Create more engaging videos with simple, actionable scriptwriting tips.
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Chess Nuke
@chessnuke
30k+ Subcribers
Create more engaging videos with simple, actionable scriptwriting tips.
Join 2,200+ scriptwriting nerds reading “Write On Time”. Insights from writing for multi-million subscriber YouTubers sent to your inbox every Friday.
Your payoffs are broken (but easy to fix)
Nobody likes a rambler.
If you’ve ever been stuck in “conversation” with some guy at a party who’s three drinks further along than you, you’ll know what I mean.
He (and, yes, let’s be real, it’s usually a “he”) witters on about something or other, but the conversation is completely directionless.
I know this, because this is me being that guy about 10 years ago.
Pretty sure this other chap is literally talking to someone else…
Now, ramblers aren’t talking with their audience in mind.
They’re talking because they like to hear themselves talk.
No one wants to be that guy.
But, when it comes to YouTube…
The majority of creators sound like that guy without realising it.
And it comes down to a structural mistake.
That’s why we need to identify and correct this structural issue if we want people to watch our videos for more than a minute.
Because, unlike at a party, where social convention demands that people stand there and listen…
Your viewers have no obligation to keep watching.
So here’s how to avoid it…
The most important thing
This week, I tweeted:
But a couple of people asked for more explanation on point #2, “payoffs”. After all…
Nailing your payoffs is absolutely fundamental to creating an engaging video.
So let’s break it down.
There are two things to think about when it comes to payoffs.
- How many are there?
- Are they well-placed?
A video with only a single payoff at the end is boring, so it needs to have mini-payoffs throughout.
In a well-structured 10-15min video, there are usually around 3-4.
This Johnny Harris video is slightly longer, so has a few more…
Click to watch 👆
The first three mini-payoffs the audience experiences look like this:
- Understanding the rationale behind the first undersea cable ever laid.
- Learning that cables often break, but how this is sometimes done deliberately.
- Realising that sabotage is not actually the biggest problem… spying is.
Now, as I’ve spoken about before, you don’t want to give the payoff and then spend ages talking about it.
But, as you’ll notice in the Johnny Harris example, the mini-payoff is always the very last thing that happens in each segment.
As soon as we experience a payoff, he sets up the next one.
Now, before we look at the transcript to see this in action…
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Transcript breakdown
So, let’s look at segments 2 and 3 of Johnny’s video to show this payoff technique in action.
He begins segment 2 by saying:
“But sometimes these cables get broken on purpose” (5:50)
This piques our curiosity and makes it clear what the following segment is going to be about.
Johnny then spends 70 seconds building up a picture that explains why the cables get broken on purpose. The curiosity is resolved and we experience a payoff.
Then he immediately sets up segment 3 by saying:
“But the more interesting approach to me isn’t just sabotage. There’s another way that you can use cables to your advantage if you are a great power.” (7:00)
He’s opened another curiosity gap.
We now know exactly what we’re building towards next.
Because as soon as one point of tension has been resolved, the audience needs to know what the next one is.
How to create more payoffs
You might be wondering how to turn one payoff into three (or more).
But it’s usually fairly simple.
If you’re an educational channel, ask yourself:
What are the component pieces of information needed to understand my overall point? And can I create tension in the buildup to the reveal of each?
If you’re an entertainment channel, ask yourself:
What are the component tasks I need to complete in the build-up to the [big explosion thing] at the end? And can I create tension around the completion of each of those tasks?
If you physically can’t find a way to break your concept down, it’s probably not strong enough to be made into a video.
A word of warning
You assume you’ll have done this stuff intuitively.
But after 2+ years of writing scripts every single week, I still overlook these things and have to go back and correct them.
It’s always worth checking.
By constantly orienting your audience within the video’s structure, you make yourself the interesting person at the party who everyone wants to listen to.
Rather than the drunken rambler who just says things until they get bored.
Trust me… the audience will have gotten bored much earlier.
⚡️ Action Item
Review (and highlight) each payoff in your script. Check whether:
- You have more than one.
