How to Use Attention-Grabbing Video Snippets During a Panel Discussion

Want to start your panel discussion with a bang?  With drama?  With emotion?  Or, switch gears using a video snippet – a quick, short video clip that reinforces the panel’s key message. A minute or less is about right (aka a “video snippet”); otherwise, you risk losing your audience’s attention.

For example, I once saw a panel moderator use a video clip of legendary golfer Tiger Woods chipping into the hole from the rough grass—and it barely dropped in—as a metaphor for hitting your goal against all odds. It took all of fifteen seconds and captivated the audience.  The moderator then used that metaphor to start the discussion among the panelists.

So where do you get these short video snippets?

YouTube.  A ton of engaging videos can be found at this site with the implied consent of the copyright holder to redistribute the video. That means you can re-use the video in your presentation—as long as it is still posted on the site.

So check the site each time you plan to use the clip; the license terminates within a “commercially reasonable amount of time” once the work is removed from the website.

Movie/TV Clips.  Most audiences perk up when you use a short video clip from a popular movie. Again, be advised, when you use a video in a public meeting or training environment (regardless of whether you are a profit or a nonprofit organization), it is considered a public performance and requires the consent of the original copyright holder or its agent.

To obtain information, permission, and/or purchase rights to use movie clips, contact Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (www.mplc.com) or Audio Cine Films Inc. (www.acf-film.com).

Your Own.  As you are doing research for your panel, take your video camera and film the audience in action at an earlier event, interview rising stars or celebrities around the topic, or dig up some interesting visuals. Splice the best of the best into one short video.

I’m a big fan of using Powtoons for this!   (BTW, you thought you could get rid of the lawyers this way, right? Wrong. If you plan on broadcasting your video to the larger world in a profit or not-for-profit environment, save yourself a headache and get each person’s written consent to be in your video at the time you do the filming.)

Purchase Clips. You can purchase video clips that announce breaks, open or close a session, or provide a lighthearted moment. Typically, when you purchase the video, you also purchase the legal right to use it in a public setting.

Custom Video. Plenty of resources are available to customize video into your presentation. It gets a bit pricey, so practice due diligence and do a dry run of how you are going to use the clip(s) before you actually commission the production.

You too can use a video snippet to start your panel or to switch gears during your powerful panel discussion.