On-demand webinar · 25 minutes · free
Five storytelling mistakes killing your videos
This free webinar covers the storytelling mistakes that make people stop watching your case studies, testimonials and brand videos, and the fix for each one. The lessons come from more than ten years of filming business interviews at Shootsta.
Luke Walker
Manager, Shootsta Academy
The short answer
What are the most common storytelling mistakes in business video?
A storytelling mistake in business video is a choice made in planning, casting, interviewing or editing that makes a true story harder to follow or easier to skip. Most of them happen before the camera is switched on. The five that Luke sees most often are these:
- Forcing a story onto a video that should be a direct message.
- Filming whoever has the right job title instead of the best story.
- Treating authenticity as a reason to skip planning the interview.
- Opening on introductions instead of the most interesting moment.
- Giving up on stories after one hard shoot and a long edit.
Each of these storytelling mistakes makes people stop watching sooner. Each one also has a fix you can apply in planning, which costs far less than trying to rescue the story in the edit.
What you walk away with
What will you learn in this webinar?
When to use a story and when to skip it
You get a simple test that sorts each video into message-driven or story-driven. Every project then starts in the right format, which heads off the first of the five storytelling mistakes before anyone picks up a camera.
The interview system Shootsta uses
Luke walks through the five steps that turn a loose conversation into a tight edit. They cover the objective, a short chat before the shoot, the transcript, written questions and a mix of facts and feelings.
How to write a hook that holds viewers
You will see why the most interesting part of the story belongs in the first three seconds. Luke shows worked examples for case studies, safety films and employee stories.
Inside the session
The five storytelling mistakes and how to fix them
Luke sees each of these storytelling mistakes again and again in the briefs and rough cuts that reach Shootsta editors. Here is what each one looks like in practice and what to do instead.
- 01
Treating story as the answer to everything
Explainers, company updates and how-to videos often work better as a direct message. A story earns its place when emotion, personal experience or something new is the point of the video. If you force a story onto a how-to video, viewers sit through the setup and miss the steps they came for.
How to fix it: Decide whether the video is message-driven or story-driven before anyone writes a word. Then commit to that format and make every second count.
- 02
Settling for any story
People remember the best stories and forget the rest. Case studies and testimonials fall flat when the person on camera was chosen for their job title instead of their story. A memorable character wants something clear and goes through a real change to get it, or fails to.
How to fix it: Choose the story over the job title. Look for someone with a clear goal and a result they can describe in their own words. If the person you planned to film does not have that, find someone who does.
- 03
Confusing authenticity with 'say whatever you want'
An authentic answer is a true answer, and a true answer can still be planned. Telling someone to say whatever they want is the fastest way to end up with two hours of footage and no usable story. A planned answer sounds just as natural as an improvised one when the person has said it before in their own words.
How to fix it: Run a short chat before the shoot, transcribe it and highlight the lines that land. Then write questions that bring those lines back out on shoot day. You shape the story, and the person on camera tells it.
- 04
Starting at the chronological beginning
Many interviews open with 'Hi, my name is...' and lose the viewer in the first three seconds. The order things happened in is rarely the most interesting order. The strongest moment in the story almost always belongs at the start of the edit.
How to fix it: Write the hook yourself and ask the person on camera to say it on shoot day. Open with a question, a bold statement or the outcome of the story, and keep it inside the first three seconds.
- 05
Deciding storytelling is too hard
After one bad interview and a long edit, it is tempting to go back to plain talking-head videos for good. The story itself is rarely the problem. What is usually missing is a process you can repeat for planning, casting and writing questions.
How to fix it: Treat storytelling as a process you run on every video. Set the objective, hold a short chat, transcribe it, write the questions and ask for both facts and feelings on the day.
The five-step plan
How do you plan a business interview that tells a story?
The same five steps prevent most storytelling mistakes, and Luke covers each one in detail in the webinar. You can use them for a case study, a customer testimonial or an employee story, with your own crew or with a Shootsta Kit.
- 1
Set the objective
Write one sentence that says what the viewer should do or believe after watching. Check every later choice against that sentence, from who you film to which lines make the edit.