- You are setting up the next one as soon as you’ve resolved the last.
That’s all for this week!
Got any questions? Or anything you’d like me to talk about in future? 🧐
You can reply to these emails anytime 🙂
Speak soon,
George 👋
Do these 3 things BEFORE writing your script
Although I love YouTube, I used to find writing scripts really hard.
Even after a year of doing it, the feeling just wouldn’t go away.
It wasn’t that the subject matter was difficult to understand, nor were my fingers simply too weak to push the keys on my Macbook.
I just felt overwhelmed and I couldn’t figure out why!
Hahaha this is a ridiculous pic and yes I did do a photoshoot recently.
But, having spent the last four months thinking about and systemizing my writing process for The YouTube Scriptwriter’s Playbook, I realised something critical.
So let’s talk about that realization and why it will drastically reduce how “difficult” it feels to write a YouTube script.
The Problem
I’ve broken my scriptwriting system into five steps.
But here’s the thing…
Actually writing the script is the FOURTH of these steps.
The mistake a lot of new (or not so new!) YouTubers make is to sit down after a flash of inspiration and simply try to write.
And while that inspiration will carry you up to a point, decision fatigue eventually starts to set in.
“I’m so excited about this idea! But how do I properly convey it in the hook?”
“I know this is an interesting point, but how do I say it so my audience actually cares?”
“I loved writing this… for the first hour. So why do I feel like I’ve lost momentum?”
It boils down to this:
Trying to make macro-decisions and micro-decisions simultaneously is overwhelming.
- You can’t focus on optimizing the hook while you’re still unsure who you’re writing for.
- You can’t write confidently about a topic without choosing the angle of your approach.
- You can’t decide how to end a paragraph without knowing what’s going to happen in the next one.
This is one of the main reasons why writing scripts becomes exhausting.
Your brain is trying to do too much at once.
The Solution
There are three things you need to figure out before writing:
- Who am I writing for?
- From which angle should I approach the topic?
- How is the video structured?
Because when you have a clear idea of who you’re writing for…
…how you should frame the video to make it interesting for them…
…and how the video is structured…
…you’ve got far fewer choices to make when you’re actually writing.
Now you can concentrate on your creativity.
Of course, once the script is written, there are plenty of other things we can do to tighten it up.
But getting that first draft done is so much easier when you spend less time writing it and more time planning it.
⚡️ Action Item
- Spend time thinking about your audience avatar.
- Frame the video in a way that’s interesting to them.
- Create the structure before you write.
That’s all for this week!
Got any questions? Or anything you’d like me to talk about in future? 🧐
You can reply to these emails anytime 🙂
Speak soon,
George 👋
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My 3-Step framework for writing killer hooks
I can’t tell you how happy I am to be writing this newsletter again! 🥳
Thanks so much for your patience, especially if you’re one of the approx 600 new folks who joined during my hiatus.
Me, staring lovingly at you for sticking with me.
If you didn’t know, I made the choice to narrow the focus of my entire business so I could complete my scriptwriting course.
However, now that it’s finally in the hands of my small army of beta testers, we can get back to business as usual!
I thought I’d kick back off with a handy little framework that’s going to simplify (and enhance) how you write the most important part of your script…
Have you ever wondered this…?
One of the most common questions I get is:
“How long should my hook be?”
After all, as one creator who emailed me put it…
“Should you get straight into the content so people don’t click off right away?
Or do you need to do everything humanly possible to convince them the video is gonna change their life first?”
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by indecision and uncertainty, especially when you know the hook is the most important part of the video.
But here’s the thing…
“How long should my hook be?” is not the right question to ask because it doesn’t have a proper answer.
Instead, the only question you need to ask is this:
”Does every sentence have a reason to be there?”
After writing and reviewing hundreds of scripts for creators big and small, I’ve created a simple framework to figure this out.
3-Step Framework
The framework looks slightly different depending on whether your content is primarily educational, or entertainment-based.
