Elearning videos are a digital force of education, but they must be done correctly. Imagine that you’ve just logged into your brand marketing course, but the elearning voice over begins, and it has little to no intonation or enthusiasm. The odds of making it past the first five minutes start to dwindle, and after several painful minutes tick by, the temptation to hit close wins!
With an average completion rate of only 15%, how do you turn the tide on the elearning industry – whether you’re creating onboarding or learning materials? What is that Je ne sais quoi or X factor that makes your elearning captivating and memorable?
The answer is elearning voice overs. The best elearning courses have engaging voice overs! They make course material seem interesting regardless of how informative or educational the subject is. So in this post, we’ll take you through the fundamentals of the elearning industry with tips and insights on choosing the best voice overs for learning.
What is elearning
Elearning is digital learning with online course material such as live or pre-recorded lectures, videos, assignments, and even exams that are accessible through websites and apps via computers and electronic devices. Sometimes, it could be a mix of in-person and online classroom education, including performance support content like quizzes and group assignments.
But elearning isn’t restricted to educational institutes teaching students how to program or write code. Many corporate businesses have made good use of elearning for onboarding, training, mentoring, and upskilling. What about using it as a marketing tool? Suppose you’re developing introductory courses for product usage. In that case, elearning can deliver it to peoples’ homes through gamification and explainer videos – increasing your brand awareness—another reason why the elearning industry is now a multi-billion dollar industry.
The elearning industry
The elearning industry started with recorded sessions of a physical lesson taught in a classroom. Then, it moved to live sessions, and in 1996, Jones International University became the first accredited and fully web-based university for distance learning. Now it serves a global audience with self-paced learning courses compiled by elearning companies. Making it easy for learners to attend at their own time and pace.
Research shows that students retain 25-60% more material when learning online than only 8-10% in a classroom. E-Learning also increases a learner’s retention rate to 82%. Nevertheless, you might have the best material; your script might be engaging — even compelling. But if the voice delivering the content doesn’t grab and hold attention, learners will quickly log out and possibly never return.
Elearning voice overs
Elearning voice overs are vital to helping learners settle into a rhythm. It motivates them to complete and even endorse the video or program to friends, family, colleagues, and social media followers. Think of Bill Pullman’s stirring speech in Independence Day and Jennifer Laurence’s inspirational monologues in The Hunger Games. They appealed to human emotions. And that heartfelt human element is what builds an emotional connection between a listener and a message. But where can you find the elearning voice overs for your projects?
One of the fastest ways is to search for elearning voice overs or post a project via a voice casting website like Voice123. This gives you access to samples and auditions from the best vocal pros out there. But with so many options and vocal styles, how can you choose the best voice over for your elearning projects?
How to choose a voice for your elearning projects
A successful elearning voice over combines the right pacing, inflection, and personality to create a voice over that’s memorable and captivating.
Here’s what to look for in an elearning voice over:
1. Pacing
Proper pacing builds a natural rhythm and creates a seamless learning experience. So, pausing frequently or reading the script too slowly will detract from the learning experience. So choose an eLearning voice over artist that understands how to pace with skill. And it’s about more than just speaking speed. It’s about discernment, clarity, and knowing when to reach your listeners.
2. Inflection
Your eLearning voice over artist must find a balance between modulating their intonation and pitch without creating unnecessary drama. Drama distracts learners. Elearning aims to help the viewer absorb information rather than get entertained. This doesn’t mean the eLearning voice over artist should avoid humor or speak in a monotone. Instead, the trick is to weave in humor to enhance the program, not detract from it.
3. A bit of personality
Of course, if you want to create an entirely different kind of experience, there’s nothing wrong with adding an eLearning voice over with a bit of character, with one condition. Ensure the narration is consistent with the instructor persona the voice actor creates! The voice must match the on-screen tutorial.
Key Points:
Before getting online auditions or searching for elearning voice actors, you’ll also find it useful to create a specific brief to guide voice actors. For example, a detailed breakdown of the vocal style, such as:
“The tone should be warm, not over-friendly, and confident when reading the scripts. As there are many medical terms, familiarity with medical terminology will be useful.”
Then create a checklist of what you’re looking for as you listen to auditions or samples:
- Warm
- Confident
- Pace suits x words per x minutes
This can make the selection process faster as you quickly narrow down the perfect voice.
Final thoughts on elearning voice overs
Elearning is a staple for educational institutions, but it can also be used to market your brand, create onboarding/upskilling programs for your business, teach customers about using your products/services, and even in-house course material on various topics. But don’t forget the power of elearning voice overs. A conversational voice makes your content engaging, helps learners retain more information, and the right voice of your brand can build a sterling reputation for your elearning business.
Be sure also to have a detailed brief for voice actors, but if you have the scope to allow the pros to interpret the material, they can add their creative flair to skyrocket the result to sure success. Now, all that’s left to do is find the best voice for your elearning project. Check out some of our vocal pros’ elearning samples on Voice123.
And on that note, we wish you all the best on your elearning journey.
