LET'S SHAPE | LET'S CHANGE | LET'S REDEFINE THE INDUSTRY.

Thank you for being a central part of changing the fire protection industry for the better.
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INSTRUCTOR AREA

Sorry, this page is for instructors only. Please contact Joe if you should have access to this area.

INSTRUCTOR AREA

SETUP A
WELCOME
SETUP B
EQUIPMENT
STEP #1A ← ← ←
WRITE SCRIPT
STEP #1B
AI REVIEW (OPTIONAL)
STEP #3 ← ← ←
RECORD VOICEOVER

[FOR INSTRUCTORS]

SETUP

Before we get started, you'll need:

A. SOFTWARE / HARDWARE
    • You'll need:
    • Microsoft Word.
    • A microphone, which I will ship to you.
    • Screen recording program that can capture your screen and audio. Microsoft has a free recorder. I personally prefer SnagIt Capture.



    B. QUICK BIO
      • Here is a sample bio you can copy an make your own.
      • Please include a LinkedIn link to your profile if you would like that to be shown on our Instructor's page.
      • Upload your bio here: My Bio Upload



      C. NEW HEADSHOT
        • Your headshot for MeyerFire University needs to be recent. 
        • That's OK - because this is your opportunity to get that nice professional headshot that you haven't done in ten years... yes it's been that long : )
        • The only rule for our headshot is that it needs to have a solid color light or white background.
        • If you don't have a professional headshot image within the last two years, then we will pay you to go get one at JCPenny Photos (yes they're still around). Generally they have Groupons for digital image(s) and a photo shoot for $40 or less: JCPenny Photos with Lifetouch



        D. PAYMENT INFO (TO GET PAID)

        • If you're US-based: Email Joe this W-9 Form completed, with a mailing address, and your shirt size.
        • If you're outside the US: Email Joe your mailing address, the email address you use for PayPal, and your shirt size.

        LINKS & ACTION ITEMS:

        [FOR INSTRUCTORS]

        WRITE OUT THE SCRIPT

        • Let's take the outline and turn it into a loose script.

        PARTS OF THE SCRIPT

        • Introduction (What did we cover last time? What will we talk about today?)
        • Body Blocks (Main body of the script)
        • Summary (Recap the most-important takaways)
        • Outtro (I'm NAME, this is MeyerFire)

        DOs

        • Add stories, examples, and details that are important or relevant to you.

        • Share your personality.

        • Make it fun.

        • Write and speak as if you're talking to a close friend.

        • Make it accessible to new audiences.

        • When you use big or technical terms, slow down and define what those mean, and reiterate what they mean in plain-speak.

        • Use active voice, for example, "I want to eat ice cream now."


        • Use humor as you see fit.

        • Teach in a way where you're actually helping the person you're talking to—for instance, what would you tell the person in the cube next to you?

        • Have fun.

        • Know that what you work on will be reviewed and improved.



        • Just focus on the script content at this stage.


        • Turn the Outline into as rough or as detailed of a Script as you'd like. We'd prefer at this stage that it's actually scripted, not bullet points. 

        DON'Ts

        • Don't talk in "hypotheticals" or "theories."


        • Don't talk in "hypotheticals" or "theories."

        • Don't be a monotone engineer-type that does webinars.

        • Don't talk like fire protection sucks.

        • Don't write and speak as if you hate the person watching.

        • Don't use big words to sound smart. Don't do a technical-term "drive-by shooting." Stop and explain terms that might not be known.

        • Don't use passive voice, like "the ice cream may want to be eaten by me now."

        • Don't use profanity or belittle anyone.

        • Don't talk at a "30,000 ft" level where you don't actually say anything that could help someone.


        • Don't be boring.

        • Don't worry about perfection or the quality of what you're producing; our team (Joe included) will give feedback and make sure that the content will end up at a very high quality.

        • Don't worry about speaking and recording audio... we haven't even gotten there yet!

        • Don't worry about trying to hit perfection. It won't be, that's 100% OK.

        [FOR THE TECHNICAL EDITOR & JOE]

        AI REVIEW

        • In this step we're going to run our script through a specific ChatGPT prompt.
        • Here, we are looking for ways to improve our storytelling and improve the overall listener's experience.
        • Use ChatGPT 4.0 or higher.


