Video presentations are one hell of a way to make an impression, and there are few better methods to set the tone, break the ice, or simply show off. Whether you are in a sales meeting, presenting figures to shareholders, or giving the keynote at the biggest tradeshow in your profession, an effective video presentation can mean the difference between being talked up or grumbled about. No matter what the occasion, it can be one of the most useful tools in your presentation repertoire.

Three Rules of the Effective Video Presentation

Regardless of the event, the same rules for creating an effective video presentation always apply.

Establish a goal that you want the video to achieve
Know what action you want to persuade your audience to take
Make sure that your video works in the context of your presentation’s environment

Purpose

Although it seems simple enough, explicitly articulating the purpose of your video is essential to creating an effective piece. If you cannot define this purpose, you are in danger of making a video just to fill time.

Outcome

Be equally aware of what you want your audience to do with the information you give them.

Context

A quiet, soundbite-driven video may work well in a sales meeting but it won’t work in a loud event environment.  A good video presentation works in concert with its context.

Don’t Be “That Guy”

Once your video is created, your biggest obstacle is going to be your AV setup. Poor planning in this arena is the stuff that terrible meetings and botched fundraisers are made of. Do you really want to be the guy who was messing around with sound sliders and turning projectors on and off because nothing was showing up but a big blue screen? Haven’t you been the one in the past who was snickering while some other luckless soul was trying to puzzle out why nobody could hear his video’s audio? Don’t be that guy.

The Remedy

The best way to make sure that your video presentation goes off without a hitch is to know exactly what kind of AV set up will be present.  Will you need to bring a VGA or HDMI cord?  What about an audio cable?  Will there be an AV tech to help?  You need to know these things.

Also, if possible, don’t rely on an internet connection.  Play the video off your computer hard drive.

If you follow these video presentation guidelines, you will not only find that the presentation goes much smoother but you will be better prepared for questions and the occasional standing ovation or closed sale.

Happy hunting.