Advice to video producers and lecturers.

The basic advice is this. Arguments in economics, as in other subjects can be presented in video form or lectures to an audience in a lecture theater or via the written word. But when going for video or lectures, make a transcript available at the same time or refer to an article which makes the same points as the video or lecture. Reason is that if you want to get your message across to brainy people then make a “written word” version available because that’s what brainy people prefer.

The written word is a much more efficient way of getting ideas across for the following reasons.

1. Most people can read faster than a speaker can speak, and some people can read TEN TIMES faster.

2.  With the written word, you can go back over a paragraph you didn’t understand very quickly. The same process with a video, i.e. winding back, is more difficult and time consuming.

3. If you suspect the presenter is talking BS or saying something which is not of interest to you, you can skim thru with the written word just to make sure. That’s much more difficult with video. For that reason, many intelligent people simply ignore most videos.

4. As for lectures, if you find the lecture is not of interest, it’s a bit difficult to walk out ten minutes after it has begun, plus the time spent travelling to the lecture has been wasted.

In short, and to be thoroughly cruel, the intelligentsia reads stuff, while simple folk like videos or lectures. So if you’re a video producer or lecturer and want intelligent people to get your message, produce a transcript at the same time, or refer to an article which has the same message as your video or lecture.

So whence the popularity of video and lectures? Well most adults are much like babies: they like a human face. Plus they like things that move, particularly coloured things that move: e.g. a rattle in the case of babies or a video presenter’s face and hands.

They also like emotion: if you do a video presentation and talk total BS or just talk about the weather, your audience will be captivated long as you put on a variety of facial expressions, wave your arms around, look sincere, get excited, etc etc.