        1. Triple-click to Copy the following prompt:
        [Guideline: The following is a script for a training session for fire protection professionals. Please review these instructions, and simply respond to me with "OK, got it. Please paste in the script and I'll provide the review." The goal for this script is to be informative and entertaining. It should be conversational, relatable, yet professional. It should use natural language and phrasing that a real person would use. It should be concise. Words should generally be at a high school speaking level. It should not inflate the importance of a topic, or be dramatic. It should not include generalities, be euphemistic, be vague, or be impressionistic. If there is reference to a code requirement, the specific code and section number should be included. It should not include dramatic adjectives. Do not use dramatic adjectives like “we took a deep dive”, instead, just say “we took a dive”. Instead of saying “this critical process”, just say “process”. Use tame adjectives, not dramatic or embellished ones. List the steps involved, or the process, or technical explanation, without elaborating on their importance. Avoid prose that simply elaborates on the importance of something. Exclude unnecessary information. You are going to provide feedback about this script. First, calculate how long it would take to read this entire script if it was spoken at 190 words per minute. Provide that estimated time first in your feedback. Now, write the following segment back to me: "We've found that storytelling and sharing examples is perhaps the best way to make new information "stick" for new learners. We want to make this your own, and make it better for the listener as well. Below is a list of possible ways to improve this segment. Read through the tips and then incorporate updates that you feel is best for the listener. "Now, you are now going to provide specific critiques for the script based upon our goals we highlighted earlier. Below is a list of tasks to complete. For each task, write a title for that task, and then provide five bullet-point ideas. Each bullet point idea should be no longer than two sentences. Number each of these as 1A, 1B, etc, all the way through 4E. Here is the task list: 1. Engagement Improvement (five ways this segment can be more engaging for the user by improving the script. Visuals and other ideas will be entirely separate from this script) 2. Story Ideas (if the segment does not include any stories, then recommend adding a personal story to the script, and emphasize that we best absorb information when it is part of a story. Then, provide five stories or analogies that this segment could incorporate to do a better job of crafting a story, or sharing analogies for easier understanding) 3. Ideas for Better Understanding (provide five ways or ideas that this content could be improved for technical accuracy) 4. Counter Arguments (five arguments that someone could have against the content in the segment)5. Code References (if the script makes any reference to a code or standard requirement, provide feedback to be specific on exactly the section where that code or standard requirement appears). Please review these instructions, and simply respond to me with "OK, got it. Please paste in the script and I'll provide the review." After which, when I paste the in script, you execute all of these review critiques and suggestions just as I've laid out. Thank you.

        2. Paste the copied text into a new ChatGPT prompt, and press enter to submit.

        3. ChatGPT will acknowledge the prompt, and then ask you for your script.

        4. Copy and Paste your script into ChatGPT.

        5. Review the feedback and ideas.

        6. Tweak or update your script as-you-see-fit best based on the tips provided by the machines.

        The goal here is to save time overall in peer review. Many of these tips and ideas are things we've used to improve our storytelling and be more engaging and more helpful for the user.

        7. Save the script locally.

        Whenever you save the file, save it as #####.## - Script - v1 where the ##### is your series number followed by the module. For example, the second module in series FX001 would be FX001.02 - Script - v1.

        When we adapt and update and edit scripts in the future, we'll bump the version number up one number (such as changing this to FX001.02 - Script - v2. Please stick to this format so that our auto-update processes work correctly.

        8. Upload the finalized script(s) using the top-right link for peer review.

        Thank you!

        LINKS & ACTION ITEMS:

        [FOR INSTRUCTORS]

        SCRIPT RECORDING

        • Script recording happens after your scripts have been reviewed and approved.
        • This is the most intimidating part for some people, but I'll start off by saying - this can be really really fun! And it doesn't have to be hard.
        • When using a Blue Yeti to record:
        • (1) make sure that you're using the upside-down-heart mode on the back of the microphone, not the circle.
        • (2) record about 2-inches from the microphone to your mouth.
        • (3) record into the front face of the microphone.

        LINKS & ACTION ITEMS:

        DOs

        • perhaps the #1 rule - SMILE - when you're speaking. It'll show through on the audio.

        • use a "speaking" voice, not a "reading" voice. Imagine that you're explaining all of this to your very close friend. Talk like that! 

        • record one long audio segment for each module. If you mispronounce a word, trip-up, or struggle with a sentence, KEEP GOING! When this happens, all you have to do is say "I'm going to re-do that sentence", and then start the last sentence over again and then KEEP GOING.

          Do not do multiple takes for the entire segment. Our video team is EXCELLENT and we have 2 editors and 2 reviewers (including Joe) who will make sure it sounds seamless on the other end. Seriously, it'll sound professional. 

        • if your audio is 12-minutes long for 3-minutes of content because of repeating sentences, that's 100% OK. Send it in.


        • have fun and be you.

        DONTs

        • don't scowl when you read (ya gotta smile!! : ) )


        • don't use a "reading" voice without any passion. The person you're explaining it to actually likes you! You're their friend! And if not, they'll be your friend soon!

        • do not - do not - do not re-record your whole segment. You absolutely, 100%, do not need a whole perfect take. If you trip up, just start that sentence over and then KEEP GOING. Please please please, I beg you.

          This will end up saving you way more time, and the end result will still be great.




        • do not re-record whole segments because you fear you did too many takes. Your time is valuable, I promise we will do just fine on the back-end and make it come out great.

        • don't try to be someone else. you have a role to play in this world and it's the one you define. be you; the world is better for it.

        [FOR ALL]