How To Make A Stand-Out Speaker Sizzle Reel
That Gets You In The Room With Your Target Clients
For the professional speaker, creating a speaker reel that showcases core messaging, energy on stage, and ability to connect with the audience is critical to getting more clients.
How do you show leaders you are capable of speaking to their teams? How do you prove to meeting planners you should be their next conference keynote speaker? How do you illustrate your ability to add tremendous business value, share inspiring stories, and make your audience’s lives better?
If you need to show your valuable process quickly and effectively in a way that gets a reaction,
Then you need a sizzle reel!
About Jennie Edwards and Ryan Stock, from Your Dynamic Story
Business owners choose to work with us because we have worked with speakers and coaches for years; helping them shine and market their brand in a smart way.
We are experts at knowing the exact ways in which you need to build trust and we are creative with finding ways to convey that message through video and copywriting. We will work with you closely to make sure you like what you get because we care about making you look good.
We live in an awesome time to be speakers.
Twenty years ago you, you didn’t have the resources that you now have available to you today. It is time to take advantage of what is easily available. With the right kind of investment in your marketing, you can make a big impact in your ability to gain new clients that need to see it, to believe it, and your sizzle reel is going to show them.
Build trust
Communicate your energy level
Clarify value
Gain rapport with effective communication
Show your ability to engage their audience effectively
Steps to creating a quality sizzle reel
There are many steps to creating a quality sizzle reel. By working with a professional that can simplify the process for you, you can ensure you get it done the right way. Here is what it is all about:
Phase 1: Creative Strategy
First we have an Inspiration Session to gain clarity of our strategy for creating a great sizzle reel. We determine the following:
Style
The video’s style should be congruent with the speaker’s presentational style. If your presentations are fast paced and energetic, the editing should reflect the same. What type of brand you represent? What is your personality like on stage? How does this contribute to the value you offer?
Messaging
There’s only so much you can message in a three minute speaker reel, so take the time to really boil down 4-5 key soundbites that sum up the essence of your presentations.
Tone
The speaker reel’s tone stems from the specific emotional responses you want your viewers to feel. By getting clear on the type of value that you offer, it will make it easier to choose the right sound bites and footage from your presentations.
Audience
Understand who your target audience is, and communicate that with your videographer. What are your prospective clients values and what footage do you have that would show these values? What type of trust do you need to build in order for your prospective clients to feel good about working with you? Knowing your key audience not only proves helpful in the scripting process, it helps us choose appropriate visuals during production.
Phase 2: Pre-Production
Pre-production is all about logistics. It’s about marrying the above script work with a concrete production plan. It’s about outlining the challenges, and coming up with creative solutions.
Is there is a need for any additional footage that would make what you currently have, shine even more?
This is where we will gather together your testimonials and if it makes sense, request testimonials from past clients or featured speakers that have shared a stage with you.
- Do you need to get some shots of your audiences reactions or participation?
- Do you need a close up shot that makes the footage convey more connection?
Story about Mark
Have you spoken alongside other great leaders? Motivational speaker, Les Brown shared a stage and worked with Mark, then shared some fantastic accolades on camera. This footage is gold! If you have a relationship with a well-known speaker that has earned respect in the your targeted industry, leverage that relationship to build credibility.
Phase 3: Production
By this point, all the hard lifting should already be done. Now it’s time to just focus on your presentation. But here are a few basic production reminders that will make your speaker reel feel more polished.
Lighting
Setup the best lighting possible and Know where your lights are, and don’t drift into the dark. Often presenters wander to the front of the stage in order to get closer to their audience, but that’s not always where your ideal light source is located. Know your set up prior, so the visuals captured look their best.
Audio Quality
Using a quality microphone is important to prevent distracting background noise. Here we can also determine what kind of music overlay will give your video the best emotional tone, according to the theme/messaging.
Diversity
You want diversity in terms of wardrobe– choose an outfit that is different than your other media clips. You also want diversity in camera angles, as multiple perspectives makes for a powerful performance. And finally, if you are capturing audience reactions, make sure you’re capturing diversity in terms of ages, races, and genders.
File access
Naomi had been collecting clips from her smartphone in a vertical format, which instantly flagged them as not professionally captured. We gained clarity of key areas not represented in the footage she already had taken in the past, which led to a reshoot to spotlight target phrases and story sound bites in her signature talk.
Story about Naomi
Naomi had been collecting clips from her smartphone in a vertical format, which instantly flagged them as not professionally captured. We gained clarity of key areas not represented in the footage she already had taken in the past, which led to a reshoot to spotlight target phrases and story sound bites in her signature talk.
Let’s Get Started
Sales are based on emotion. Stories generate emotions in the imagination of your audience. Use your sizzle reel video in any marketing materials that needs the extra emotion to drive the sale. We will walk you step by step through the process to make this happen for you. We have worked with other speakers and we know how to cater to your unique needs. Schedule an Inspiration Session to learn more about how this can work for you.