The ability to shoot, edit, and distribute high-quality video is a game changer in communications in general. It is especially powerful for those of us who communicate about education.

Not only is video highly engaging, but it can be shared in any number of ways. In fact, you might even be watching this video via a social media post, a website, YouTube, Vimeo, or another video-sharing site. The goal is to create a video with no shelf life that will be viewed again and again, hopefully for many years.

So, today’s tip is how I create these daily videos.

First, I write a brief script. I want these videos to be short and to the point, so I try to keep my script to 350 words or less.

Then, I record the script. I travel a lot, so my recording tools have to be portable. For a microphone, I recommend the very affordable Blue Snowball microphone.

I use a Mac, but PC users can also use Audacity, very good cross-platform application which is free to download and use. I record audio in many different places, including airports and even once on a train, so I use Audacity’s Noise Reduction feature to get rid of background noise.

After recording the audio, I create the video using a cross-platform tool called ScreenFlow. There are a lot of tools out there, most notably Camtasia, but I find that ScreenFlow is the most flexible and easiest to use.

By the way, I could record the audio using ScreenFlow. I just find it easier to use Audacity for audio.

Finally, I upload the video to various video-sharing sites, including YouTube and Vimeo. I also post it on our company website. The entire process, which I incorporate into my daily routine, takes me about 15 minutes a day.

If you have questions, please contact me using the feedback email address at the end of the video. And thanks for watching.