Technical Writing: How to Create Instructional Video

Are you a technical writer looking for a way to increase customer satisfaction with the information you provide? Are you wondering if video content is what your customers need? Do you want to learn how to make a video that helps, but does not have time to prepare for that? 

If you answer any of these questions with Yes!, then this course is for you!

The world around us is flooded with information! There is way too much data that only proves one thing:  today's end-users do not want to read the documentation! In the information sea we live in, everyone is looking to find the fastest way to get to the information they need. As a result, there are even people claiming that the role of the technical writer as a content producer is diminishing. And that one of the key skills for the future, will be to be able to provide instructions and guidance to the users of products via video.

A part of that seems to be true - if you are looking for a way to do ANYTHING, you are most probably looking at YouTube to find the answer. It is fast, it does not require reading (that's some effort, right!?) and you can quickly understand if what you were looking for is explained there.

Despite these indisputable facts, I dare to say that we still need documentation, as the most optimal way to provide written, searchable and printable information. But we simply need to add video as one of the information delivery vehicles to the information portfolio we create as technical writers.

My name is Jordan Stanchev. I have made my career in the field of technical communications in the last 20 years. I've started off as a Java developer, became a technical writer, then a senior technical writer for many years. Later on, I progress my career to become a User Assistance Development Architect and project lead at one of the largest software development companies in the world.

As the founder of JPDocu School of Technical Writing, I have been researching, doing myself, and teaching technical writers how to create video content for a software documentation information portfolio.

How to create instruction video is one of the courses you learn as a part of the Technical Communications and Localizations master's program at the University of Strasbourg. The university rank is #135 in the CWUR World University Ranking list of top 1000 universities in the world.

In this course, I share my experience in planning, preparing, and delivering video content for documentation deliverables.

By the end of this course you will learn:

• How to use videos to complement your software documentation;

• Which types of videos are relevant for software documentation;

• Which are the important quality aspects to observe in an instructional type of video;

• What are the steps to follow to create an instructional video;

• How to create an instructional video using Camtasia TechSmith software;

You will be able to explain the processes of:

• Planning an instructional video;

• Recording the video;

• Post-process the video to get a final product that you can give to your customers to use.

You will be able to name the different types of video content, relevant for documentation:

• How-to videos;

• Conceptual information explanation videos;

• Product overview videos;

You will have a basic understanding and initial hands-on experience with Camtasia Studio - a popular professional tool for video recording and post-processing.

Here is what students are saying about this course:

"Jordan's course on "Instructional videos" is very well structured and explained. With a "hands-on" methodology, I could soon create my first video. Really satisfied!"

- Ludovica Fiori

"Jordan's course was a great primer on how to record instructional videos. I was really impressed by how he took us from being complete newbies to recording professional-looking tutorials in just under three hours — and his feedback and advice were absolutely spot on. Much recommended!"

- Francisco Paredes

"The course about instructional videos was very easy to follow and concise. It offered well-structured content, with a step by step approach and many practical tips. I really enjoyed it and appreciated the possibility to start with the creation of a video after only two lessons."

- Marianna Mazzette

Join me now and get ready for the future of technical writing!