This was our statement of inquiry. Many videos could have been improved by thinking about:
1) Who is my target audience?
2) Is my video tailored to them in its content and style?
3) How can I make my specific audience think?
4) How can I make my specific audience feel?

When creating a persuasive message, be sure that you have a clear call-to-action at the end. What do you want your audience to do as a result of the information you have presented? Is this action feasible, reasonable and in line with the earlier content?

Videos are visual. Were your visuals beautiful? Clear? Engaging? Eye-catching? Mindblowing?

Attention to detail helps build credibility. Frequent typos, a poorly judged transition, voiceovers being too quiet (or too loud), statistics presented without context, all of these undermine your message.

Use technology to enhance your message, not detract from it. For example, people's use of PowToon was rarely well-matched to their audience, nor a medium that helped them be more persuasive. Typically, the students who used some form of 'talking head' style videos were more successful as the style helped build a relationship with the audience.

Rationales needed more detailed justification of your decisions. Often, you asserted what you WANTED your video to do rather than what the effect a certain decision actually had. In addition, there was a great deal of generality and vagueness.

Always put statistics in context. Don't just say, '33% of people are obsese'. Who said it? When did they say it? Which people? You need to offer some form of authentic in-text citation and a timeframe for such details. For example, 'In 2014, the UN claimed 33% of people globally are obsese". N.B. That statistic is made up - it is illustrative of style, not content.

Limit text on any given shot / slide - less is always more. Anything more than about 10 - 20 words is probably too much. Often 0 words is preferable. You don't want your audience reading when they should be listening and paying attention to the bigger picture.

Use the materials that were there to help, especially the structure of the presentation. A few students did not use the structures recommended in the assessment sheets. The result? Poor quality videos with confusing or unclear messages.

GET CREATIVE. Those students that took risks, persevered, did something unusual, engaged and reflected on the task produced much more interesting, effective videos.