🧠 Education → Target, Transformation, Stakes:
1 – This is my target audience.
2 – This is their desired transformation.
3 – Here’s what’s at stake.
💥 Entertainment → Character, Concept, Stakes:
1 – These are the characters.
2 – This is the concept.
3 – Here’s what’s at stake.
In a nutshell…
The audience needs to know what they’ll experience and why it matters.
That’s it.
Focus on clearly signposting each of these three factors within your hook, and be brutal about cutting the rest.
Two Examples
To see this framework in action, look at how simply we can break down the hook of two videos.
Below each, you’ll see my breakdown of the 3-step framework and the colour-coded hook transcript.
Zac Alsop – I Faked My Grandpa to the Top of Fashion Week
Character – Granddad
Concept – Is it possible to get anybody to the top of fashion week?
Stakes – He’s a fraud; will he be discovered?
Hook Transcript:
As you’ll notice, every word fulfils the criteria of the 3-step framework.
But, while this hook is nice and short, a strong hook can also be much longer (as long as every sentence deserves to be there).
For example:
Abi Connick – Why 95% of Graphic Designers Fail
Target – Graphic designers worried about their business failing.
Transformation – They’ll learn what the mistake is so they can avoid it and create a flourishing business.
Stakes – Unless they learn the lesson, their business is at risk of failure.
Hook Transcript:
I probably would have trimmed a couple of extra words here.
Nonetheless, every single sentence here is crucial to setting up the content.
And with 86% retention after 30s, you really can’t complain.
⚡️ Action Item
On your next video, instead of worrying about the length of your hook, focus on the 3-step framework.
Force every word to justify its place, and the hook will end up exactly the length it needs to be.
That’s all for this week!
Did you have anything you’d really like me to talk about in a future issue? You can reply to these emails at any time and let me know 🙂
Speak soon,
George 👋
I became Ali Abdaal’s scriptwriter because of this
A brilliant, terrifying realisation.
I arrived in London 3 years ago to start a job I didn’t care about.
0 direction. 0 long-term plans. Happy enough, but aimless.
But, last week, I left the city with a life that is almost completely unrecognisable…
I want to share this story with you because, across those 3 years, I learned something that’s equal parts liberating and terrifying:
Sometimes the entire direction of your life rests on your willingness to say “f*** it” at just the right time.
A snapshot of my final scriptwriting session in London 🌇
1 year after arriving in the city and plugging away at my “normal job”, Ali Abdaal put out some job applications.
I’d only discovered his channel a few weeks before, but I applied on a whim.
Actually, I applied for 3 different roles.
“F*** it”, I thought. “I like YouTube. I can write. I once had a gaming channel with 1500 subscribers. F*** it.”
Despite having no real experience, I had a sense that “working for a YouTuber” was something that would suit me. I literally didn’t care what role, I just wanted one.
As the application process drew on, I spent more and more time imagining what this “new life” might look like, and the reality of my current employment became increasingly stark.
“What if, rather than doing 12-hour night shifts… I got to write YouTube videos for a living?”
The gradual breakdown of a man who hated his job 😵💫
Hilariously, as I started writing the tweet this newsletter is based on, I actually found some old diary entries from the time I was waiting to hear whether my application had been successful.
I was evidently in a melodramatic mood 😂
What I didn’t share in my original tweet, though, was this pretty shocking extract that detailed just how apathetic I was feeling about my job at the time… 👇
Granted, the 12-hour night shifts were a little atypical.
But wow. I was honestly shocked to see that I’d written those words.
The scary thing is, “living for the weekend” is a completely ubiquitous concept.
It permeates nearly every social circle I’m a part of and exists cross-generationally, too.
You probably know the feeling all too well, even if you’re fortunate enough to have escaped it by now.
Clearly, I wanted to leave.
2 months later…
The allure of YouTube was becoming more powerful every day.
The problem was, I’d genuinely started to convince myself that a job like “working for a YouTuber” was simply not something I’d ever end up doing.
I had 0 experience.
