In our increasingly-digital world, there’s one thing we definitely can’t live without: e-learning content. Thanks to the pandemic and multiple lockdowns, we’ve had to adapt to a new way of living, which includes a new way of learning.
As Covid spread, the world had no choice but to become more and more distanced, making teaching, training, and learning more difficult than ever. Step up, e-learning. A fusion of technology and subject matter, this electronic form of learning helps people of all ages to stay informed and educated, no matter where they are in the world.
E-learning is not a new phenomenon – it has been around long before the pandemic started. But, thanks to Covid, we’re more reliant on it than ever, leading to a huge surge in demand for this kind of content.
Voice overs help to add an engaging element to your E-learning course; however, it has to be the right voice.
But how can you make the right selections that will strike the ideal tone?
Here are 6 tips to pitch the ideal E-learning voice overs for your E-learning course.
1.Identify your Audience
It is important to know who your target audience is.Is the E-learning course meant for kids, young adults, or foreign students, or is it part of the in-house company training for your new employees?It makes a difference whether you are addressing a newly hired employee who is getting to know the company or a seasoned engineer who is doing an online course for further qualification.Knowing your audience makes choosing the best E-learning voice over easier.
2.Choose the Appropriate Style
Do you want the voice over to sound conversational and laid back or formal and business-like?This largely depends on the topic, the online learners, and the way the script is written.Don’t force a conversational topic into a formal topic and vice versa.When it comes to E-learning voice over, professional, cultured, and formal delivery is what people expect to hear in the E-learning course.That is why it is important to listen to samples of different voice overs to determine which one best suits the style of your online training program.
3.Avoid Automated Voices
We are all quite familiar with virtual assistants like Cortana, Alexa, or Siri.They can offer helpful information and answer questions.However, these voices sound distinctly non-human.Using an automated voice bot for your E-learning course may be cheaper than hiring a professional, but the last thing you want is your course instructor sounding like a robot.This will definitely distract your online learners.Although Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple vocals sound better than the average GPS, they are still not perfect.You should aim to give your online learners the same level of connection they would get in a traditional learning environment.There are certain expressions and sound nuances machines can never match.Raise your budget so you can afford a human voice actor.The vocal subtleties and inflexions of a human voice simply have no substitute.
4.Pick a Professional Voice Over
You may be tempted to have your E-learning course voiced by your own staff.You simply won’t get the right vocal stress if you go for this option.E-learning voice over actors are trained in a wide range of delivery, from playful to serious.They know how to become an audiobook narrator. These professionals can also interpret the script in a way amateurs may not manage.They can read the script and add their own creative flair.They can also help to bring more life to the role in a way the instructor hadn’t even considered.
This is exactly what they are paid to do.
5.Follow Your E-learning Course Content
While you are sure you want a professional E-learning voice over, you still want to go for the right one.This choice largely depends on the E-learning course subject matter.A compliance training course probably requires an authoritative voice.You have to also consider the societal norms of your audience and their cultural backgrounds.For instance, a gentle female voice may be the best bet of your course is teaching soft skills such as emotional intelligence.A deep male voice may be your best option if your learners are more likely to heed a stern tone.
6.Get Someone that Follows Directions
As professional as an E-learning voice over talent may be, they still need guidance.A good voice over actor can take directions on what to say, how to say it, and how long to pause.Amateurs may be unable to execute these instructions.While this isn’t crucial, finding someone who is familiar with the E-learning course material can be helpful.If the E-learning voice over actor has worked in your field, they will deliver the content in a more natural way.They understand the training material, so they will speak with more articulation and confidence.They won’t sound like they are reading from a script.
Why You Should Hire a Professional E-learning Voice Over Talent
A successful E-learning course requires a lot of moving parts to synchronize, to hold and grab a learner’s attention.Bad writing can sink your effort just as the voice you use can make or break your project.Why work hard on the layout and script, only to have your presentation sound amateurish?Indeed, it is also helpful to think about the audience too.Do you want your listeners to suffer through multiple hours of poor performance delivered in poor quality audio?
Here are the benefits of hiring a professional E-learning voice over company.
- Experience – A professional voice over company offers you many years of experience with a wide range of copy.
- Industry Knowledge – They also understand the components of a voice over project and what is expected from them. This includes being sensitive to the needs of all the players.
- Professional Recording Studio – An E-learning voice over company can deliver high-quality audio in their professional studio.
- Trained Voice Actor – They understand how to deliver a great performance in front of a microphone and can interpret your script for its intended medium and audience.
- Trained Engineer (Editor) – Voice over companies’ engineers professionally edit the audio recording, this involves removing breaths and unwanted noises, etc.
- Commitment – A professional E-learning voice over company stays abreast of industry trends, from the latest technologies for recording to varying vocal styles performances.
- Valuing Your Brand – The most important thing you need to consider is the impact a professional production will have on your brand identity. Investing in your business will benefit your company and it can send a signal to your employees and other consumers of the E-learning course that you value quality.
Choose a Native for Translation
You may want to use translation software for your regional E-learning course to save costs.However, this can be as bad as changing the voice on a GPS.The words may be right but the delivery is often clipped and asynchronous, and this can make the instructions more difficult to understand.It is important to invest in a native speaker if your E-learning course will be consumed in different languages.An individual who speaks at native levels will add more life to the role and they will get the tone and vocabulary right.
This is crucial because inflexions don’t always translate across vernaculars.
Also, some languages are driven by intonation while others are phonetics.
In such tongues, altering inflection changes or moving your stress changes the meaning of the word.
Thank you for your reading.Good Luck!