01
How do you tell which one the clip is about?
Ask whether the words make sense without the picture. If the speaker is explaining a concept, the face is fine and the slide is decoration. If they are pointing at something, describing a shape, or reading numbers off a chart, the slide is the content and a face fills the frame with the wrong thing.
02
Telling which one the clip is about
Pointing language is the clearest signal there is. The moment someone says this or here, the picture has become the content.
| What the speaker says | Carrying the meaning | Frame should show |
|---|---|---|
| Explaining a concept | The words | The face is fine |
| Look at this line here | The picture | The slide |
| Describing a shape or trend | The picture | The slide |
| Reading numbers aloud | Both | Split screen, or the slide |
| Telling a story about the data | The words | The face is fine |
03
Preparing slides that clip well
Slides built with one idea, large text and strong contrast survive the move to a phone. Dense slides with many bullet points or small charts do not. If you know a talk will be clipped, design a few key slides with that in mind.
One number or one short statement per slide works best.
04
Choosing the shape
When the slide is the content, a wider shape such as 4:5 or square keeps more of it readable. A narrow vertical crop may cut the slide in half.
Test the shape with the densest slide you plan to use.
05
Keeping the speaker present
Even when the slide leads, a small view of the speaker can add warmth. Keep it small and clear of the slide content.
If space is tight, the voice alone can carry the connection.
06
Adding words on screen
Place subtitles where they do not cover the slide, often in a band above or below it.
Avoid repeating slide text word for word in subtitles.
07
Show the thing being explained
- Listen for pointing language. Phrases like this line here mean the picture is carrying the meaning.
- Pick a shape that keeps the slide. 4:5 and 1:1 hold far more of a wide slide than 9:16 does.
- Consider split screen for both. On paid plans it keeps the explanation and the thing being explained together.
Put a talk with slides through and see which shape reads.
Questions people ask
- Can the frame switch between them?
- The frame follows whoever is speaking rather than switching to a slide on cue, so choosing the right shape for the whole clip is the practical route.
- Does this apply to a single number on screen?
- A single large figure survives any shape, so the question only bites once the slide carries structure the viewer has to read across.
- How much detail is too much?
- Then it will not read on a phone. Clips work with slides that carry one idea, not slides that carry a paragraph.
- Should the presenter be visible at all?
- A face helps attention. Split screen is the way to keep it without giving up the slide.
- Does this apply to whiteboards too?
- The same reasoning applies to anything the speaker is pointing at while talking.
- Can the frame switch to the slide on cue?
- It follows whoever is speaking rather than switching on a phrase, so choosing the right shape for the whole clip is the practical route.
- Does this apply to whiteboards?
- Anything the speaker gestures at is subject to the same test, whiteboards and physical objects included.