It sounded too fun.
Life didn’t work like that.
Then, inexplicably, 2 months later…
I got it.
(That ‘thing’ was: “do you want the job?” lol)
I’ll write another newsletter going in-depth on why my application was successful and how I’ve carved out this space for myself as a “Consulting YouTube Scriptwriter” in the years since.
But it’s not the point of this particular story.
Anyway, I handed in my notice, and my day-to-day life did a complete 180.
- Night-shifts were now “flexible hours”.
- Limited annual leave was now “as much as you want, just don’t take the p***”
- Data entry was now “writing scripts for YouTube”.
I woke up feeling grateful almost every day.
But even that version of me wouldn’t have believed how much would change again after I went freelance.
1 year later…
Things keep getting crazier. Now:
- I have a community of nearly 10,000 people across my platforms, just from “writing about writing”.
- I get to choose my clients based on who I have the most fun working for.
- I drunk-messaged Mr Beast’s manager and got left on “seen” (but then Mr Beast followed me a week later so… swings and roundabouts.)
- I’m building an actual business, wtf.
And, most excitingly, I’m leaving London with my girlfriend (who I met just after moving to London) to go live and work in Europe for a while.
Because f*** it, why not?
So take this as a reminder that a well-placed “f*** it” could be all that stands between you and the start of an even happier life.
Of course, there’s a little bit of luck in every bit of fortune. But you’ve gotta be willing to grab it when it comes.
I’m endlessly thankful to 2021-George for saying “f*** it” at just the right time.
So I want to thank you for coming along for the ride Reader, and I can’t wait to ramp this newsletter back up again in the coming weeks ❤️
Speak soon,
George 👋
My 4-step scriptwriting method for millions of views
Does this resonate with you…?
“I hate writing; I love having written.” – Dorothy Parker.
It certainly struck a chord with me.
That’s not to say that writing a YouTube script is actually a miserable process.
But the build-up to a writing session is often fraught with anxiety.
And that anxiety either leads to procrastination or to such a degree of overthinking that when I sit down, I barely make progress.
“Where do I start? What should I work on today? Am I even good at this?” (Classic.)
But I’ve managed to significantly reduce these feelings by systemising how I write.
I promise you – systemising your writing will make scripting YouTube videos less stressful, more efficient, and will result in a better piece of content.
If you came here from my recent appearance on Jay Clouse’s Creator Science – welcome! If not, I discussed the system in this video 👇
Click to watch, or read on for a summary…
Let’s talk about…
The 4-Hat Method
This is an upgraded version of the 3-Hat Method I first discussed 6 months ago.
The basic principle is that we want to avoid “task switching”.
That means breaking the process of writing the script down into 4 distinct components.
Let’s think of each component as a “different profession”.
And you’re only ever wearing one of these “hats” at a time.
The first hat is…
The Artist
You have your basic video concept.
Now you need to spam ideas to see if there’s enough meat to make the video work.
Brainstorm any moments you instinctively imagine appearing in the video.
This might include half-formed B-Roll ideas and visual cues, as well as key story/information beats.
The only essential part of this stage is identifying the “Grand Payoff” – the main thing your audience has clicked to see.
Use my 4-point checklist to make this super simple.
Once this is done, it’s time to become…
The Architect
This is where we bring structure to the script before actually writing it.
We have our Grand Payoff locked in.
So now we need to identify the necessary steps that build up to that moment.
In a tutorial, these may be obvious:
“Step 1, step 2…”
In an entertainment video, it might take more thinking.
“Here’s my bombastic aim, but first I needed to find a big hammer. So I was on my way to visit the local hammer salesperson when THIS happened…”
Each beat should open up its own curiosity gap. And, as you resolve each point of curiosity, you set up the next one.
Tension, release, setup, tension, release, setup…
Ergo, we need to know what each of these key “mini-payoffs” will be while we’re wearing the architect’s hat.
By the end of your time as the Architect, you should have your structure finalised.
The Writer
Now it’s time to connect the dots.
If the structure was your script’s skeleton, this is where we add the flesh.
An important thing to bring back at this stage is an element of the freedom you felt as the Artist.
For example, don’t worry about retention at this stage.
Nor perfect grammar, nor anything else.
The sole aim is to connect A to B to C.
By the end of this stage, you’ll have what most people would refer to as “Draft 0”.
It’s nothing like perfect, but it’s a complete package.
So, we have our Draft 0, and now it’s time to don the fourth (and pointiest) hat…
The Wizard
It’s time to fine-tune your script.
And, once again, the key here is to focus on one thing at a time.
I comb through my scripts with the following in mind:
- Excessive jargon.
- Imperfect structure.
- Grammar.
- Verbal test.
The first check, “excessive jargon”, is where I think about clarity, checking I’m not repeating myself, or taking 2 sentences to say what I could have in 1.
The third check, “Grammar”, is self-explanatory.
The fourth check, “verbal test”, means reading it aloud to check if it actually flows when spoken aloud.
But the one that needs the most explanation is the second check, “imperfect structure”.
This is about retention, and there are a tonne of things you could focus on here. For example…
- I check how well-spaced out my payoffs are.
- I ensure I haven’t given away an interesting nugget and then spent 5 minutes discussing it.
- I confirm there’s a constant progression of information.
Again, lots to think about here, so feel free to join the YTSP waiting list if you’re interested in learning more.
Either way, breaking down the process of scripting a video into these 4 stages will make your life much easier 🧘♂️
That’s all for this week!
Another big welcome to any new subscribers who found me through Creator Science!
Hit reply if you have any questions 😊
Speak soon,
George 👋
Why does Dodford keep going viral?
This week, I spoke to rising YouTube sensation and softly-spoken-lovely-man, Danny McMahon (AKA, Dodford).
Dodford’s videos consistently outperform his subscriber count by an incredible magnitude, and… it’s easy to see why.
Particularly as a scriptwriter, I’ve been fascinated by his use of visual storytelling and the process by which he constructs his documentaries.
If you’ve ever seen one, you’ll understand.
With that said, I hope you’ll take some inspiration for your upcoming videos from our conversation…
Interview with Dodford
Me: How much does interaction with your audience guide how you make your content?
Dodford: Rule #1 of being a YouTuber is making things people care about. Being an artist means expressing yourself creatively. More often than not, those things do not align! It’s a lesson I’ve been slapped with a lot, which I’ll get into later.
If you want to succeed on YouTube, you can’t post whatever you desire and demand “ThEY jUsT dOn’T GeT iT, MaN…” But at the same time, create projects that speak to you, or you’ll go crazy.
I like to put feelers out there on what similarities my audience and I share. The more you create, the closer that’ll be! Those opinions matter.
Me: What does the process of turning piles of research notes into a complete script look like in your team?
Dodford: The ideation, research and scriptwriting workflow is about a four-week process. It’s twice as long as the editing, which I usually finish up at the ~6 week mark.
While two weeks can seem a hurry for the post-production, it’s only because we’ve oiled the scriptwriting stage down so much that everything clicks into place later down the line.
In short, it goes:
Subject ➡️ Preliminary Research ➡️ Angle Chosen ➡️ Quote Hunting ➡️ Categories ➡️ Unique Selling Point ➡️ Story Structure ➡️ Script Development ➡️ Paper Edit ➡️ Production ➡️ Post-Production
Me: Your Nardwuar video seemed to mark a change in both your content style and the trajectory of the channel. Can you talk through what happened at that moment?
Nardwuar: A Misunderstood Superstar
Dodford: Looking back, I think the Nardwuar video represented the shift from making video essays into making documentaries. Don’t ask me to define the difference!
Maybe it’s something to do with video essays tell you what I think, and documentaries make you think. But there are elements of that in my Sidemen, Logic and Try Guys videos too.
In reality, I think it was a culmination of several growing skills coincidentally falling into a great idea. It was also the preceding video after the Donald Glover video blew up, which helped it along.
