Always Keep Ideal eLearning Qualities in Mind
My eLearning clients tell me that their ideal eLearning voiceover is one that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. When I record for them, I always keep these qualities in mind:
- Be professional, clear, and neutral: The voiceover should be easy to understand, clear, and articulate. Furthermore, it should be free of any accent or dialect that may be difficult for learners to understand. Especially since many learners online speak English as their second or third language. Fortunately, that comes very naturally for my own neutrally accented voice.
- Consistent pacing and tone: The ideal eLearning voiceover should maintain a consistent pace and tone throughout the e-learning material, which will help learners stay focused and engaged.
That said, too much consistency and evenness will sound boring, like an AI voice. Even the best AI voice companies have very stilted boring voices. They wouldn’t win an audition! And, I can hear the glitches and artifacts in the audio. I strive to bring some personality and feeling into the presentation, as any good teacher would. Some phrases need to be sped up slightly, while adhering to the clear style of voice.
Professional with Personality
- Warm and engaging: Connected to the previous point, the ideal eLearning voiceover should have a friendly and approachable tone, which will help learners feel more comfortable and motivated to learn.
- Versatile: The voice over should be able to adapt to several types of e-learning content, such as instructional videos, interactive quizzes, and more. In one recent tutorial the author presented a game show scenario like “Let’s Make a Deal” in the middle of the normal module. I slipped in and out of the game show host character as needed.
Professional eLearning Audio Quality to match
- Recordings are clean and of excellent quality: The voiceover should be recorded in a professional environment with high-quality equipment, to ensure that the audio is clear and easy to understand. I use high quality microphones and an SSL 2 audio interface. My studio is acoustically treated with panels and bass traps from GIK Acoustics. I also use a little bit of processing with both High and Low Pass Filters so that the finished audio will sound better when it is compressed into your final product: the ideal eLearning voiceover! You do not need audio below 80 Hz or above 10 kHz for eLearning. It only causes it to sound messier in the end when it is in a lower resolution.