As a Leader, you were tricked. When you first read your job description, they probably left off one of the most important skills you will need:
Teaching.
Call it what you want—most of what the modern business leader does on a day-to-day basis is about turning an idea/vision/strategy into an action performed by somebody else. Leadership is Teaching, and class is in session. The challenge is your “students” don’t show up in a desk before the bell rings, predisposed to internalize what you say into the action you desire.
Each of your “students” (potential clients, team members, co-leaders, your community) are unique. They each have their own best way of retaining information, and that can dramatically affect their ability to absorb what you communicate to them—and whether or not they can turn that into results. If you are going to be effective on multiple learning fronts, you’re going to have to multitask.
Video isn’t new, and the virtues of communicating through video have been espoused in countless other articles. I want to focus on just one of the secret weapons that video has that other forms of communication can’t compete with: Multiple Learning Styles.
Learning Styles in a Nut Shell: There is a general theory in education that while each person is unique, they fit into one or more classes of Learning Styles. One model breaks the styles into five categories: Visual, Aural, Verbal, Physical, and Logical. Depending on the person, they may have a 90% retention rate when you tell them something, and a 10% retention rate when they read it. They may need pictures to help them understand a concept, or need to move around when trying to comprehend new information. Because of how they are wired or conditioned, the path of least resistance in an audience member's brain can be different from one person to the next.
When done right, a video can effectively capitalize on three of these styles:
Visual: Using pictures, images, graphs
Aural: Using music and sound
Verbal: Using words, both spoken and on screen
Between the three different approaches, you can trigger the occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes in the brain. For the laymen among us, that’s a lot of brain! Any one of these styles is powerful, but the combination of all three is a game changer.
The best part of multitasking your teaching style is the time it saves. If people are learning in three ways, they can absorb your message a lot faster. Imagine chopping off the first 30 minutes of a sales presentation and turning it into a 3-minute video setting up your company and your product. Or taking a 1-4 page white paper and turning it into a 90-second video. How about consolidating your case studies into a tight 2-minute feature video? The less time it takes you to get to the point, the less time you have to lose your audience.
One type of video our team loves to make are Explainer Videos. For one, they tell you exactly what they are in the title—they “explain"-er things. These are perfect for companies trying to take the big picture of their organization, or a product, and turn it into a bite-sized communication nugget. In 90-120 seconds, they shape your audience's perception and communicate the vital details you’re trying to convey. Tack on a killer call-to-action on the end, and you can empower the action you’re looking for quickly and efficiently.
The Explainer is also a great way to kick off a board meeting, setting the table for your discussion and putting everyone in the room on the same page quickly.
What if you’re implementing a new software solution company-wide and want to announce and educate your team on the ins and outs? Answer: make a video (duh).
Every day the digital connectivity of our culture is becoming more and more ingrained. It’s making for a lot of noise that you, as a Leader, need to push through if you want to be heard. Take advantage of the digital tools at your disposal and find a partner who can help you create meaningful messages. Give me a call at 636-534-5060 and tell me your story.
If you want to see some of the ways we’ve helped clients take a big idea and turn it into an awesome Explainer Video, check these out: