“TIL” = Today I Learned

You know something others don’t. Maybe it’s a hack on scrambling eggs, a cool Instagram trick, or fixing a leak. Perhaps you just learned it from someone else’s video. Irrelevant.

Today, Day 24 of the 31 Day Author Platform Challenge, you are going to share that learning. Via video! (You need to get more comfortable in video. It’s the future!) And “TIL” is all the rage right now, so let’s hop on board.

You don’t have to be on camera in your TIL vid if you don’t want. I’m not in mine!

My recent key learning is a time saver that lets you type in a few letters and have your pc fill in the rest. It’s called a “macro.” It’s hugely helpful for long words and phrases you use over and over.

What this video shows is how to make the macro by going to your Mac, clicking the Apple logo very top left, then clicking System Settings, scrolling down to Keyboard towards bottom left column, then clicking Keyboard Shortcuts Text replacements and adding in what you want to replace… Sure, I could have just written it out, but isn’t it so much easier in video?

Now, with the macro, anytime I type letters “apc” in a row it automatically types ’31-Day Author Platform Challenge’ for me. Try it for yourself creating any shortcut you want–your home address, email address, whatever you find tedious. Impress your kids by telling them you “created a macro”!

If you don’t know how to record your computer screen (I didn’t until this video!) I can help you there too. This link from PC Mag has step-by-step instructions for both Mac and pc.

Create your own TIL with literally anything. Maybe it’s that you learned where your keys are hiding. Or how to calm yourself when you can’t find them. Or how to call a locksmith at midnight.

Refreshers on creating great video content are on Day 16 and Day 19. For today, I have specific advice:

• Write a script or outline first. Don’t wing it.
• Rehearse what you are going to say based on what you wrote. It’s OK to ad lib, as long as you know where yo are headed. Think it through in your head.
• Practice out loud at least three times until you feel you are ready. (Remember today’s “don’t wing it” rule?)
• Only THEN should you hit RECORD. But don’t record more than three takes. Save all of them.

Why stop at three takes? Acting advice says more than three takes on vids like these will frustrate you and make you tense, and therefore make you–and the video–come across stale. That’s why you practice BEFORE hitting record.

Have some fun with it!

Tag #31DayAuthorPlatformChallenge so we can see it!

[Aaaand..have you followed 10 new people yet?]