People hear what they see

The human brain is a marvel of efficiency in processing visual information. We process visual information a staggering 60,000 times faster than we read or hear with less energy expended. We remember only 20% of what we read and 10% of what we hear. Marketers often advise that information needs to be repeated at least seven times before it truly sticks. However, our retention rate jumps to 80% when we see and hear something simultaneously. This is the power of video.

Compelling business videos seamlessly combine visuals and narration, enabling quick and clear communication. This simple yet often overlooked strategy is the key to effective video communication. It’s time to enlighten ourselves about the power of visuals and narration in business videos. Selfie-taking has become a trend, and people often film themselves talking to the camera. They simply provide verbal information, which fails to attract customers.

Researchers’ statistics show that video in itself doesn’t solve everything. One must see and hear something simultaneously to understand and remember it quickly. Video is futile if it consists only of a human head discussing technical details or delivering a lecture with projected subtitles. Can viewers hear or read, let alone understand, the ball joint when they see a talking head? No, they can’t! The audience hears what they see! Without a visual aid, they only remember 10-20% of the text because there is no visual content linked to what is being said. Such a “talking head” video is essentially just an audio recording that lacks business sense. In fact, the analysis suggests that it only makes 10% sense.

An abstract concept, invisible details, a plan, an idea, or a working principle cannot be captured on film. This problem cannot be overcome by a talking head in front of the camera because it does not help to visualise and understand the invisible. But animation does. Preferably not one of those cheap, templated videos in which the schematic 2D animated GIF figure nods and waves its hand because that doesn’t show the point either. Even the live talking head video is more sophisticated than that. I’m referring to animation that visually presents the thing or concept in question, especially in 3D, in a way that allows the viewer to imagine it as if it were real. That makes them understand and remember it because the visuals and the show put the sound in their head. That’s what makes the viewer interested, and then, more likely, a customer – and that’s the point. Without it, a business video is unlikely to improve a brand’s image and may even damage it.