- 2
Hold a short chat before the shoot
Talk to the person on a call and record it. People tell a story more clearly once they have told it before, and you hear the good parts while there is still time to plan around them.
- 3
Transcribe it and mark the best lines
Read the transcript and highlight the lines that are specific or surprising. Those lines become the backbone of the edit, so you know what you need before the camera is on.
- 4
Write the questions
Write questions that lead the person back to those lines on shoot day. Good questions ask about a moment, such as 'What happened on the day the new system went live?', because a moment gets a story where a general question gets a summary.
- 5
Ask for facts and feelings
Facts make the story believable, and feelings make people care about it. Ask what happened and then ask how it felt, so the editor has both to work with.
Step four is where most of the work happens, so it helps to start from a tested list. You can borrow from our list of engaging interview questions for video and adapt them to the lines you marked in the transcript.
The story checklist
How many of these does your next video do?
Tick each point your next case study or interview already covers. If you want help with the rest, send the checklist to our team and we will get back to you about the gaps.
You ticked 0 of 8
Tick each point your next video already does. The boxes you leave blank are where to start.
Who this is for
Who should watch this webinar?
Internal comms managers
You make case studies, employee stories and leadership updates that need people to feel something as well as learn something.
Brand and content teams
You run a steady stream of testimonials and customer stories, and you want more people to keep watching past the first ten seconds.
Marketing leads
You write briefs for video partners and keep getting back a two-hour interview that someone has to cut down into a 90-second story.
Anyone who briefs people on camera
If you have ever told someone on camera to 'just be yourself', this session gives you a planned way to get that same relaxed result.
What customers say
Teams already telling better stories with video
HarperCollins, DUAL, TAFE Queensland and many other teams use Shootsta to make case studies, employee stories and interviews for their staff and customers.
We use Shootsta to create more engaging and fun content for the business.
Communications Lead
HarperCollins
Video has transformed the way we communicate by showcasing our culture and our personalities.
Marketing Team
DUAL Australia
We have 600 staff and might have 50 projects at any one time. Video is really important because it helps keep everyone engaged and connected.
Communications
Richard Crookes Constructions
We have so many different study areas and amazing facilities to showcase. Video is the perfect way to capture that.
Marketing
TAFE Queensland
If they can get information succinctly in a video, watching someone warm and personable talking to them, they are far more receptive.
Brand Manager
Regis Aged Care
Trusted by teams at
Your speaker
Luke Walker
Manager, Shootsta Academy
Luke runs education at Shootsta. He works with internal comms, marketing and brand teams at hundreds of companies, and he trains them in the planning, casting and interview skills that turn a loose brief into a story worth watching. The storytelling mistakes in this webinar are the ones he sees most often in that work.
FAQ
Questions about storytelling in business video
How long is the webinar?
It runs about 25 minutes, including the Q&A at the end. You can watch it in one sitting or skip ahead to the storytelling mistake you care about most.
Who is this webinar for?
It is for internal comms managers, brand and content teams, marketing leads and anyone who briefs people on camera. If your videos use interviews, testimonials, case studies or talking heads, the storytelling mistakes in this session will look familiar.
Should every business video have a story?
No. Explainers, how-to videos and company updates usually work better as a direct message. A story helps when emotion, personal experience or something new is the point, and the first part of the webinar shows you how to tell the difference.
What is the business hero's journey?
It is a simple version of the classic story shape, adapted for business video. A character wants something and works through obstacles to get it, and the viewer finds out whether they succeed. Case studies, testimonials and employee stories usually work best when they follow this shape.
How do I avoid storytelling mistakes in a customer testimonial?
Pick a customer with a clear before and after, run a short chat before the shoot and write your questions from it. Then open the edit on the result they got instead of on their name and title.
We already have an in-house video team. Is this still useful?
Yes. The system in this webinar is for whoever plans and runs the interview, so your in-house team can use it on their next shoot. If they have more interviews than editing hours, Shootsta editors can cut the footage your team films, with a first version back in about 48 hours.
Can I share the recording with my team?
Yes. Send them the page link, because the webinar is on demand and anyone can watch it at any time.
Fix the story in your next video
Watch the webinar above, or talk to the Shootsta team about keeping these storytelling mistakes out of every interview your team films.
Talk to Shootsta