![]() |
The Visual LoungeDiscussions about the power of visuals and videos and how to make them even better. Author: TechSmith Corporation Language: en Genres: Education, How To, Technology Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
Listen Now...
How to Ruin a Good Video and Other Mistakes We've All Made
Episode 253
Tuesday, 8 July, 2025
What makes you click away immediately from a video vs. stay glued to the screen? Maybe it’s overwhelming background music or cursor movements that make you feel seasick.We’ve all seen videos that don’t quite click for us (and perhaps made a few of them ourselves). So, in this episode, we look at common instructional video mistakes to avoid to keep your learners watching. It’s an older episode and one of our most popular ones but is still packed with plenty of must-know tips.Host Matt Pierce sits down with Andrew DeBell (Sr. Learning Solutions Strategist at Atlassian), Cara North (Founder and Chief Learning Consultant for The Learning Camel), and Chandra Owen (our former Lead Instructional Designer), to hear their biggest tips on pacing, audio, editing, and how to make sure viewers get the most valuable information. And because this is a safe space here, everyone shares their own common mistakes and things they’re still working on. After all, even the pros can make mistakes.P.S. Matt also reveals news about a brand new free TechSmith tool – Camtasia Online. Listen out for details in the intro or click the link below. Learning points from the episode include:00:00 – 04:00 Introduction to Cara, Andrew and Chandra04:00 – 08:23 When do you choose to use video?08:23 – 11:37 One tip for improving how they use video or images in their work11:37 – 12:27 Ad break12:27 – 15:22 The number one thing that ruins a good video15:22 – 21:09 Small mistakes that can make a video hard to watch21:09 – 26:04 The top reasons people stop watching videos26:04 – 30:34 Music at the top/tail end of a video30:34 – 34:07 Using picture in picture in video best practices34:07 – 39:09 The mistakes we’ve made and are still working on39:09 – 43:08 Speed round questions43:08 – 43:58 Best place to connect with Cara, Chandra and Andrew43:58 – 46:08 Final takes46:08 – 47:04 OutroImportant links and mentions:Connect with Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewdebell/Connect with Cara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caranorth11/Connect with Chandra: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandraowen/Get started with Camtasia online: https://camtasia.techsmith.com/