The business is your customer. The learner is your consumer. If you’ve been thinking about it the other way round, this episode will make you think a little differently. Tracy Cantu, Senior Learning Leader and author of Running L&D Like a Business, opens with the idea that when L&D designs for the wrong “customer,” teams end up busy, but not necessarily effective. The result is often more content with outcomes that don’t match. Think learning needs to be formal? Think again. A post-it no...
Apr 29, 2026•33 min•Ep. 285
What if the most powerful thing in your video has nothing to do with your camera, your software, or your budget? In this episode, Matt sits down with Stuart Cohen, a filmmaker and photographer whose work spans brands like Coca-Cola, AT&T, and Gatorade, to explore what it really takes to tell a visual story that resonates. Stuart does a lot marketing work, where 30 seconds is sometimes all you get. But he thinks that constraint can actually be one of the best creative teachers. When every cut...
Apr 15, 2026•30 min•Ep. 284
Teaching isn’t the reward you get after you’ve learned something. For Taim Dawod, it’s been the learning method itself. In this episode, we revisit a conversation with Taim Dawod, a medical doctor from Norway who started a medical education YouTube channel in his first year of med school, with no experience in video, editing, or teaching online. What started as a way to make anatomy easier to study for himself grew into a channel with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. The conversation gets i...
Apr 08, 2026•39 min•Ep. 283
We’re in a pivotal moment for learning and development. But is the industry ready for what comes next? In this episode of The Visual Lounge, Matt sits down with Donald Taylor to unpack the latest findings from the Global Sentiment Survey, one of the longest-running studies tracking trends in L&D, which he co-authored. With nearly 3,800 responses from over 100 countries, this year’s survey reveals how the conversation around AI is changing. The rapid rise hasn’t stopped, but it has slowed, an...
Apr 01, 2026•33 min•Ep. 282
What if video could shave 20 minutes off your leadership meetings and help your team come prepared with the right questions? In this episode, Matt sits down with Chris King, Principal Consultant at CRK Learning LLC, to explore how project managers working in L&D can use video to communicate more effectively. Chris manages a multimillion-dollar e-learning project with a team of around 25 people, and he’s found that recording video walkthroughs of spreadsheets, creating how-to videos for SMEs,...
Mar 18, 2026•25 min•Ep. 281
How can you use the cognitive properties of media for the best training and learning outcomes? Whether you’re in training, in learning development, or you’re a creator making videos for your own YouTube channel, learning and understanding are non-negotiable. This idea especially rings true in an age when people consume media across an ever-expanding variety of channels. How do you hold their attention? How do you present information in a way that people truly understand? Dr Clark Quinn, PHD prov...
Mar 11, 2026•37 min•Ep. 280
What makes a story actually stick? And why do so many professionals get it wrong? In this episode, host Matt Pierce sits down with Gabrielle Dolan, global business storytelling expert and author of eight books, to unpack why storytelling is one of the most underused skills in any professional's toolkit and what to do about it. Gabrielle shares why personal stories outperform facts and data every time, how to overcome the fear of being "too vulnerable" at work, and the simple rules that separate ...
Mar 04, 2026•33 min•Ep. 279
Are you struggling to script engaging training videos? Or maybe viewers are getting confused, and you’re not quite sure how to hold people’s attention long enough to deliver any value. In this episode, host Matt Pierce shares his tips for writing training video scripts that keep viewers engaged. Drawing on years of scriptwriting experience, Matt breaks down the fundamentals of writing a strong hook to building an outline that reinforces the value and learning goals from start to finish. Matt tou...
Feb 18, 2026•26 min•Ep. 278
When you’re on camera, people decide how much they trust you a lot faster than you realize. In this episode, we revisit a conversation with Peter Hopwood, a speaking coach who works with presenters, sales teams, founders, and TEDx presenters on how to be more confident and credible on screen. Peter shares what helps people connect through a camera, especially when the usual in-person cues aren’t there. The conversation covers why curiosity is key to building trust, how voice and small physical m...
Feb 11, 2026•30 min•Ep. 277
Should AI avatars replace human presenters? In part two of this research series on The Visual Lounge, host Matt Pierce is joined again by TechSmith Senior Market Researcher Stephanie Warnoff to discuss the latest findings from TechSmith's research on AI avatars in instructional video. Building on episode 275 about AI voices, this conversation explores how different on-screen presenter styles affect viewer perception and information retention. The study compares multiple formats, including human ...
