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Let's say part of your job is to create documents and media to educate others. You're an amazing communicator and feel confident using media tools. You sometimes create videos and know that they have real power.

But, producing videos can be complicated and time-consuming. This is especially true with animated videos, which often require special equipment and complicated software. Who has time for that?

What if...

• You could create a powerful animated video in just a few hours?
• The entire process only required PowerPoint?
• The resulting video was polished, professional, and accessible?

This is the promise of Readable Videos. Once you learn this method, you'll see that animated videos can be simple and efficient to create. They can solve problems and bring information to life.

"I am able to create instructional videos without the hassle of voiceover, multiple retakes, or special software. I have already created/shared a Readable Video and have several others in mind."

- Jean Potter, Content Specialist

Free Mini-Course

PowerPoint... For Video Production?

Indeed. PowerPoint is a powerful tool for creating animated videos. It has an amazing combination of what you need:

• Drawing and editing tools for shapes and images
• Animation tools for text and visuals
• On-board libraries of images and visuals
• Screen recorder

You and your team have an opportunity to add a powerful new skill to your toolbox. All you need is the know-how and we've covered every base, from generating ideas to finishing the video.

For Your Class, Your Team

Consider making this course available to groups in your organization. We're happy to talk about discounts and special arrangements. Contact us at info@commoncraft.com.

Start for Free

You may be wondering:

• Why should I care about Readable Videos?
• Do I really need a course for a simple idea?

Unlike normal videos, Readable Videos can be created in hours vs days or weeks. All you need is presentation software. However, Readable Videos require know-how. I've spent years perfecting the method and learning what works. You'll discover a new world of simple video production.

Let's Take a Tour of Course Videos:

The course has over 40 videos and five hours of instruction. It's full of practical walk-throughs, examples, and use cases.

Best Practices: Readability

It's not enough to display words on the screen. How we do it matters in terms of effectiveness and readability. You'll learn best practices from the field of kinetic typography and how to design your messages and animations for polish and accessibility.

Creative Direction, Explanation Skills, Storyboarding

For your video to work, you'll need planning and a focus on clear communication. I've shared multiple lessons from my book The Art of Explanation and Explainer Academy Courses.

"Two weeks after taking the course, I’m using Readable Videos in job support and training for my organization."

- Dawn Weiman

Deep Dive into Presentation Software (PowerPoint and Keynote)

Readable Videos can be created using ONLY presentation software. It's the perfect platform because it combines built-in visuals with powerful tools for drawing shapes, manipulating text, and creating animations, along with a built-in screen recorder. I'll show you exactly what to do.

Bonus Files:

The presentations I use in the course are provided for download so that you can see the options I used.

Animating Text and Shapes

You'll be amazed at what is possible. You'll learn the key skill of Readable Videos: how to animate text in a way that is readable, accessible, and engages the reader. Watch me through every click and learn from my experience.

“This course takes you from zero to hero with the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’. No new applications to learn, and no expensive equipment to buy; use what you probably already have."

- Sam L. (UK)

Background Music

A lesson I learned in making Readable Videos since 2020: silence can be confusing for the reader. While background music isn't required, I recommend it and show you where to find free music and how to integrate the music file into your presentation.

Recording Your Screen (Mac and PC)

You'll learn simple and free options for recording your screen.

"All educators have a need for this type of instruction. Much-needed. Well-conceived. Well-done."

- Jane Englert, Teacher

Watch Lee Create a Readable Video

Learn more at ReadableVideos.com

This post is an issue of the Common Craft Newsletter. Subscribe here.

We are getting close to launching our new course "How to Create Readable Videos" and figured a Readable Video would be the perfect way to explain it. The video is 2.5 minutes long and you can find it on YouTube.

Ready to make your own? Go to ReadableVideos.com.

Quotes from professionals who recently took the course:

“My favorite professional development courses give me practical steps and inspire me to use them. The Readable Videos course is exactly that – two weeks after taking it, I’m using Readable Videos in job support and training for my organization. The time I invested in the course was very well spent.”

- Dawn Weiman, Library Trainer

“Having just completed the Readable Videos course, now I am able to create instructional videos without the hassle of voiceover, multiple retakes, or special software. His examples, tips, shared resources, and complete walkthrough made the process completely understandable. I have already created/shared a readable video and have several others in mind.”

