Only a Clip Away

"Video clips can add depth and credibility to your presentation," says David Paradi, president of ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com and author of The Visual Slide Revolution (Communication Skills Press, 2008). And you don’t need expensive, fancy video equipment, actors or professionals to pull it off.

The most convincing video clips are those that show real customers using your product to solve real problems. "Many people are fearful and think they have to have a professional shoot a clip when they can easily do it themselves," Paradi says. "All you need is a digital camera with a movie mode or your home camcorder. Then ask an existing customer to tell you how your product solved their problem. You’ll get a great clip in a few minutes."

Wait, what about editing? Very easy, says Paradi.

"Everyone has editing software on their computers even if they don’t realize they do," Paradi says. "Windows has Movie Maker and Apple has iMovie. Edit it to a clip that’s between 15 to 45 seconds long. Now, you’ve got a great little clip that says things that you could never possibly say. It’s credible and believable."

One of the best reasons to add video clips to your sales presentations is to provide customer testimonials, says Paradi. Having your client say that your product/service is great is far more convincing than your saying it. Another reason to use video clips during your presentation is to demonstrate quality. You can "show" quality by videotaping a part of the manufacturing process that people don’t normally see. Or you may want to show an actual quality test using your product. For example, instead of saying, "You can take our device and drop it 10 feet onto a concrete floor and it won’t break," you could show someone dropping it 10 feet onto a concrete floor. Much more credible (unless it breaks).

Important: Before you show a video clip during your presentation, Paradi says to make sure that you introduce it by telling the prospect that you want to show a short clip that illustrates a certain point. Ask them to pay close attention at a certain spot. If you wait until after the clip has played to tell the prospect what they should have been looking for, you have lost the impact of the video. For example, you might say, "I’m going to show you a video clip of a customer, Zack Johnson, of XYZ Corp. Now XYZ is struggling with the same cost problem that your company is struggling with. Let me just show you this video clip of Zack talking and about halfway, I want you to listen to what he says when how he talks about the cost savings per unit that they achieved." Then play the clip.

"What you’ve done is set up the context for the clip," says Paradi. "Your audience knows why and when it is they are supposed to be paying attention."

Some other tips from Paradi:
Keep clips short. They’re clips, not movies. The ideal video clip is between 5 and 45 seconds and no longer than 60 seconds.
Ensure they can hear it. Bring external speakers (even your iPod speakers) to amplify the sound. The speakers on your laptop usually aren’t powerful enough for the audio portion of your video clips.
Confirm that the video clip is in the default format for your type of computer. Windows PowerPoint uses the Windows Media Video (WMV) format and Mac uses the MOV Quicktime Movie Format.
Make sure you have a valid reason to use the clip. Make sure that it fits in and is consistent with your objectives. Don’t just show something because it’s "cool."

"Get over your fears about adding video clips," says Paradi. "Your competition is probably using video. Don’t be left behind."