Feb 04, 2026•23 min•Ep. 276
How much does audio really affect learning? And does it matter whether that voice is human or AI? In this episode, Matt sits down with Stephanie Warnoff, Senior Market Researcher at TechSmith, to walk through new research that looks at how audio quality and AI narration influence learning outcomes, perceived professionalism, and retention in instructional video. The study, conducted by TechSmith, was built around a simple experiment. Participants watched the same 45-second how-to video, with the...
Jan 28, 2026•28 min•Ep. 275
Have you ever struggled to get the information you need from a subject matter expert? Or maybe you're the expert (SME), and you're not quite sure what the instructional designer actually wants from you? In this episode, host Matt Pierce explores what subject matter experts actually need from instructional designers (IDs) to do their best work. Drawing from his experience on both sides of the dynamic, Matt breaks down seven key principles for building a strong SME-ID partnership that leads to bet...
Jan 21, 2026•21 min•Ep. 274
Change is emotional. Even when the strategy is solid, people still feel uncertain, skeptical, or overwhelmed, especially when the vision feels huge and the path feels unclear. In this revisited episode of The Visual Lounge (originally Episode 168), Matt sits down with Jake Gittleson, who leads McKinsey’s Learning Research and Innovation Lab. Jake shares why storytelling is one of the most effective tools L&D teams have for supporting change inside organisations. Instead of trying to persuade...
Jan 14, 2026•42 min•Ep. 273
As the new year starts, it’s the perfect time to reflect (and look forward) on how we create and communicate learning content. In this special episode of The Visual Lounge, Matt is joined by some TechSmith team members (or TechSmithies!) who share their favourite tips, shortcuts, and features in Snagit and Camtasia. These are real workflows used every day to support creators, teams, and organizations. From speeding up video editing with simple keyboard shortcuts, to collaborating without meeting...
Dec 31, 2025•11 min•Ep. 272
AI is reshaping learning and development faster than any of us expected. So how do we adapt? And what skills will matter most as tools, workflows and expectations keep changing in the workplace? In this episode, Matt speaks with Josh Cavalier, an AI and L&D expert with more than two decades of experience helping organizations modernize the way they design learning. Josh is also the author of Applying AI in Learning and Development, a practical guide for teams looking to build confidence, cap...
Dec 16, 2025•38 min•Ep. 271
Ever clicked play on a learning video that looks polished and professional, only to finish it and think, “Wait, what did I just learn?” In this episode, we’re revisiting a conversation with Patti Shank, an internationally recognized learning designer, researcher, and author who has spent years studying how people really take in information. Patti knows that effective learning isn’t about the video itself, it’s about how the viewer processes it. She unpacks the hidden reasons instructional videos...
Dec 10, 2025•5 min•Ep. 270
Imagine logging in next month to find your bill for the AI tool you use has doubled, or that you've run out of credits halfway through a critical project. The explosion of AI video tools has brought incredible capabilities to content creators, but alongside these innovations comes a new challenge: complex pricing models that make it difficult to budget, explain costs to your boss, or know if you're getting sustainable value from your tools. Joining us in this episode is Daniel Foster, Director o...
Dec 03, 2025•30 min•Ep. 269
What happens when everyone can create AI videos with just a text prompt? We’re entering the “watch bait era” where AI-generated short clips may start dominating social media feeds, making it harder to distinguish between AI content, misinformation, and reality. The technology is improving but still has real limitations. While AI avatars and lip-sync are getting better, we’re still dealing with 8-second clip restrictions, consistency issues (your character might lose their glasses between scenes)...
Nov 19, 2025•31 min•Ep. 268
We've all sat through presentations that feel like a performance, polished, professional, but somehow disconnected. The speaker hits every point perfectly, yet we walk away feeling nothing. So, what's missing? For this episode, we're revisiting a conversation with Leslie Chamberlain, Head of Customer Success at Gibbs Smith Education. Leslie knows that great presentations aren't about perfection, they're about connection. She shares why infusing your personality into presentations matters more th...
Nov 12, 2025•38 min•Ep. 267
What if your carefully crafted training course could become a content campaign that actually drives behavior change? Most L&D professionals create amazing content that gets consumed once and forgotten. But what if that single course could spawn dozens of touchpoints that reinforce learning over time? We're seeing a shift where smart L&D teams are borrowing from marketing playbooks, and it's working. The secret isn't creating more content; it's strategically repurposing what you already h...
