Paul and Kristin Published in AdVents Magazine

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A clip of Paul and Kristin's article

We have grown a lot in our skills over the last couple of years. But there is one particular skill set that seems to be rising above the rest. We have become so passionate about perfecting our interviewing skills. As a result, we have been able to help our clients connect with their audiences with more depth than before. I (Mike), personally, had the recent privilege of watching Kristin take several university professors to a place where they felt safe enough to shed their tears during an interview. But getting people to that place takes a lot of intentionality. Now [...] Read more »

Trip to Nepal

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A few words to describe the contrasts of Nepal: Wonderful, chaotic, lively, inviting, beautiful and completely impoverished. I think my brain and emotions were on overdrive the whole two weeks Reliant spent capturing video for Tiny Hands International. Tiny Hands is an organization that works to fight poverty and social injustice. In our case, it means that we spent our time telling the stories of orphans who live in their children’s homes and girls who have been intercepted from human trafficking. We also saw kids living in the streets and begging for food everywhere. While we were at the border, [...] Read more »

Peeking into the Soul: 10 Interviewing Techniques for Engaging and Authentic Videos

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Mask

As President of Reliant Studios, part of my job is to extract the nuances of life that make for compelling stories for the dozens of videos that we produce every year. However, nuances rarely come easy. Most people won’t sit down and bear it all. You have to work for it. I’ve learned in my role here, and from my background as a professional therapist, that there are certain strategies that can transport people to a place where they feel safe enough to give you a peek into their soul. This peek is the difference between a lifeless “talking head” [...] Read more »

How to use Games in Meetings to Stimulate Creativity

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Game Pieces

Brainstorming sessions have proved to be an invaluable tool at Reliant. Time and time again, I’m surprised at our team’s ability to collectively develop an idea or concept that is far better than what any of us could come up with individually. But, every now and then, a brainstorming meeting can stall. The energy level is low and everyone is frozen by the pressure of developing creative ideas. There are many tactics leaders can use to avoid this potential stagnation, but one effective method we’ve found is surprisingly simple: start every brainstorming meeting with a game. Why play games? Creative [...] Read more »

The People Have Spoken, and They Like Videos

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The People Have Spoken, and They Like Videos.

In the fall of 1997, I was an English teacher at a local high school when a computer connected to this weird “Internet” thing was dropped on my desk. Not knowing what the term “early adopter” even meant at that time, I was quickly swept away with the possibilities of how this technology could engage students and enhance their learning. I was particularly drawn to this ability to access a seemingly bottomless treasure trove of useful videos. Even though most were terribly grainy and pixelated, they helped me communicate profound lessons and stories in a way that I could never [...] Read more »

Initial Thoughts on the Concept of Story

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Cave Painting

Photo Credit: Rob Gallop “The secret of eloquence lies in believing passionately in what you’re talking about.” – Jon Steel, The Perfect Pitch. Since the dawn of time, humans have felt compelled to be a social creature. We connect and live together. We break bread together. We clearly have a strong innate desire to be relational, to find ways to make deeper connections with our loved ones and those around us. Over time, the oral tradition of storytelling gave way to the printing press, which in turn gave way to the digital age. Indeed, many believe that the Creator of [...] Read more »