- Jean Potter, Content Specialist

This post was published in the Common Craft Newsletter. Subscribe here

This video is for educators and students who are on the front lines of this phenomenon. By understanding cyberbullying, we can take steps to reduce the harm it causes.

Using a simple example of a cyberbully in action, this video follows a bully’s tools, motivations, and tactics. It also covers what can be done by adults and fellow students to stop the bully and prevent further problems. It teaches:

• Why cyberbullying represents a problem
• How cyberbullies use the internet to threaten and harass others
• What motivates cyberbullies
• What adults and students can do to help the bullied students
• What adults and students can do to prevent problems

Watch the video on CommonCraft.com.

If you're looking for more resources on cyberbullying and prevention, see https://www.stopbullying.gov.

This post was published in the Common Craft Newsletter. Subscribe here

Our new course on Readable Videos (coming soon!) has prompted a lot of learning about how to display text that is readable, accessible, and effective. The course covers the best practices from graphic design and other disciplines.

In our research, I came across new reading systems that are fascinating. They may not be your best bet for Readable Videos, but you may find them useful in other parts of your life.

Speed Readers

What if you could read without moving your eyes to follow the words in a sentence? What if, instead, the words appeared, one at a time, in a single location? Let's take a look...

I used this free app by Spreeder to display the paragraph above in this format:

This is often referred to as Rapid Serial Visual Presentation or "RSVP". The format has been shown to increase reading speed, but may not be the best for comprehension compared to static text.

Other RSVP tools:

• AccelaReader offers a free web-based tool
• Outread is an iOS app that can be applied to web pages and documents
• Sprint Reader is an extension for Google Chrome

Bionic Reading

Bionic reading is a proprietary tool developed by a Swiss developer named Renato Casuut. His goal was to make reading easy by guiding the eyes through artificial fixation points.

What does that mean? I've used this free tool to convert the paragraph above into the form of bionic reading:

The big idea: Your brain has memorized most of the words you see. To recall the word and its meaning, you don't need to see the whole word. By bolding the first few characters, we can read in a slightly different way.

While there isn't definitive evidence that Bionic Reading is faster or increases comprehension, it does seem to work better for people with ADHD and/or dyslexia. More.

Dyslexia Font

Speaking of dyslexia, designer Christian Boer created a font called Dyslexie that is specially designed for people with dyslexia. It enhances the ease of reading and comprehension. Example:

As you can see, the blue typeface above is weighted differently. The letters have heavier bottoms and longer sticks, which is the straight part of a letter like "P".

These tools are not a solution for everyone. However, they provide a look at new approaches to something we can easily take for granted: reading. Your best bet is to experiment and see what works for you and your use cases.

This post was published in the Common Craft Newsletter. Subscribe here

We've all heard someone say, in the context of understanding something new: "You're not seeing the forest through the trees." This usually means that someone is so focused on the details that they're missing the big picture. This dynamic frames a very common and difficult element of communication. We all struggle with the Curse of Knowledge and what mix of forest and trees will work for our audience.

When we have deep knowledge of a subject, it's easy to become focused on the trees; the fascinating details. We learned about the big picture, the forest, long ago and it now seems almost too basic. Surely everyone else see it, too.

When it's time to share our knowledge, it can seem logical to skip the forest and focus on the trees. With limited time, it may seem wasteful to cover the basics. After all, our expertise is in the trees. This can quickly become a problem. If we neglect the forest, we risk leaving people behind, or with an incomplete picture.

A Choice

If your goal is helping people understand something new, the forest matters. Yes, you may be covering ideas that others already know, but that's not a big risk. You're simply validating their knowledge.

The bigger risk is having beginners tune-out because they never see the beauty of the idea or feel confident in their understanding. This loss of confidence is difficult to rebuild and you may not realize it's happening.

What You Can Do

Consider designing this idea into a presentation and starting off with a disclaimer like this:

"We're going to start with the big picture. I know some of you are familiar, but I want to be sure we're all on the same page."

This becomes an invitation for beginners to become engaged and for experienced people to feel validated. Your audience will thank you for it!