Having the chance to study anytime, anywhere is beneficial for the lifelong learning requirements of a digital society. Technology provides an array of learning opportunities using a mixture of audio-visual cues to improve memory and retention. In this way, learning becomes a multisense content processing.
Videos play an important role in online teaching since they explain and reinforce written content. Therefore, they need to be designed well. Whether you have an English course aimed at native speakers or a global audience, you have to consider the voice of those videos.
You may want to record yourself, find a voice-over artist to read your scripts, or localize your video content for other markets. Either way, the success of your course will be determined by clear, memorable, and well-crafted content doubled by a voice that brings it to life.
Read more: Which parts of your online course can you outsource?
The structure of a good e-learning voice-over
Whether done by yourself or by professionals, voice-overs will complete your visual material. As long as you maintain a natural and conversational language, your video will complement your written content and aid learners to absorb it better.
To get the expected outcome, you need to consider the following :
- Write a clear script — Put pen to paper before anything else; consider your video’s images and overall content while writing your script.
- Maintain conversational language — Don't use complex terminology; your videos must be clear and explanatory, not complicated, and hard to grasp.
- Keep it short — Take into account that 100 words will give you approximately a one-minute recording. This is important since you should keep your videos short.
- Do a test round — Whether you create the voice-over or turn to a company specializing in this field, you should do a test round to check how well your videos blend and synchronize with the voice-over.
- Silence is golden — Don't be afraid to have some moments of silence in the final product. This will give learners a chance to keep up with the information you provide and give it a natural flow.
- Have good sound quality — Ensure the sound quality of the voice-overs is the best; any video that has poor sound quality will not serve its purpose.
- Avoid background noise — Noise is inevitable when recording. It's not enough to eliminate the bigger noise generators; you also have to edit any white noise, too.
- Mind the post-editing process — Having the complete recording is only the beginning; you might need to edit the speech, add some music or sound effects, adjust the volume level, and so on.
Human or computer-generated voice-overs
The voice you choose is very important for your course. It has to match your content and your audience. The perfect voice is the one that gives your product credibility and communicates your message efficiently.
While voice-overs can involve high costs, a great voice-over will be able to return your investment manifold.
You have a lot of alternatives when it comes to creating voice-overs for your video content.
If you want to outsource this job, you have two possibilities: computer-generated or human artists’ voice-overs. While computer-generated voice-overs are impersonal and can be hard to follow, human artists provide a lot of attributes to your content.
If you turn to an artist for this job, find out what your learners would resonate with better: a female or male voice. A good artist has the perfect cadence for your content and has impeccable pronunciation.
Whether you need a voice-over for your English course or you localize your content to reach a global audience, make sure you hire native speakers. They will adapt the pace and focus on the key elements of your text to provide clarity, motivation, and energy to your learners.
So, hire a skilled human voice actor that can offer the following :
- Clarity
- Natural flow
- Clear pronunciation
- Adequate intonation
- Speed adjustment
- On the point emphasis
Read more: 4 Things to consider when you need a voiceover artist for your online course
The benefits of choosing a professional company
Voice-over in e-learning has become a business in itself. There are a lot of independent artists out there, but a lot of companies as well.
While artists can provide the perfect voice, companies offer the whole package from recruitment to editing the final product.
Here are the top benefits of hiring a professional company for your voice-overs:
- Experience and industry knowledge
- A professional recording studio
- Trained voice actors
- Professional editing services
- Commitment to meeting deadlines
- Native speakers
- Value for your brand
A professional voice-over company perfectly knows how the industry works. They know how to choose the perfect voice artist to suit your text and offer native voices for your localized content.
You deal with professionals who are committed to your brand, adding value to your course, and who respect the deadlines you set. What's more, the sound quality and editing solutions offered by such companies make your investment cost-effective.
All in all
Voice-overs have the power to transform your online course. They make learning feel more personal and manage to engage learners better than only written text can. Moreover, they maximize your course content and add value to your product.
When you include voice-overs in your online course content, you reach different markets worldwide, attract more customers and increase your profit.
Voice-overs are an investment worth making that benefits you and your learners and give online learning a more personal touch.
