The Visual Lounge

Old content can be a treasure trove of value, but you need to brush off the dust and repurpose and refresh it.   Sometimes that means turning in-person training into an online course or a series of videos, which can be a challenge if you’re brand new to video.   To chat more about this, Matt Tidwell, CEO of ThinkThru, joins The Visual Lounge. Matt’s company builds customer educ...

Whatever type of videos you are producing, the key to doing it successfully is to build effective processes you can rinse and repeat. Whether it be how your equipment is set up, the way you edit, write, or record your videos, having repeatable processes in place can help you scale your videos at a sustainable pace. This week’s guest on The Visual Lounge is Tim Slade, founder of The eLearning Desig...

The video creation journey is different for everybody. But is there a secret sauce in that recipe for success?  Josh Cavalier, Learning Architect – Digital Technologies at American Tire Distributors and Mark Lassoff, Video Instructor and Founder at Dollar Design School, join this episode of The Visual Lounge to give us a sneak peek into what makes their work so great.  Josh and Mark expl...

How do you know that your presentation has been successful?  It can be challenging to discern what “success” actually means when you make a presentation. But, in this episode of The Visual Lounge, our guest explains the formula he follows to smash it out the park every time.  Tommy Re, President of Vital Talent, joins the show to explain how presentations should inform, persuade and insp...

Sometimes the best thing you can do as an instructional designer is to step into your learners’ shoes. Whether you’re delivering content on compliance or something completely different, keep your learners in mind at all times.  That’s advice that’s served Cath Ellis well throughout her career. Cath is an eLearning Designer and Developer who creates powerful learning experiences for learners a...

Remote working can add extra challenges for employees. It may feel harder to collaborate on projects, difficult to build structure and put systems in place, and for some it can feel isolating at times. So, in this episode, Emily Whitmer, Learning & Development Team Leader at Southwest Airlines, explains that when leaders in learning design manage remote teams, it can help their employees have...

Color is something we see everywhere, every second of every day. It’s something we never really question or think about too much. But color choices are so important in any design or branding and play a huge part in how we communicate with audiences and customers. Tracy Parish, Education Technology Specialist at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Toronto, Canada, joins Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s Lea...

This is a special episode of the Visual Lounge podcast featuring tips and ideas from a variety of team TechSmith about our products, including Camtasia, Snagit, and Audiate. We discuss topics such as asynchronous communication, connection over perfection, hotkeys, and editing out mistakes. There is also a special opportunity for a few folks - listen for Emmie Musser - who has an exceptional opport...

Do you want to save time in the editing chair? Who wouldn’t? A lot of our video editing time is spent tidying things up. Getting rid of “ums,” “ahs,” and little pauses can feel tedious and time-consuming. But there is a better way – using Audiate. Rather than editing with waveforms in Camtasia, you can use Audiate’s handy text-based editor to clean up your videos much faster. In fact, we recently...

Everything needs a refresh eventually…and that includes e-Learning!  Jonathan Hill, Head of E-Learning at Entain, believes it’s personality and humor that e-Learning often lacks. But why is it so important?  Jonathan joins Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s Learning & Video Ambassador, in this episode of The Visual Lounge to discuss challenging traditional workplace learning.  He explains...

If you want your learning content to have the best possible impact on your audience, there’s only one thing for it...you need a solid strategy in place!  Whether your go-to learning method includes videos, images, or something else entirely, starting out with a strategy is the best way to ensure you’re choosing the right medium to deliver training.   Treion Muller, CEO and Founder o...

It happens to the best of the best, even those people who have been making videos for years. A creative slump can feel impossible to get out of sometimes.   You might lack inspiration or motivation, or self-doubt might have crept in, making any creative work an uphill battle. If that sounds familiar, then this episode of The Visual Lounge is for you.  Host Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s L...

How do you ruin a tutorial video? More importantly, how do you fix it? We’ve got you covered by providing strategies to fix common tutorial pet peeves in this episode of The Visual Lounge! We have an awesome panel of experts, including Andrew DeBell, Senior Learning Experience Strategist at Atlassian, Cara North, Founder & Chief Learning Consultant at The Learning Camel, and our Instructional...