Nov 05, 2025•33 min•Ep. 266
Have you ever watched a learning video and felt completely overwhelmed, even though the topic itself wasn't that complicated? That feeling of mental exhaustion is cognitive overload, and it's often the result of poor instructional design. Host Matt Pierce introduces Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), a framework that explains how our brains process information and, more importantly, how we can design learning experiences that work with our cognitive limitations rather than against them. Matt breaks do...
Oct 29, 2025•14 min•Ep. 265
Lo-fi and authentic works. Just look at the best short-form creators, they’ve figured out engagement. They know how to be authentic, intentional, and drop hooks that make people actually want to watch. No matter what kind of video’s you make, what can you learn from how short-form creators do it? In this episode of The Visual Lounge, host Matt Pierce explores how creators, educators, and businesses can borrow the best parts of short-form video to make any kind of video more effective. Matt unpac...
Oct 15, 2025•21 min•Ep. 264
We've all been there, clicking on an instructional video only to sit through minutes of backstory when all we wanted was the solution. In a world where attention spans are shrinking, viewers want one thing: get to the point. For this episode, we're revisiting a fantastic conversation with Doug Brunner, Customer Education Manager at TechSmith. Doug knows firsthand what makes instructional content work (and what makes viewers click away). He shares why leading with the 'how' beats starting with th...
Oct 08, 2025•50 min•Ep. 263
AI is transforming how we create content, but there’s also a growing problem: AI slop. It’s the flood of auto-generated videos, images, and text that takes up space without adding value; and we’re seeing it everywhere. So how do you use AI to enhance your work without the noise? Host Matt Pierce introduces TechSmith’s HUMAN Framework, a practical approach to keeping the human element at the center of AI-assisted content creation. We hear why your expertise and lived experience gives you access t...
Oct 01, 2025•18 min•Ep. 262
What if pro-level video creation didn't require a film crew, expensive equipment, or weeks of production time? Imagine literally describing what you want and having it appear on screen. We're living through a moment where AI video generation has gone from science fiction to "just about usable" reality. The technology is still rough around the edges (and yes, you might find yourself shouting at your computer.) But we're witnessing the evolution of something new. Joining us in this episode is Elli...
Sep 17, 2025•37 min•Ep. 261
Customer education is a must-have for a lot of businesses these days, especially software companies. But reading thick manuals and wordy passages of jargon is no one’s idea of a good time. So what’s the key to great customer education? For this episode, we look back at an older conversation we had with Greg Mead. Back then, he was Senior Instructional Designer at ClickUp, so we talked about ClickUp’s approach to instructional videos and the power of GIFs in learning design. Since the episode fir...
Sep 10, 2025•29 min•Ep. 260
What if we had to rebuild L&D from scratch? What could we do differently? There have been rumblings in the L&D world that roles are gradually going to be replaced by AI. While we don’t predict an L&D apocalypse coming our way, maybe it’s time to start thinking differently about the role of L&D in broader business terms. Joining this episode is Tracie Cantu, Chief Learning Strategist at her company, Your CLO, and a Training Advisory Board Member at TechSmith. Tracie comes on the s...
Sep 03, 2025•32 min•Ep. 259
The internet’s relationship with visuals and video has been a rocky ship over the past few years, constantly pivoting and evolving. And most creators are either playing catch up or are stuck playing by the same old rules with limited success. But luckily, we have Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and CMO of Orbit Media Studios, on the show to share his current strategies on how to make your visuals truly effective. Andy explains some of the top content mistakes he sees people make, how to use visuals ...
Aug 20, 2025•32 min•Ep. 258
Need to create an e-learning presentation but don’t have an eye for good visuals? This episode is for you! We revisit a great past episode with Diane Elkins, instructional design pro and owner of Artisan Learning. There’s so much solid advice in this episode on what works, what to avoid, and how visuals impact the learning experience (probably more than you think). Diane explains how bad visuals inhibit learning, why simpler is often better, and why “slides” are due a name change. Plus, she gets...
Aug 13, 2025•52 min•Ep. 257
It’s time to ditch the lectures. The secret to creating powerful learning content that people actually pay attention to and use in their daily lives is all about action. Dr. Karl Kapp introduces us to action-based learning in this episode – his go-to tactic for making learning more engaging, useful, and practical. Karl is a Professor of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University and the author of multiple books, including Action-First Learning and Learning in 3D. He explains what action-b...
Aug 06, 2025•32 min•Ep. 256
