What would you do if you knew that the first 8 seconds you meet someone would determine if they were going to be your friend, go on a date with your or not even give you the time of day?
That’s a lot of pressure right?
When you do a video for your clients, potential clients, or social media (to grow your list, establish expert status, or make a sale) that’s exactly what you’re dealing with. And MOST people find themselves paralyzed with that fear of not really knowing what to say to make a good 1st impression. And you never get a 2nd chance at a 1st impression.
We see so many people struggling with what to say at the beginning of their videos – so today we’re here to help you with that. We’ll share some secrets to doing intros that, according to brain science, human psychology and our own successes (and failures) will help you CAPTURE and KEEP your viewer’s attention.
In fact, these are the 2 essential things you should focus on when creating any video… what you can say to:
- CAPTURE people’s attention
- KEEP people’s attention
Because if no one is watching, your videos don’t do you any good! Sounds basic, right? And yet, you’d be surprised by how many people – even professionals – ignore this fundamental fact!
But don’t worry. In this training, we share ‘What to Say at the Beginning of Your Videos to Capture and Keep Your Viewers Attention’ – you’ll get lots of tips and examples that will help you jump ahead with your video engagement!
Click below to watch the show: (OR, if you prefer to LISTEN, you can CLICK HERE to jump to the bottom of the page to enjoy the audio only version)
Want a free copy of our “Video Intro Attention Grabbers” Guide?
We created our own “Video Intro Attention Grabbers Guide” that walks you through ways that we’ve learned to quickly Capture people’s attention… and then Keep their attention once you have it!
By using this guide, we’ll introduce you to a handful of useful tips and examples so you can create a video introduction that’ll hook your audience so they’ll stay around and listen to what you have to share. Really connecting with people through video changes everything – including your bottom line!
To get this download, go here and sign up NOW!
TAKING IT ALL IN…
It’s a lot of information at one time, – but if you took notes from the show then you’ll see that we broke it down into 2 parts for you:
Part #1 – CAPTURING people’s attention (Minute Marker 02:40)
These days you must CAPTURE your audience’s attention in the first few seconds of your video! Your opening sentence can be the difference between a video that is watched till the end – or one that is abandoned within seconds. In fact, studies show that in 2021, the human attention span averages to just 8 seconds! 8 SECONDS! (BTW – A goldfish has a 9 second attention span!)
“On average, desktop users tend to spend 2.5 seconds on any piece of content, compared to mobile users who spend about 1.7 seconds.” (Facebook Insights).
So if you’ve only got 8 seconds, you’ve got to start off with a “hook” to get their attention. Let’s take a look at Four Hook Styles you can try in your video intro:
Hook 1 – The Question Hook (Minute Marker 05:32)
A Question triggers a mental reflex known as “instinctive elaboration.” When a question is asked, it takes over the brain’s thought process. So by asking a question, you can ‘hijack’ their attention because their brain is already trying to answer your question. (You can watch the show or download the guide to get some good examples.)
Hook 2 – The Story Hook (Minute Marker 10:14)
You can use a Story at the beginning of your video to connect with your audience Emotionally.
For example, the way to engage the LIVE viewers as well as the replay peeps, how to make virtual eye contact, how to “Bounce” to create a conversation rather than a monologue, how to help your viewer feel comfortable responding and reacting to you, and becoming aware if “resting itch face”!
“Research shows that messages delivered as stories can be up to 22 times more memorable than just facts.” ~ (Forbes)
Hook 3 – The Statistic Hook (Minute Marker 14:49)
When you start a video with a fact it gives people a frame of reference and/or a moment of reflection… they wonder, “am I part of the majority?” We all want to fit in, feel safe, be in the know… and this is your brain’s way of helping with this!
Hook 4 – The Statement Hook (Minute Marker 18:19)
A bold statement sometimes polarizes your viewers to choose sides – and this helps YOUR people connect with you based on common beliefs or aligned values.
Obviously, during the show, and in the download guide we created for you, we get to go into more details and give examples, but when you boil it down to the basics, these 4 hooks give you GREAT options to really capture your viewers’ attention right from the start.
Try them out and see what you think!)
Part #2 – KEEPING people’s attention or What To Do AFTER the Hook (Minute Marker 21:34)
You began your video by either asking a Question, sharing a Story, delivering a Stat or expressing a Statement – and you’ve CAPTURED their attention! Now you have to KEEP their attention.
These four simple tips will keep them interested enough to keep watching so do these before jumping into your main content:
Tip 1 – Share The Benefits
This is very important… after the initial ‘hook’ you must immediately tell your viewers the ‘benefit’ of watching your entire video. Be aware that everyone’s brain is always inwardly asking “what’s in it for me? (WIIFM) – it’s how we’re wired… so be sure address this internal WIIFM question.
Tip 2 – Introduce Yourself — Be Brief!!
Introduce yourself, but be brief. They’ll get to know more about you later, but right now they just need to know your name and why they might want to listen to you.
Tip 3 – Mention Your CTA (the action you want them to take)
If you’re giving them a gift, or a freebie of some kind, mention how they can get it. If people don’t have the time to watch your full video, you want to mention any action you want them to take early enough so they’ll catch it if they don’t keep watching.
Tip 4 – Use a Transitional Phrase
Right before you start your core content of your video, be sure to use a transitional phrase to handle that handoff. A transitional phrase has great energy behind it. Let them feel your excitement as you say it – that will help carry their attention into what’s coming up!
Try these tips for yourself. They’ll make creating an effective video easier for you and it’ll be exciting to see the impact it has on your viewers’ attention.
BTW, if you’re on Facebook and you’d like to join the conversation from this episode, you can find that Show post here. We’d love to know if you heard something you liked or if you were inspired and got an idea of something you’re going to implement! Come say hi and feel free to share your thoughts with everyone in the chat!
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode Here:
