5 Tips to Make Videos People Will Sit Through

Do you flip the classroom?  Post instructional videos?  Teach distance learning?  Support product purchases?

Here are some research-based 

video tips everyone can use!  

Yes, research-based.  At the bottom of this blog I'll tell you about the research of 6.9 million videos views.  You can't argue with that kind of data!

Although some of the tips may not apply to you, everyone who makes video can learn something.

Tip 1:  Shorter videos are more engaging  
Regardless of how long a video is, the vast majority viewers leave a video after 3-6 minutes.  So if you want them to watch the whole video, shoot for a 3-6 minute duration.

In addition, 56% of viewers participated in a problem attempt when videos were 0-3 minutes.  These rates dropped to 31% for videos 12 minutes or longer.

Maybe you don't want your viewer to complete a problem.  You want your viewer to click on a new page, buy, comment, or like your video.  The clicking behavior is the same.  You want your viewers engaged!

Tip 2:  A talking head is more engaging than pure content
Break up your power point slides or screen captures with you talking directly to the camera.  This technique personalizes the content.  It also speeds up the tempo.

Tip 3:  A close-up view is more engaging than a distant view
Do you pay closer attention when you are in an advisor's office or in a room filled with people?

Research finds the same attention applies to video.  Film your stars close-up.  In fact, when close-ups of the instructor were used in addition to content, the viewers stayed in the video up to 9 minutes, lengthening that magic "6 minute"mark in tip 1.

Tip 4:  Khan-style tutorials are more engaging
Think of this as the cocktail napkin technique.  Handwriting stokes capture your audiences attention better than power point slides.  The cocktail napkin technique, or white board technique, has been well-documented.  So grab a tablet and map out your directions and ideas like you were sitting down with a friend.

Tip 5: Preproduction improves engagement
Videos designed to be videos far outperform videos that are shot without thought to filming.  What does preproduction mean?  Plan.  Chunk the content.  Enumerate.  Don't just let the thoughts flow.  Organize!

What is this research I'm talking about?

The first four edX MOOCs were the source of this video data, 6.9 million video views.  Though you nor I aren't likely to be creating video for MOOCs, viewer behavior is critical for everyone.  The MOOC environment is beneficial because participation is voluntary.  Viewers watch what they want, for how long they want, and participate in follow-up problems they want.

Check out the full article.
Guo, P., Kim, J., & Rubin, R.  (2014).  How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos.  The article is available freely at:  https://www.edx.org/blog/how-mooc-video-production-affects