Video can be a powerful way to share research with a wider audience. 

At Econ Films we have interviewed many hundreds of experts – sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes over an hour.

Whenever we are asked to produce a video about an expert’s work – such as a project or research paper, we start with the same process. Of course, every piece of research is different – as is every video – but the starting place for a video about research remains the same. 

Our process is designed to help the experts share their work in a way that engages the audience (we are NOT there to catch them out) – so we work with them to get the best answers to the following questions: 

[ ] X interviewee has kindly allowed us to share their video as an example of this. 

  1. PROBLEM / Why should I care? 
  2. QUESTION / What’s the specific question you are asking in your work?
  3. METHOD / How do you answer that question? Or why should I believe you?
  4. FINDING / What did you find? 
  5. TAKEAWAY / What are the key takeaways for your audience?

Here we break these down with examples of how to get to the best answers.

  1. Problem. ‘What’s the problem?’ or putting it even more bluntly: ‘Why should I care?’ For anyone to invest their precious time to watch the video, they need to care about it. We need to know the background. Often in an academic setting there is a problem in society that needs solving – and outlining that problem will help people to see why the following research on this problem matters. For experts in other fields, we just need to establish why their work matters to their audience.

For many experts this can be the hardest part because they are often several stages removed from the problem (this is for good reason as it allows them to specialise and focus, of course). We spend time talking about what is the best hook so that it can invite as many people as possible to engage with the research. 

This often requires using different language and approach than one would use when speaking to peers or those in the same sector or industry. The more you are willing to do this, the wider audience you will be able to reach.

  1. Question. Next is the specific question. This is where experts can hone in on their research or work. It’s important to tie it in with the problem. 
  2. Method. This is where experts get really excited. But don’t get carried away. The audience need to get to the core of how this question is answered. In economics, for example, this section usually starts with: ‘To answer this question, we looked at X. We took y,000 people and split them into two groups. One group received policy Z while the other received no policy. We compared the results after several years.’ (Note: we can’t launch with this, the audience need to care about the problem before they can care about the method.)
  1. Finding. What have you found out about the issue that your audience cares about? What’s your contribution? 

You want your work to have lasting impact not to be instantly forgotten, so don’t say ‘we found that’ – say ‘we find that’, keep it present continuous and relevant. 

Use simple, everyday English. Compare: ‘Educational outcomes went up by 24%’ with how most other people would say the same thing: ‘School grades went up – with nearly a quarter of students now getting a grade A’. 

  1. Takeaway. This is a chance to summarise the findings for the target audience. We often ask interviewees to spell it out: ‘The key takeaway for [target audience] is…’ Make sure this relates to the issue your audience cares about. 

And there you have it. If you can do this, you’ll be doing better than 90% of experts out there. If you can’t, don’t worry! It takes practice and working with specialists.