A video message is most useful when it shows something that would take longer to explain in writing. Give the recipient a clear purpose, a short recording, enough text to act without watching, and a link that works for the intended audience.
Plan one message and one requested action
Choose the smallest useful demonstration: a design change, a process walkthrough or a personal update. For a simple date or yes/no question, a written message may already do the job. Before recording, identify the audience, what they should notice and what response you need.
A fictional project update
“I changed the registration screen to put the eligibility question first. Here is the previous layout, followed by the new version. Please check whether the question is clear and send comments by Thursday at 15:00, London time.” The recording can show the change while the accompanying email repeats the decision and deadline.
Prepare a small, sanitised example. Close unrelated tabs, hide notifications and remove personal details from anything you will display. Obtain appropriate permission before including another person’s image, voice or confidential material.
Make a short test before the full take
- Choose your approved recording tool and check the microphone and camera selected in its settings.
- Record a brief sample at the speaking distance you will use. Play it back through ordinary headphones or speakers.
- Check whether speech is clear, the subject is well lit and any demonstrated text is readable on a small screen.
- Record the explanation with a short pause between points. Describe the important visual change aloud.
- Trim dead time and replay the exported file, including its beginning and end.
Use only enough resolution to show the subject clearly. A readable screen demonstration may need a different capture layout from a talking-head greeting. Increasing resolution cannot recover unreadable source text or distorted audio.
Supply captions and a useful text alternative
W3C’s accessible-media guidance covers captions, transcripts, descriptions of visual information and accessible players. Plan these alongside the recording. Review automatically generated captions for names, numbers, technical words and the requested action.
A transcript should convey the content, including important information visible only on screen. Add the summary, links and deadline directly to the accompanying message so the recipient can act without replaying the video. For example, replace “click here” with a description of the control and what it does.
Replay once with sound off to inspect the captions, then listen without looking at the screen to identify visual details that need explanation. These checks help find omissions; they do not substitute for testing with the audience’s accessibility needs.
Check what the recipient will experience
Test with an authorised recipient account or a colleague with the intended access level. Confirm the right recording opens, sound and captions work, required sign-in is understandable and the requested action appears in the message. An owner’s own logged-in session is not a reliable permissions test.
If access fails, check the recipient identity, link scope and organisation’s external-sharing policy before widening permissions. Supply the summary and an approved alternative while resolving the problem. For team-wide channel and guest arrangements, use the enterprise messaging planning guide.
Finally, preserve the agreed record and remove obsolete drafts according to your organisation’s policy. Update or withdraw a recording when its instructions change so an old link does not continue directing people to the wrong procedure.
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