Thomas Clifford /// Humanizing Business Communications

I'll be presenting my corporate films to a large company in a few hours.

These presentations are always fun; I get to meet new people, learn about their industry and find out if we have any common interests. In general, I get to inspire people to incorporate video stories into their communications efforts.

But as I prepare for these presentation, I have so many questions I might want to ask.

In the end, here are my three favorite questions I enjoy asking to stimulate the conversation and establish common ground for everyone.

Maybe you can use them when thinking about your own corporate film.

1. Why video?
If we can understand what the video intends to capture that other media has a hard time capturing, then this insight becomes a framework for all of us to use. It uniquely positions the video. As a producer/director, this is extremely helpful.

2. "Video" means a lot of different things to people. What does "video" mean to you?
Context is important. Talking about concepts and intangibles become a little more focused when people share what they mean. Is "video" the story? The visual techniques? The emotions? The context of what "video" means becomes significant. We can place the video in relationship to other things. What "video" means to me may be different to what it means to you.

3. Why now?
This tells us the back-story. Is it the first time incorporating video? Is there
a new initiative requiring video? Have other videos been successful? Not so successful? Is competition a factor? Is it time to up-date the old video? What's the saying? "Timing is everything!"

Thanks and have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

---Tom

Pitching New Business: 3 Interesting Questions I Love Asking