tony Gnau

You don’t always need words to tell a story, but if you have them… make sure to use them well. Content creators and business leaders can certainly learn that lesson from watching a Chicago tourism video that starts with a great concept but falls a little short.

The video uses the written words of Daniel Burnham. For those of you non-Chicagoans who might not be familiar, Burnham was the architect and urban planner who created the city’s blueprint following the Great Chicago Fire.

His words… perfect for this video. The problem… the video is too long, edited to include long musical breaks between Burnham’s well-written lines.

The breaks are so long you completely lose the flow of what Burnham wrote. Tighten up the edit and all of a sudden the story starts to make sense.

This is a mild critique. The video is shot well, and has one of the world’s great city’s as a backdrop. It’s hard to go wrong with that imagery. Adding Burnham’s words in a more efficient way would have put this video over the top.

Your content may have words, but does it tell a story?

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Chicago Tourism