Too Much Information Can Hurt Your Video

photo (5)I met with a new client last week who’s suffering from the same problem many businesses and non-profits suffer from. They do a lot.

This particular client sat in my office and told me all about their organization and what they do. It was a nearly two-hour explanation. What they wanted to know is how they can break all of that down into a 60-second video.

The answer can be uncomfortable for some people… you can’t. In most cases, you can’t fit everything about your business into a short video. Here’s the silver lining… you shouldn’t want to.

Video is about emotion, not facts

Video is a great information delivery tool, but so is print and digital. What sets video apart is that it can elicit a powerful emotional response. Video isn’t about listing off everything you do, it’s about convincing people you’re good at what you do, that you’re a quality organization, that you’re going to deliver.

Too much information clouds your audience members’ minds. It disconnects them from their emotions.

BREAK IT DOWN

So while many people try to cram as much as they can into a short video, I tend to narrow the focus as much as possible.

After listing to what this particular client does, I broke down their services into three core areas. Once you do that, the story becomes more manageable.

That’s one of the hidden benefits to hiring a professional storyteller. It’s the whole seeing the forest through the trees analogy. Sometimes people who work at a company are too close to it. It can take someone from outside to provide a fresh perspective.

Narrow your focus. It works almost every time.

–Tony Gnau