The Visual Lounge

Do you edit videos with your eyes or your ears? It may sound like an odd question, but hear us out! Many video editors focus on visuals first, which are definitely important. But audio is just as (if not more) important to your videos. In fact, the number one reason why people stop watching a video is poor audio. Joining this episode of The Visual Lounge is Sam Rogers, President & Principal Co...

What comes to mind when you think of workplace communication? Do your eyes glaze over when someone fires up the latest PowerPoint presentation? Sadly, boring workplace comms is pretty common, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In this episode of The Visual Lounge, Matt has a great conversation with Grant Crowell from Design Laboratory Inc, a Senior Training Specialist at Microsoft, and author of...

With over two decades of experience at the crossroads of education and technology, Instructional Designer Ephraim Ross provides invaluable insights on the significance of craftsmanship in your work during his appearance on The Visual Lounge. Hosted by Matt Pierce, this episode dives deep into tips and best practices for creators, focusing on visual efficiency, the innovative use of AI tools, and e...

How can we create videos that people pay attention to? With many in the content world claiming that attention spans are shrinking, The Visual Lounge host, Matthew Pierce, has a different take… In this episode, Matt explains why he believes that attention spans aren’t the problem. It’s just that there’s so much content battling for our attention (never mind our busy daily lives!) Matt explores why...

Today’s global businesses want to make sure their messages are heard far and wide. But sometimes, that means crossing a language barrier. Whether it’s marketing content or training content, getting your message across quickly and effectively is critical. Poorly translated materials could put a spanner in the works of what you’re trying to achieve. But even if the translation is word-for-word perfe...

On this podcast, we talk about creating video. We talk about editing video. But then there's the art of distributing your video and getting it out there so people can find it. And having your audience find it is a critical piece of the puzzle! Of course, we’re referring to search engine optimization (SEO). In this episode, we welcome SEO coach and entrepreneur Samantha North. She talks about the i...

Is AI really coming for your job… or will it enhance it? In this episode of The Visual Lounge, host Matt Pierce discusses the importance and practical uses of AI with Brian Sykes, the founder of AdJourney, plus a seasoned branding and marketing strategist and expert in generative AI. They cover ways to integrate AI into everyday tasks, explore various AI tools, and address common concerns about AI...

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” The legendary quote from Maya Angelou sums up the take-home message of this episode nicely. In this episode of The Visual Lounge, we welcome Anastasia McCune, Instructional Designer for ChalkDust Consulting and eLearning Media Consulting, to talk about interactive videos and in...

Nowadays, trainers and L&D professionals often turn to the power of video to deliver training. But a video alone doesn’t guarantee your viewers will learn and retain the information. So how do you create a video that provokes true learning? In this episode of The Visual Lounge, we’re joined by Jonathan Halls, the President and CEO of Jonathan Halls LLC, a Professor at George Washington Univers...

As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Visuals are a quick, efficient, and effective way of getting your message across, so your audience understands and retains key information. But how do you create effective visuals? In this episode of The Visual Lounge, we welcome back Mike Parkinson, keynote speaker and trainer, Principal of 24 Hour Company, and Owner of Billion Dollar Gra...

What makes great educational content? We dig into the anatomy (quite literally) of what makes a successful video in this episode with Taim Dawod, a recently graduated medical doctor who found success on YouTube. Taim began his channel as a way to learn and remember information in med school, but quickly realized that he wasn’t the only one benefiting from his videos… The Taim Talks Med YouTube cha...

It’s no news that our attention spans are tiny in the modern world of online content, social media, and everything else on the internet. For video creators, this means it’s a constant battle to grab attention and share information that people absorb. You might think you’re safe in the L&D space. After all, workplace educational content means you have a somewhat captive audience. But is that au...

If you want to level up your content creation game and make the best videos possible, grab a pen and take some notes from this episode. We sit down with the Co-Founders of Millbrook Studios, Carl Lechner and Tripp Green, to hear about what makes a great video and how you can improve the performance of your content. Carl and Tripp share tips on how creators can battle with audiences’ dwindling atte...

