Use of video is becoming more widespread. With the birth and boom of YouTube and more affordable technology now widely available, it has become much easier to make your own videos, whether it’s for sales, promotion, training or information. But, although creating a video is easy, creating a great video that does the job it’s designed to do takes a little more effort. In 1,000 words this is not the holy grail to creating great videos but if you stick to these principles you will find it easier to produce more professional videos that are more likely to achieve results you want.

1. Keep to a few simple points

One clear message well aimed is better than a scattergun approach that is poorly focused, hoping that at least one point hits home with your audience. You can make several videos, it isn’t necessary to fit everything into one video.

Think about “The Who, What, When and Where of it all”. Answering these questions before you start to work on your video will help you to stay focused and deliver the right message to your viewer.

• Who will be watching your video?
• What’s their story?
• What are their needs, wants and likes?
  Big brands spend serious money on finding out as much as they can about their audience. I am not suggesting you do the same but knowing your audience is key to getting the right message across. The more you know about your viewer the easier it will be to craft your message to appeal to them.
• What is the key message you want the video to get across?
• What’s the purpose of the video, what do you want the video to do? What job do you want it to perform?
  Is it to pass on some information, to get your viewer to respond or take action, to inspire them to do something different? Whatever it is, being clear on the result you want from your video will influence how you deliver the message.

With these questions answered you’re ready to start crafting your message.

2. Script your video

Some videos need a script, if you are new to this it will make it easier to get a concise message across. Make it conversational and read it to others to get feedback, the more natural it sounds the better. If you don’t want to do a full script and are confident — make a note of the key points you want to make and use them as talking points. Beware though, working without a script is often harder than it sounds once you turn the camera on!

People like a story, make it personal, the more personal you make it the better. If you make it too general people watching will switch off. Talk about specific examples that are relevant to your viewer.

Avoid cheesy poorly executed persuasion techniques such as “if you, like me…”. Remember… relax, just be you, tell your story.

3. Keep it short

It is much better to produce several short videos than one long one. By short I really mean short, at CoachingCloud we aim for 30–90 seconds — if we get to 5 minutes we ask ourselves if we need to split the video. People have a short attention span, 50% more people will complete a 1 minute video than a 2 minute one (source: Wistia.com). Think about starting with just a 30 second video. A clear simple message makes it easier for your viewers to understand and respond in the way you want them to. If you try and pack too much in, you won’t get the result you want.

4. Sound quality is more important than picture quality

This point often surprises people. You can even use your camera on your phone, it’s likely that you are going to compress the video for web browsers anyway. We use a RODE NG-1 shotgun microphone, its a broadcast quality mic for under £150. Shot gun mics have the advantage of picking up your voice without background noise and staying out of the shot. We prefer these over a lapel mic because it looks more natural. There are plenty of options on the market today, you can even get good quality USB mics if you need to plug it into your phone. Read the reviews, make sure its compatible with your camera and buy what you can afford.

Lighting your shot is also important. If you are shooting outdoors there’s a lot of natural light so usually you will be ok. If you are filming indoors you will need to setup the camera so there are no shadows over your face. Compose the shot so you are lit from in front and from both sides which will give you a natural look.

5. Relax on camera

Remember you are talking to one person — the person who is watching, so relax and keep it personal. Spend some time to get yourself in a good state before you start filming. Have fun! If you come across as nervous or sound like you’re reading a script it will be uncomfortable for your viewers to watch. I find it helps if you have someone sit directly behind the camera and talk to them.

6. Record for the edit

Do several takes and take the best from what you have. If you record some cutaways it will make it much easier to edit your video and make it more interesting for your audience to watch. A cut away is where you place another visual on the timeline while you are speaking. This can be a photo, a screen recording or another piece of video footage. If this is your first time on camera it will allow you to have a script in front of you while the cut-away shot is up.

Adding music to your video creates emotion and helps keep the pace. Have you ever watched a horror film with the sound down and some upbeat music on? So think about what state you want people to be in as they watch your video, how do you want them to feel? Be careful to match the music to your video. You may need to choose a simple loop that repeats in the background rather than a pop song that reaches a climax at the wrong point.

So before you sit on the bright side of the camera with the lights in your eyes and the red light on, plan your message, get comfortable, just be you and tell your story.

6 tips for coaches on making great videos was originally published in CoachingCloud on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.