Six Secrets to Successful

Screencastsby Matt Hurst

1. Understand your audience.

In order to have a successful screencast, you must first anticipate the needs of

your audience. Your presentation should seek to serve your audience by providing maximum value for their time. The best way to understand your audience is to ask

questions about their needs and wants.

2. Connect with your audience.

Your screencast will be successful if you connect with your audience. It’s

important that your personality shines through during the screencast. You may want to tell a personal story or anecdote

that your audience can relate to. Be open, real, and vulnerable.

3. Write out a script for your screencast.

This may seem tedious, but the act of writing out your thoughts is a great way to

flesh out your ideas, build on your ideas and keep your recording concise. A

script will keep you on track and ensure that you use precise vocabulary to get

your message across effectively.

4. Don’t read from the script when you record your screencast.

This might seem counterproductive, since I just said to write out a script. The

idea here is that you sound natural and conversational. It really helps your

audience stay engaged when you speak with emotion and enthusiasm. When you’

re reading a script, it’s more difficult to sound natural.

5. Keep your screencast short and concise.

When you make an instructional screencast, the point is to get the person to where they want to go in the quickest way possible. The fewer steps, the better. Try

to keep your screencast video under 7 minutes in length. If you need more time, split the screencast into multiple videos.

6. Minimize text on the screen.

The worst lectures are when an instructor reads verbatim from their

slideshow screen...boring! (I’d rather read it myself.) The visuals

on the screen should be mostly images, diagrams, or charts. If you need to use text, keep it short and simple. Include

no more than six objects per slide.

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