If you’re looking to add public speaking to your list of entrepreneurial revenue streams, a solid demo video is one of the best marketing tools a speaker can use. The power of video is that it places the viewer before you in a setting similar to your actual public speaking. Viewers can see, hear, and feel the impact and emotion of your presentation.
Creating a great demo video isn’t difficult, but it does require a time investment. A quality demo video for speaking is not something you want to record on your iPhone with a selfie stick. In fact, you don’t want to use self-recorded media at all. You will, however, want to gather as many video clips of yourself speaking as possible. And you will need good video editing software, or access to someone who can do it for you.
 

Planning Your Speaking Video

Before filming begins, think about some key elements upon which your speaking video will be built. These elements can be phrased as questions to help you hone in on what you need to create.

1. What do I want my video audience to do?
2. What does my audience need to feel in order to take the desired action?
3. What should my audience think about in order to spark the desired feeling?

Answering these in this order actually helps, as the questions build on each other. But, the order they will happen with your audience is just the opposite. You want your video speaking audience to think about something specific, that sparks just the right feeling inside, that leads to them performing the action you desire.

1. What do you want your audience to do? Hire you to speak.
2. What does your audience need to feel in order to do that? That’s up to you, but some suggestions would be elation, joy, heartbreak, empathy, hope, anger, or resolve. It depends much on your chosen speaking subject.
3. What should your audience think about that will create the desired feelings? Again, that depends on the feelings you want to evoke, and the subject of your speaking presentation.

Many elements combine to create just the right atmosphere where thinking, feeling, and doing can be directed. Music/sound, colors, storytelling, setting, and speaking style are all vital components of your demo video.

Captivate Your Audience from the Start

Invest your best efforts into the first 60 seconds of your demo video. If you fail to hook the viewer within that time, it’s over. Especially if your audience is an event promoter tasked with viewing dozens of demo videos in order to choose a speaker. Your demo video must captivate from the first moment in order to hold the audience the rest of the way through.
If possible, use the opening minute to showcase you as a speaker in a variety of settings and platforms, with compelling background music creating a mood of excitement. You want your audience to see you in action, and more importantly, see an audience responding enthusiastically to you.
If you don’t have footage of you speaking in different settings, open with something that will capture the viewer’s attention and get them interested in who you are and what you have to share. It must be something compelling that will keep them listening.

• Knock-em-dead opening statements – “You should really turn this video off before it’s too late.”
• Dramatic childhood experiences
• Funny quips about yourself and public speaking
• Earth-shattering revelations

Illustrate Your Public Speaking Abilities

After your captivating introduction, the next 2-3 minutes should illustrate to the viewer that you have what it takes. They need to see how you speak and what value you add when you speak. Include your most powerful snippets and sound bites from your very best speaking opportunities.
Great public speakers know how to encapsulate powerful truths in short, one-breath snippets that are easily digested by an audience, but are also easily captured on camera. These are the powerful points of your talk that you want to showcase to illustrate your public speaking abilities.
 

Motivate Viewers by Personal Testimonies

The next minute or so of your demo video should be testimonials. These stories are proof that people enjoy hearing you speak and actually learn something when you speak. Avoid generic platitudes and go for specific personal comments that reflect how much the hearer learned and remembered. The more specific the results of your speaking, the better motivated a demo video reviewer will be to choose you for a speaking engagement.
Here are three questions you can ask to get the specific testimonials you want to provide:

1. What, specifically, was your favorite part about ________ and why?
2. If you were to recommend _________ to your best friend, what would you say?
3. What’s one thing you want to do differently after listening to __________?

Dominate the Closing by Giving a Clear Call to Action

The last 60 seconds should validate interest in your content and testimonials by showing more clips of you speaking and interacting with people. This is the last opportunity to impact the viewer’s thinking and feelings. Show genuine interaction and emotions from audiences, and close by providing a website, phone number, and email that people can use to schedule you as a speaker for their next event.
Try to close the demo with the most inspirational line from any of your previous speaking engagements. Purposefully leave the viewer wanting more and wishing the video were longer. If you can combine all these elements into your speaking demo video, you will win many choice speaking opportunities.
What is the most compelling thing you remember from a speaker’s demo video? What have you included in yours that seems particularly effective? Share your insights and experiences with our readers in the comments below.