Me: Two videos released in succession – Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore – were both, arguably, “outliers”. Is there anything you’ve identified about those videos that explains their performance?
Dodford: I wish I had an easy answer for this.
The Drew Barrymore video is one of my favourites, but like I mentioned earlier, if your idea doesn’t overlap with your target audience, it won’t hit.
It was a tough one to swallow for me, actually. Especially coming right after the immense hype of that Sandler video! I was just getting used to showering in the YouTube Studio euphoria, when the platform reminds you that none of it is promised!
The Adam Sandler video had a curious concept and unique packaging — two things that can never be replicated twice, just the way it was.
There’s a lot of this system I’m confident with nowadays, but I can always use a hand with selling an idea.
Me: Is there anything you wish you’d spent more time doing sooner to hone your skills as a writer/editor?
Dodford: Learning After Effects elevated my game as an editor tenfold.
Having an extra couple pairs of hands is great for writing, too. But I don’t have any regrets or wishes about how I’ve gotten to become the creator I am.
I lost my mind a little on TikTok, resented a couple clients as a freelancer, and almost quit at least twice!
But I don’t really have any advice here, besides trust the process.
Me: Is there anything YouTube-related you wish you could nerd out about more?
Dodford: When picturing my future, I always saw traditional cinema and theatres. That if the opportunity came, I’d jump off YouTube in a flash.
But that’s certainly not true anymore!
I’m really falling in love with the creator that this website is making me become. I’d never have refined my craft as much as I have if there weren’t the affordances and constraints of YouTube.
The videos I’m making right now are truly, exactly what I want to make right now. And I have to thank YouTube for revealing that to me.
That process of chipping away the bad ideas in public is so fascinating to me. There’s something so endearing about building a YouTube channel in general. High risk and high reward, visible to all.
Creating is psychology and YouTube is your psychiatrist. Yeah, they might be annoying sometimes, and you’re definitely paying way too much for them, but listen to them!
Dodford’s latest documentary, “The Redemption of Robert Downey, Jr.” is out now…
Click to watch ☝️
10 proven strategies to create more engaging YouTube videos
Trying to make better videos can feel overwhelming.
It seems like there’s always more to learn 🤯
But there are some skills that are non-negotiable when it comes to YouTube.
That is… if you really care about creating engaging content that grows your channel.
So here are 10 scriptwriting fundamentals that I’ve learned across 2 years, dozens of scripts and 1,000,000s of views…
1/ Hook
If you’re struggling to write a strong hook, simplify it 👇
2/ Stakes
While keeping it simple, the hook needs to give your audience an emotional reason to watch.
Remember, it’s about them, not you… 👇
3/ Payoffs
Payoffs matter more than anything.
See last week’s newsletter for details about how to use them properly.
Not sure if your payoffs are positioned effectively? Highlight them in your script.
This makes it easy to see when you haven’t introduced new or exciting information for a while.
4/ Credentials
Unless the subject matter acutely calls for it…
Don’t give your full list of credentials in the hook. It’s boring.
If you’re the real deal, let your content speak for itself.
But before we move onto the second half of the list, I wanna show you something cool…
Screen recording for creators — simple and powerful ⚡️
As a heads-up, I recently switched to Tella!
I’m yet to find another screen recording software that looks this slick.
I’ll be using it to record my scriptwriting course… but you can also create demos, 1:1s for customers, promote projects on social media and more!
“Remarkable videos at high production speed — that’s what I get from Tella.” – Jay Clouse, Creator & Founder, Creator Science.
7-day free trial — no credit card required!
*Proudly sponsored content
5/ Framing
Choosing a good topic is not enough.
You need to frame it properly.
Use my 4-point checklist to ensure you’ve framed your video in the right way.
6/ Study
If you want to understand why things work (and how to avoid what doesn’t)…
Spend time studying other people’s content.
7/ Scripting
Scripting videos (where it makes sense) is the best way to ensure quality control over the final output.
