Editor’s Note: We received this email from Kim and thought it would be a good question to run past the Health Communicators and Social Marketers who read the Gateway blog. Make any suggestions in the “Comments” section, and we’ll publish them. Thanks!
My name is Kim and I work at CDC. I recently began developing online training videos for SharePoint and other CDC applications. I’ve tried to find information on what makes a good training video or tutorial and am struggling to find the type of information I’m wanting. Is someone aware of any resources that would help define what makes a good online presentation, what are the nuances that differentiate it from an in-person presentation, and how to navigate those differences?
Those are the broad stroke questions. I’d also be very interested in any “do’s and don’ts” tips as well. For example, in one I did previously, I noticed that I moved the mouse too much and people might have found it distracting. Thanks so much for any assistance.
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March 28, 2012 at 4:13 pm ET - Kate M.
Kim, Have you heard of Prezi (http://prezi.com/)? We use this for all of our training sessions and always receive rave reviews – they are fun, interactive and engaging and it’s a surprisingly easy-to-navigate interface (simple tutorials can be found here – http://prezi.com/learn/).
If you’re looking to create more instructional presentations (ie how to navigate a website/use an application), you might want to look into Camtasia (http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html). It essentially allows you to record your screen so participants can see step-by-step how to do something.
I think the key is to be VISUAL and DYNAMIC.
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March 28, 2012 at 4:21 pm ET - Mike Newton-Ward
Kim,
A helpful resource may be “Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes.” It is by communication consultant Andy Goodman at: http://www.agoodmanonline.com/about/index.html. While it may deal more with PowerPoints, I think there are some good basics that could be applicable to training videos.
I hope this helps!
Mike Newton-Ward, MSW, MPH
Social Marketing Consultant
North Carolina Division of Public Health
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March 28, 2012 at 5:10 pm ET - Tiffany Reed
This is a very engaging and great presentation about presenting. Check it out.
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/webcast/how-create-slides-dont-suck-and-help-others-do-same?utm_campaign=Slides%20Don%27t%20Suck%20webinar%20on-demand%20today%20July11&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=34c6e9f12d344d63b44e46a842f7e78d
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March 29, 2012 at 8:18 am ET - Karen
I recently attended a webinar on giving good webinars. Some of it was really helpful although tailored for the online training software that we use. Here’s the description and the name of the presenter:
“Ken Molay, president of Webinar Success, presents tips to help you become a more effective online speaker. … You will learn how to prepare a presentation that complements the web environment and how to deliver it with confidence and professionalism. Discover ways to consciously adjust your vocal style in order to build rapport with your audience. Identify common presentation errors that can detract from your message.
What the audience will learn:
How to set up your physical environment for an online presentation
Tips and tricks for improving your vocal style
How to script and practice a presentation to build comfort and confidence
Common presentation errors that drive your audience crazy
Effective audience interaction techniques”
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March 29, 2012 at 9:14 am ET - Betsy Marchant
Hi Kim-
I believe the most well-known program for creating simulation trainings of software is Captivate. I took a great training from a guy named Kevin Seigal – his company is called Iconlogic (www.iconlogic.com). This training would be very beneficial for you if you are using Captivate or Camtesia. Iconlogic offers live and web-based trainings and also workbooks.
A blog that you may find helpful is The Rapid E-Learning Blog, found at http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/. Although this blog is really focussed on using Articulate, you can apply most of what you learn from the blog to other software programs (and even PPT presentations).
I hope these help. Feel free to contact me if I can provide any further advice.
Betsy C. Marchant, MPH, CHES
Instructional Designer
Virginia Department of Health
betsy.marchant@vdh.virginia.gov
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March 29, 2012 at 12:02 pm ET - Tanis Mihalynuk
Greetings Kim (and other lovely CDC’ers):
In an effort to ‘give back’ a little to you all, I did a bit of sleuthing on the web, and retrieved a few resources that may be of interest to you. It appears that, for online presentations, one needs to up the ante even moreso than in-person forums regarding ongoing audience engagement. I suppose this is where the innovation and fun begins! Please do have a look at copyright guidelines for the following links should any of these resources below be of interest to you for further distribution:
1. Better presentations in 5 steps: https://vyew.com/s/blog/18371/better-presentations-in-5-steps/
2. ‘Narrowing the Gap’: http://elearningtech.blogspot.ca/2009/09/narrowing-gap-between-face-to-face-and.html
3. 10 tips: online presentations: http://blog.instantpresenter.com/web-conferencing/10-tips-to-improve-your-online-presentations/
4. Webinars: http://www.presentationstraining.net/presentations_articles_Online-Presentation-Training-15-Tips-for-Webinars.htm
5. Online presentations – tips & tools: http://www.socialmoms.net/profiles/blogs/online-presentation-tips-and-tools
6. More tips for online presentations: http://thevirtualleader.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/301/
7. Professionally speaking: http://andnowpresenting.typepad.com/professionally_speaking/online-presentations/
8. Youtube presentations: http://2012.onsustainability.com/online-presentations/index.html
Hope this is helpful.
My very best,
Tanis Mihalynuk
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March 29, 2012 at 12:35 pm ET - Jack L.
I have been in Public Health for about ten years but recently made the switch from programming work to public relations. So it’s kind of a new area to me as well. Of course like any good Public Health person I started research on the topic and came across a really great site… It’s called Ragan Communications… they put out a lot of great information on communications and I think they would have what you are looking for. They have an active RSS feed as well and are always providing great free advice, tips and guides. Good Luck!
Site is http://www.ragan.com
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April 1, 2012 at 9:43 pm ET - Connie
I was going to recommend Andy Goodman’s work, expecially Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good causes, but I see someone beat me to it, so I will just second his recommendation. Thanks for doing this: I am getting lots of good resources in reading the responses.
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April 3, 2012 at 10:14 am ET - Tami Barlow
Thank you to everyone for all these sites. I am with Lowcountry Travel Medicine. I created our website and now looking for ways to stay current and make use of videos. I am definitely going to check out all the sites that have been suggested!
Tami Barlow
Lowcountry Travel Medicine
http://www.LCTravelmedicine.com
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April 7, 2012 at 4:54 am ET - Medula
I think Kim’s point is correct. In my presentations I had similar observations. It is good to hear the same thoughts from someone else.
Medula
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July 4, 2012 at 1:14 am ET - AJ
Kate, so glad to see you were quick to jump in with Prezi — I agree, what a fantastic tool! It is especially great for collaboration, which is so important for us public health professionals.
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September 16, 2012 at 5:41 am ET - Sandro
Kate’s recommendation is a very good one indeed. The Prezi presentation software is probably the best one I’ve personally used and doesn’t have a steep learning curve at all. I do recommended it too.
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