Selection of parts from the podcast to make shorts is more of an art and less of a technical

skill. It can be practised and improved over time. The fundamentals of selecting a clip is very
simple, and if you follow a very simple structure you can become an expert in no time!

In order to learn how to become good at it, we must move backwards to understand the
process.

Start from the structure of the short video.

YouTube Shorts video serves total three purpose from the creators end-

1. Providing either value or entertainment

2. Get people to like/dislike, and share/ignore
3. Get people to subscribe

Know that the options 2 and 3, can be achieved rarely, but in general you can complete 2 of
any three purposes. In most of the cases 1 & 2 gets completed.

A short video consists of three parts

a. Hook
b. Body
c. Conclusion

HOOK

The most tricky yet the most important part is to understand the hook. It is the first 2 seconds
of a video where a person decides whether they will stick around or scroll up.
You must operate from the basic understanding of human psychology, emotions and base
desires. Your hook must fulfil one of the following-

a. Invoke curiosity
b. Provide shock value
c. Contrarian values
d. Distort emotions
e. Gratitude

Always put people first- Human beings in general want to feel good about themselves and
find subtle ways to become superior to others but will not actively accept it.

Example-
https://youtu.be/sjlwcVCMpME - This is currently on the top of the most viewed shorts.

Within the first 3 seconds, the terms like Bollywood, then the transition to the poster of the
movie, and the name of the movie has been said. It sets the context so smoothly. The
reason why people will choose to stick, is because the Indian Audience heavily enjoy gossip
around bollywood and actors & actresses. This is why journalism around the silver screen
gets the highest audience after politics.

BODY

Once you have gained the attention of your audience, it’s time to provide what they are here
for! Either value or entertainment. Arranging the clips in the body is an art, you must treat it
like that.

The body usually starts from the 5th second of the video to till the end (in most cases).

The body as a whole must contain a structured narrative. In the initial seconds of a body, the
context of the body must be set in motion in the most sensible manner or else you’ll lose the
audience.

The second half of the body must fulfil the purpose of the video and the appetite of the
audience.

The third half of the body can be left in a strong opinion or a loose end.

Conclusion

Conclusion should have two things-

1. Ending remarks
2. CTA

Ending remarks must contain the ending notes of the opinion or the climax of a cliffhanger
from the body.

CTA, is call-to-action, which means leaving something for the audience to give us in return. It
can have a creative approach or direct approach.

CTAs are the essential part of the video and must not be treated casually.

You must avoid using more than two strong CTAs for the audience. Asking the audience just
to subscribe, has more potential for conversion rather than adding like, share, subscribe
and comment. One single, strong CTA can do wonders over a long period of time. Plus, it
doesn’t make you look desperate.