If you've been doing the video challenge from the last Winning Edge, you've probably watched yourself and felt stiffer and less animated than your normal self. Chris Goor, a YouTuber who spent his career filming thousands of interviews, events, and even a royal wedding for the BBC, has three simple tips to dramatically improve your videos - all while still using just your phone.

Three Tips to Improve Your Videos:

1. One Idea Per Video

• Don't overcomplicate with long videos
• Boil topic down to a single idea
• Goor calls short-form videos "bubble gum for the eyes"
• If struggling, break into short sentences, record each a few times, pick the best
• Rule: one idea in one minute or less
• Example: https://youtube.com/shorts/flHZ6S0gZ8g?si=I-zNMBm90HJYN1Tq

2. Move While You Talk

• If you look stiff, walk or move in your video
• Makes it more visually interesting to watch
• With a microphone, start talking as you enter the frame
• Walk up to the camera while talking
• Hold something (like a coffee cup) so it feels less formal than a campaign commercial
• Examples:
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmAf4pRIufM
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz5B8NVy378

3. Make Sure You Sound Great

• Improving sound quality dramatically improves overall video quality
• People will watch great sound with okay video over perfect video with bad sound
• Get a simple mic that connects to your phone and attaches to your shirt
• Recommendation: DJI Mic Mini (less than $90, easy to use even at noisy events)
• Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsEvCvW4Fto

Bottom Line:
Don't overcomplicate your videos. Keep it to one idea, move while you speak, and add a decent mic.

For more tips on improving your video content, refer to the accompanying one-page PDF.

Winning Edge gives you the tools you need to lead and influence in the political and policy arenas. Every other week, Winning Edge releases short (approximately 5-minute) spots—or “snacks”—focused on one of four areas: fundraising, media, policy, or persuasion.

For more, visit our website: www.thecommonwealthpartners.com.