Three Reasons Not to Use Audio Narration in Your Online Training

Mostly good points, but there are relatively few instances in which narration would not be appropriate, over the long haul. And most importantly, you contradict yourself by suggesting that a professional voice actor is most appropriate, then suggesting going cheap by using a service such as Fiverr or V123. That is the equivalent of getting Sharon from Accounting to do your narration, there is absolutely no guarantee that the person you hire through one of these services is actually a professional, as there is no barrier to entry with these ‘pay to play’ or ‘freelancer’ sites. Anyone with a pulse and a credit card can ‘play voice actor’ on these sites. So while you might save money in the short haul, your output will sound like it, and will telegraph that you have a cheap product. Do you really want to take that chance? Just as you do not want unqualified service people in other areas of your life, develop a proper budget out of the gate for voiceover, it need not be expensive but it cannot be ‘cheap’ – seek out and hire an actual pro (through a voiceover agent or casting service, or ask the VO you approach to provide a list of references or past clients).

One site that contains only vetted professionals is VoiceOver.biz, which is curated by the voiceover industry association World-Voices Organization. Those listed on VoiceOver.biz do not pay to be included, as they have already been vetted as Professional members of the organization, and are offered the listing as a side benefit. It is not a commercial operation, the association receives no income from it and charges no fee or commission to either side to participate. These are people with proven track records, who do confirmed quality work for major clients in various areas of voiceover.

The combination of a well-written script and effective vocal delivery, particularly a tone that connects with learners and makes them feel they are spoken ‘to’ rather than ‘at’, is a winning combination for eLearning.

Good article, as always. I have mixed feelings about professional narration. On one hand, there is no doubt that a VO professional can produce better quality audio than a SME, even one with a kickass mic. On the other hand, I haven’t found a shred of evidence that professional narration produces better learning outcomes. In fact, I have a hunch that a respected SME–sputtering and popping into the mic–may elicit more credibility.

Last night my wife and I were watching a show about undersea explorers searching for an ancient species of fish. As footage of the divers appeared onscreen, an audio track of the explorers talking to each other over a walkie-talkie system played. It was immediately obvious, however, that this track was recorded by professional voice actors in a studio and then doctored to sound like it was coming through a walkie-talkie. The delivery was just too slick. The show immediately lost credibility in my mind. If the scientists–unpolished and unprofessional as they are–had provided a voiceover track, I would have been captivated.

So, my question to you (and anyone else reading this) is this: is there any reliable evidence that professional VO enhances elearning in any way beyond making it sound prettier?

Hi

Rather than going through the whole process and recording the audio near the end, it can be a great time saver to record a ‘ghost’ track – a very quick, low budget track such as someone reading into a smartphone – which can be used throughout the development process, tweaked and amended, then replaced with the real track when everyone’s happy.

I think we should be pushing for closed caption on all videos, here’s 5 good reasons why: http://whatyouneedtoknow.co.uk/5-good-reasons-use-captions-videos/

You can also create alternative captions in different languages so that the video is accessible to even more people – it’s really easy to do. We’ve just done our first one and I blogged about it here http://whatyouneedtoknow.co.uk/increasing-your-video-audience/

Andy

Another reason not to use audio: It makes maintenance a hassle. Three months later the client will need to make a small change because a product feature has been added or something needs additional clarification, and what could have been a 15 minute text update becomes a hassle, especially if you no longer have access to the same voice talent.

Ben, great point. I tell clients that narration can ratchet up the perceived quality of the learning (assuming you use good talent and follow good production practices), but I have evidence that those courses are any better than courses w/o narration.

In fact, I’ve made the point that non-narrated courses are better for learners with English as a second language. It is easier for them to follow and comprehend written English than spoken.

And Jeanne, I often use your argument when clients are on the fence. When I tell them that a one-word change will result in several hundred dollars in recording, editing, etc., that’s an eye opener.

Love the distinction between a “professional narration” and a “voice actor”. I developed a highly interactive, visual, engaging course and we had a ‘professional’ narrator give a really boring, flat delivery and I think it ruined the course. Though the client thought it was really “professional”. Yawn. I go for “authentic” anytime for my audiences. I do my own narration as a draft so I can sync the animation with it. Then I pull in a “better” narrator who can listen to my draft audio first, use about the same speed/cadence, record the audio – then I simply switch the better one for mine. I also use a headset and have had no problem with the quality.

Comment via twitter: If you do use audio, it’s a good idea to add a Mute button & include a transcript (as mentioned) or onscreen text

Hi,

I once worked with a VO artist who removed every slight sound of breath from her recordings. To me that ended up sounding oddly flat and mechanical. Pop and click removal makes sense, but do you think you really need to completely sanitise the recording, or should it be left more natural sounding?

I’ve also worked with a “professional” ie expensive, who worked at a radio station. Although he gave me 3 recordings of each track so I could pick the one I preferred, on different days he had wildly varying volumes which meant a lot of processing by me to try and make it sound consistent slide to slide. There’s a huge difference between someone who is used to a 30 second sound bite vs someone that can narrate a course.

I agree that sometimes audio is not appropriate. You must know the audience and how and where they work. Even within courses with audio, there are places where you should not use it. An in-between solution is that on certain slides, I have a voice over, but the learner can choose whether or not to listen to it (by hoovering the mouse over an icon, for example)

For me it is obvious that I need audio in the e-learning course I produce for user training (in this case SAP CRM).

But after doing several voice overs myself and working (often late nights to meet a deadline) with subject matter experts, I decided to go for text-to-speech and I am now using Virtual Speaker from the Acapela group. http://www.acapela-group.com/

Creating the audio is now a small step in the entire production process, while corrections and future course updates are done at minimum costs and effort, and are independent of the training developer or SME.

Leggi la traduzione (autorizzata) in italiano di questo post qui: http://www.mosaicoelearning.it/blog/?p=3537

I have a funny anecdote related to this topic. As designers and developers we assign so much importance to audio as a way to deliver our message. I had an interesting situation a couple year ago. I have an annual project updating 22 courses for Delta airlines in English and Spanish. We commonly revise the audio along with the screen content to comply with FAA regulation changes. Coincidentally, my next door neighbor works for Delta in cargo. SO, I asked him a question, “Is it a problem for you to hear multiple voice talent in the same course?” His response was classic. “No, not a problem. We all turn the audio off.” Every year Delta spends thousands of dollars to re-record audio for content changes and the learner just turns the audio OFF. I really couldn’t help but fall out laughing. Every time I take myself too seriously in what I’m designing or building, I just refer back to my next door neighbor’s comment and I’m grounded again ;-).

Excellent points about recording audio narration for e-learning. It’s not as easy as making a home recording. You want a professional quality product for your employees. Sometimes a little music in the background with a short video demonstration is all you need. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words!

You say:
You want a voice actor. Someone once told me that you don’t want a professional narrator, instead you want a voice actor. And recording your subject matter expert who has a good speaking voice is not the same as the person you’d qualify as a voice actor.

But you don’t back this up with any facts. I think an SME with a professional mic is far more valuable. Plus there is the factor of needing to teach the VO all the terms the SME knows.

Brian