New ways of working, besides being in the office all day, have been a huge talking point since the pandemic pushed many of us into remote or hybrid work. But is this trend dying down in 2024? We published the 2024 Workplace Flexibility Trends Report recently to dig into what the data says about workplace flexibility today. To talk through the findings, we welcomed two experts on workplace flexibil...

At first glance, it might seem that marketing and Learning and Development (L&D) are very different. But if you dig a little deeper, they both have similar goals – to grab attention, raise awareness, and spread a message to the audience. So, what can L&D creators learn from marketing? It turns out a lot! In this episode of The Visual Lounge, we speak with Bianca Baumann, VP of Learning Sol...

By now, many of us are content connoisseurs. With millions of videos out there in all different shapes and sizes, we need to be selective with what we consume vs. scroll past.  So, is your imagery – whether that’s images or videos – resonating with your audience? We invited Leanna Pham, Director & Executive Producer of the widely popular Social Pros Podcast, to The Visual Lounge to s...

Times have changed in the world of video creation. The “rules” of the past have been broken, issuing a new age of how we make and watch videos.  Whether you’re a content creator, an influencer, or are creating videos in a corporate setting, you should still aim to master the basics of what makes a good video. After all, the goal of your video is to deliver value and solutions to your audience...

Getting content out there fast is more important than ever. You don’t want to keep people waiting for your content, after all. But getting faster at video creation is no easy thing, and the last thing you want is to push out low-quality content just in the name of speed.   In this episode of The Visual Lounge, we hear from Brandon Burtner, the Senior Director of Learning Strategies and S...

With millions of videos at our fingertips, what is it that makes you stop scrolling and click on a video?  Aaron King, an entrepreneur and filmmaker of the DeepSnap YouTube channel, joins this episode of The Visual Lounge to give his take on what makes scroll-stopping videos. We hear about how he got started in content creation, coming in from the world of entrepreneurship, and what he’s lear...

Whether you’re in training, in learning development or you’re a creator making videos for your own YouTube channel, learning and understanding are key, which is why it’s great to welcome Dr Clark Quinn PhD back onto The Visual Lounge to talk about cognitive media.  Dr Quinn provides learning experiences and design strategy to corporations, higher education government, and not-for-profit organ...

Content creation is no walk in the park. While many underestimate what creators do all day, there’s a lot of work and necessary skills that go into producing content week in, week out.  Joining this episode of The Visual Lounge is Britt Carter, the Creator Success Manager at GigaStar and one-half of the duo behind The Betting Belle YouTube channel. Britt’s career has seen her work with big-na...

How do you become a better video creator? Sometimes, other creators make the best teachers. Who better to learn from than those who have been in the same boat?  In this episode of The Visual Lounge, we speak with Rob Balasabas, the Head of Partnerships & Community at Uscreen, whose top tip for creators is to surround yourself with other creators.  Rob explains why collaboration,...

Script or no script – which side are you on when creating videos?  It’s one of the top debates in the video creation world, and there’s no clear-cut answer. After some recent experiments where we tossed out the script, we weigh up the pros and cons of scripting your videos in this episode.  Joining the debate are TechSmith’s Ryan Knott, Marketing Content Strategist, and Andy Owen, Video...

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C brand, grabbing and holding your audience’s attention is everything. So could YouTube be the ideal place to build a dedicated, long-term following?  On this episode of The Visual Lounge, Finn McKenty, founder of Punk Rock MBA and Head of Product at URM Academy, shares the benefits to creating YouTube content. He talks about how it’s less competitive than other soci...

Adding videos and GIFs to your customer learning strategy can add a brand-new dimension to your content. But what role do they play and how do you know which to choose?  Videos are useful during the onboarding process and for evergreen content, whereas GIFs can be helpful to explain advanced concepts, says Greg Mead, Senior Instructional Designer at ClickUp.  Greg joins The Visual Lounge...