Most trainers, consultants, and professional coaches have the speaking skills and personal presence to create compelling video content.  However, only the minority of them do.  Lacking technical capabilities prevents them from creating video at all or finds them producing lackluster quality material. But that doesn’t need to be the case.  A few video basics can provide a serviceable video that can fairly easily be molded into a professional quality marketing video.

Full video production is often a strain on time and budgets for trainers, consultants, and professional coaches.  “Do It Yourself” production eliminates the cost and lets you shoot video on your timetable. But that assumes that the video that you shoot is usable.

Video editing is a powerful tool that can take a lot of the burden of video production off the trainer, consultant, or professional coach. However, it’s not a cure all.  Here are a few strategies for getting the most out of video that you shoot.

• Lighting – You don’t need professional lighting but it’s important not to shoot video in a dark area.  Find a well lit place in your office, conference room, or working station to shoot the video and it’s likely to be suitable for use.
• Stability – Make sure the camera is stable.  A tripod is ideal but even a table or chairs can serve the purpose of steadying the camera.
• Speak, Don’t Script – It’s a good idea to have an outline of what you want to say but trying to mock up a homemade teleprompter often comes off as rigid and lacking confidence.  You know your content and are speaking to an audience of none.  Deliver your content with the knowledge that any mistakes will be cut from the final version.
• Stay Relaxed – Stage fright kicks in often for people when they look down the barrel of a camera.  Avoid this phenomenon by speaking to the person filming or a set spot in space if you are filming yourself. 
• Repackage – Many trainers, consultants, and professional coaches speak at professional events that video the presenters.  This is usually professionally produced and can often be trimmed into many smaller videos that deliver powerful content in small clips.

Video does not need to be as arduous a process as it might have been years ago.  Most of us are walking around with a professional quality camera in our pocket. Take advantage of your phone or video devices by following these steps and getting into a routine of video production that allows you to capture the material and then work with an editor to polish it to a final version.