See my FULL arguments for this in Creator Debates S02E01 🤩👇
Click to watch!
8/ Writing
Avoid task switching while writing.
This is a personal preference, but it makes writing 10x easier.
I use the 3-Hat Method 🎩👒🧢
An updated version of this is gonna be featured in my upcoming course…
If you’re building something my audience would love, you can get it in front of 1100+ creators!
9/ Call-To-Action
Simplify it 👇
10/ Ending
Once you’ve delivered the final piece of value…
Stop talking.
This 2-minute tweak will boost your YouTube retention
This week I’ve got a super simple tweak for your next script.
But it’s the kind of adjustment that could have a big impact on retention once you start doing it.
The bad news? You’ll need to unlearn something you’ve been conditioned to do for years.
The good news? It’s not hard!
Buy a bin. Like, right now.
I’ve got to admit something…
I still have no idea why Ali Abdaal keeps talking about how useful “owning a bin” is.
Ignoring the bizarre nature of the subject matter, it’s just… obvious 😂
But that’s not all.
We’re told, “you should own a bin” and then told, “here’s why”.
But if we care about audience engagement, the structure of this delivery is inefficient.
And once you understand why, you’ll learn exactly how to present information in a more engaging way…
Unlearn this…
The problem we’re trying to correct stems from how we talk to each other.
In conversation, it feels natural to present information like this:
“I’m cutting meat from my diet because X.”
“If you wanna make loads of cash, do X.”
“You should own a bin because X.”
This is fine in a casual chat.
But, in YouTube terms, it’s a retention disaster.
The problem with ordering information like this is simple:
It gives the audience permission to skip ahead.
Why?
Because you’re giving the answer first and the explanation second.
Let’s see how this looks in practice:
A few months ago I reviewed this video by the ex-Olympic Boxer Tony Jeffries (the chap who trained Michelle Khare recently!)
But Tony fell into the “answer first, explanation second” trap.
At the start of each tip, he’d say:
“This is the tip.”
Then he’d demonstrate it.
The result?
Retention was shaky.
The issue was that, as soon as Tony said:
“Tip number 9, throw a double or a triple jab!”…
…I’d completely understood the segment.
I no longer needed to watch the demonstration and, if I were short of time, I could happily have skipped ahead.
So… how do we fix this?
The joy of this problem is that it’s an easy fix.
Here’s what I suggested for Tony:
Why not simply reverse the order of information?
Rather than naming the technique, then demonstrating it…
He could begin the segment by demonstrating the technique.
Then he could ask the audience to observe his actions (e.g. “can you see what I’m doing here?”)
Lastly, he could clarify what the technique was…
By reversing the order of information, we’re now doing something audiences LOVE.
We’re making them feel smart.
Because now they have to interpret what’s happening before they get told.
We’re no longer giving them the answer on a plate, but asking them to engage and figure it out themselves.
In my experience…
It pays to assume your viewers are intelligent.
So don’t spend ages dissecting something that’s easily understandable in seconds.
If you’re building something my audience would love, you can get it in front of 1100+ creators!
⚡️ Action Item
- On your next video, try “Explanation first, Answer second“.
- Buy a bin.
If you want to see me talking about this (and more!) at length, check out this interview I did with Jamie Whiffen 👇
That’s all for now!
Speak soon,
George 👋
Interviewing the strategist behind millions of views
Today, we’re doing something a little different!
I recently sat down with YouTube strategist and Twitter pal Dabi to discuss something that scares a lot of creators.
Storytelling 📚
So what can we learn from somebody who’s worked on some incredible, story-driven content that’s gained millions of views?
Videos like this…
and this…
It turns out… storytelling isn’t as scary or difficult as you might think.
In fact, you’re probably already using it in ways you hadn’t even realised 🔥
But, with Dabi’s expertise, I guarantee you’ll learn something from this conversation that you can easily apply to your next video.
Discussing Storytelling With Dabi
What was your biggest takeaway from the conversation?
That’s all for now!
Speak soon,
George 👋
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