Udemy

When you are dreaming your new course into being embrace the fact that different people learn in different ways. Forget the traditional teaching approaches you sat through when you were in university, sitting through school and those often boring corporate training rooms. Think about the most fun you even had learning and you will probably be thinking that was way back in kindergarten. That was because kindy was fun, diverse and challenging - you’re learned as you played. Think about this when creating your courses. Bring fun and diversity to your course.   Use plenty of rich visual language in your videos and slides  —  or be brave and ditch the slides altogether - they can become very boring to watch. Bring   video sessions to life using games, role-playing, and set assignments as interactive exercises having your students contribute to the diversity and wealth of your course. Use as many tools as appropriate - eg I often create colourful worksheets for them to download - simply to add the the richness of my offerings. Creating your course lessons this way may require more thought and preparation, however you win and your students win as your messages will be deeply embedded - they will remember what you are conveying. Ask any student what they learnt in school and they’ll draw a blank, yet the same student will be able to list all the games and activities they used to play in class - we remember the fun and blank out the boredom!   ... View more

These tips are from an App called VideoScripts - I thought you may them them helpful. 1. Focus on what your audience want to know ... ... rather than what you want to tell them. Understanding your audience is key to this: Who are they? Why are they watching your content? What are they going to do with this information? By tailoring your script to your audience you will write relevant content which people want to hear.   Top tip: Try to increase the number of times you say "YOU" and reduce the number of times you say "I". This simple trick immediately makes the audience feel it's all about them!   2. Tell a story, make it personal and informal. Video is a great medium for building close relationships with your audience so build on this and let your audience get to know the REAL you.   Top tip: A touch of humour, when done right, is a good way to get viewers smiling and engaged, so if you have a (relevant) funny story then definitely share it!   3. Make sure it reads well Written text doesn't always sound very natural when read out loud. Read it out loud to yourself several times and amend to make it sound natural when spoken. You may be reading from a script but you don't want everyone to know! Usually it is best to type out abbreviations rather than the longer form of words as we tend to speak the abbreviated form of words. For example, use "you've" rather than "You have", "it's" rather than "it is" and so on.   Top tip: If you are sharing your videos on Social Media then it is usually best to make the script informal, like how you speak to your friends. This will allow your audience to feel like they are getting to know the real you.   If you are writing in a language which isn't your mother tongue, or simply want someone to fine-tune your script, get it reviewed by someone who does. You may be surprised how little it costs. 4. Keep it short People have very limited attention spans these days, so try to keep it to a minute or two. If you have more content, then make a video series of short, snappy videos rather than a single long one. 5. Have a call to action at the end Make sure to include a clear next step that’s compelling and easy to do. What do you want people to do after watching your video? Tell them to do it!   Top tip: If you want people to do it, make the offer irresistible!!  ... View more

This is important as most students like to feel they have rapport with their instructors. That is difficult if you rely on totally PowerPoint ... plus it is so boring. So mix it up for a good balance. Spend time filming yourself everyday until you start to feel natural and comfortable in front of the camera. Be aware of any nervous tics you have, things like clearing your throat, scrunching or wiggling your eyebrows, wringing your hands, cracking your knuckles, tapping your foot, shifting back and forth or swaying, blinking excessively, swallowing hard, and saying “um”, “uh”, or “like” too often. If you catch yourself tensing up, take deep breaths and relax your shoulders to pull yourself out of it. Relax. For me this is my morning yoga and meditating, for you it maybe goi g for a run, or dancing. Slow down as most of us speed up our speech when they are nervous. Try speaking a little slower than normal, especially if you have an accent. Develop a love for the lens and look directly into the camera as if it were a person you were speaking to.  Do not over or under do the makeup (gentlemen, too!). Check it in different lighting. Mmm I am notorious not not wearing any makeup.... I really loathe the stuff! Do not go for perfect. As you are speaking, if you go off-script a bit, but it still makes sense, keep going instead of stopping or making the “uh-oh” face. You audience will never know! ... View more