“Everybody has a story. And every story matters.”
That’s more than just the tagline on the back of my business card. That’s the inspiration that keeps me going after many years in theater, film, and video, working as a performer, a teacher, and a producer. I love to hear people’s stories, and I love to help tell those stories to the world. And, I believe that one of the most effective ways for people to tell their own stories these days is through video, and specifically through video on the Internet.
It’s certainly useful to have still photographs, graphic images, and descriptive text on your website, but the most personal and powerful connection you can make with your Internet audience is through video. And, what works best in this medium is you talking from your heart about what you care about. Check out these two videos to see what I mean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfO9IczSEcY
This is the dawning of the age of social networking on the web, and to stay up with the communication forms that viewers are responding to, you need to embrace and employ the tools that people are using. Video is one of the most effective of those tools, and it can be a friendly medium between you and your audience as long as you see it as a positive, linking force. To be most effective in the medium, you need to talk THROUGH the camera – that is, talk as if you were sitting across the desk from the person who is watching. And, you need to remember that spoken language is different from written language. The communication is not about delivering a memorized speech based on the text of your website or brochure, but rather about you making a personal introduction of yourself and of your service. In fact, it’s more about creating a positive impression than giving specific information. You use the text on your website to give details of your service. You use the video to “shake the hand” of your viewer and begin a relationship with them.
–Terry Lamb, Videosyncracy