Instructional design is not easy and, for that reason, getting feedback is essential. Making sure you’re on the right path and proving the efficacy of your work is so important in working towards a successful career. Ask fellow professionals, follow your customers and watch them use what you create. Gauging people’s opinions on what you build can sure be uncomfortable, but it’s worth it in the end...

How effective are your videos?  There’s only one way to find out – by digging into the numbers. Video metrics can tell you if your video is effective, reaching the right people, and performing how you want. That way, you’re not left guessing if your video strategy is on the right track.  Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s Learning and Video Ambassador, talks us through the importance of different...

Drumroll…Snagit 2023 is here! And with it comes a host of intuitive new features and some new and improved fan favorites. In this episode of The Visual Lounge, Matt Pierce sits down with Paul Donahue, Senior Technical Product Manager, and Emmie Musser, Senior Portfolio Marketing Manager at TechSmith, to get the latest. Emmie and Paul take us behind the scenes of Snagit 2023 to share details of the...

Before you start creating video content, there are a few things you need to know. Whether you are starting at the beginning, or have plenty of experience behind you, this is a must-listen for anybody creating educational video content. TechSmith’s Learning & Video Ambassador, Matt Pierce, is joined by Tiffany Taylor, Director, EDU Success & Education at Handshake, on this edition of The Vi...

Thumbnails and titles are the bait that reels viewers into YouTube content. Not only are they great for SEO, but they also define your brand and catch the audience’s eye. But what makes a good YouTube thumbnail? And how do you write a great title? In this week’s episode of The Visual Lounge, Matt Pierce, TechSmith’s Learning & Video Ambassador, is joined by Paul Wilson, freelance e-Learning de...

What makes a great video script? Whether you’re brand new to scripting or want to brush up on the best practices, there’s so much to unpack from this episode of The Visual Lounge. TechSmith’s Content Marketing Specialist, Ryan Knott, joins the show to share his advice on best practices, what to do vs. avoid, how to nail your tone, and so much more. If you’ve never scripted a video before, it’s eas...

Successful presentations require planning and focus…and one specific part of your presentation that needs a great deal of both is visuals. Visuals play a significant part in how presentations come across and so it’s important to remember a few things. In this week’s episode of The Visual Lounge, Matt Pierce, Learning & Video Ambassador, explores how to use effective visuals to enhance presenta...

We've had a great break, but we're coming back soon with new shows, new guests, and some new ideas and approaches. This episode is a short one to give you some of those details. Some of the changes you can expect in future episodes include some new formats to the interviews, slightly shorter shows (in most cases), and a variety of other small tweaks to hopefully make watching & listening to th...

Register for the Level Up Event by TechSmith here: https://bit.ly/3oBpi9l Looking to Level Up your video creation game? We have the event for you! Come hear more amazing speakers like Adam Avermascu, Tiffany Taylor, Dee Kapila, Matt Pierce, and more! Whether you’re making product demos, software marketing videos, explainer videos, onboarding videos, tutorials, or other screen recordings, this even...

Creating your first video can be a daunting experience, and this week’s guest has to do it in front of the entire The Visual Lounge audience! In this week’s episode, we’re joined by return guest Kassy LaBorie, Founder and Principal Consultant at Kassy LaBorie Consulting, LLC., as she navigates the ins and outs of creating her own video. Matt takes her through some editing basics, such as cutting,...

Looking to take your video and image content to the next level? Well, you’re in the right place! Matt Pierce, Learning and Video Ambassador at TechSmith, is joined by eight industry experts on this episode of The Visual Lounge. From embracing video imperfections to keeping things consistent and double-checking image attributions, these guests have a lot of helpful advice to offer. Joining this epi...

Mistakes – everyone makes them, but most of the time we try to hide them. What should we be doing instead? Acknowledging that we’re not perfect while looking for ways ‘level up’ in every single video we make. That’s why in this episode of The Visual Lounge, Matt Pierce, Learning & Video Ambassador, explores the six top mistakes he still makes in his videos. Matt doesn’t just point out the blun...