Blog: Don't Overlook the Audio

With the rapid shift in training delivery that we’ve experienced over the last couple of years, some groups are still trying to decide what to do about audio. Some have dropped it completely. Some have stuck with recorded hour-long webinars where the learner gets talked at. And some have gracefully integrated good audio into their learning efforts.

The Benefits of Audio

One of the most significant factors in learning is emotion. With just words on the screen, it’s very difficult to communicate emotion and enthusiasm to the learner.

By integrating audio, you can have some degree of influence over the learner’s state of mind. Providing calm introductory music can help set the stage for the learner and the information to be presented. It announces that the focus now needs to be on the screen and makes the viewer aware that things are beginning.

If you are doing onboarding training, putting a voice to the content can help the employee get a better feel for company culture and feel like they’re joining a group of human beings – especially if they are in a work-from-home situation. With The Great Resignation in full swing (Cook, 2021), there are a lot of people off-boarding and on-boarding these days. And as we can’t seem to get pandemic behind us, a return to the office is not going to happen soon. This means that there is going to continue to be a significant need for online onboarding and employee training.

The use of audio can also increase the amount of white space you have in your courses, by decreasing the number of words needed on the screen as well as the integration of graphics and narration to explain the information being presented.

Preparing For Good Audio

There are three main keys to good audio: equipment, words, and word delivery.

There’s a huge range of different kinds of equipment you can use to record audio for eLearning. You can achieve good audio without investing thousands in audio equipment. Typically microphones built into your computer are not going to be of sufficient quality to get you what you want; it’s been noted that even using your smartphone earbuds can provide a better experience (TechSmith, 2020). If you will be doing even just one voice-over a month, it’s worth investing in a decent set of headphones and external microphone – there are a lot of options, so do your research and ask around, but you should be able to get set up for $200-300.

If you have a course that contains a lot of graphics, audio is a great way to communicate with the learner about those graphics. Instead of taking up a lot of white space and cognitive load, some well-crafted narration can explain the impact to the learner.

You want to be careful when choosing the words you use. You don’t want to talk above or below the learner. The first step here is to draft a script. The script is a critical piece of the audio puzzle – it guides the narration and provides content for captions. Without a script lessons become unorganized, the main point of a section can get lost, and the narration can just wander all over the map. The script should not be created in isolation – it should be reviewed and edited by all involved before being put in place.

When putting your script together, also include information about what will be displayed on-screen while the words are being spoken. This helps flesh out your storyboards, ensure that instructions and content is complete, aligns graphics to content, and identifies any gaps in information.

Some recommendations for creating a quality script include using an active voice in your narration. A passive voice can disconnect the voice from the content and decrease understanding and retention. Use “you” – second person language can help to engage the learner in the information because they will be reminded that they will have to perform these actions or abide by these rules, etc.


The use of short sentences make it both easier to record and easier to listen to. Especially if dealing with a complex topic, your language should be as simple as possible (without being insulative, of course). Limit the use of jargon in your narration – if it is something specific to this topic, make sure it is well explained before continuing to use the language throughout the text. Try to tell a story with your words; if you can paint a picture of the who/what/when/where/why, that will make it easier for the learner to implement the learning outside of the course.

Not only are the words you use important, but how they are said can be even more important. Recording voice-overs is not for everyone – you must want to do it, get over how you think your voice sounds, and practice-practice-practice!

You want to create a quiet recording environment – some people prefer to do them in the quiet of the night. Recording voice-overs was the start of my work-from-home career more than 10 years ago…you just cannot record narration in an office cube setting. It’s important to have a quiet, comfortable place to record from. If your office chair isn’t particularly comfortable when doing an uncomfortable task, find somewhere that you are comfortable and can have your equipment at-hand. I also recommend having a glass of water available – it’s surprising how dry your mouth can suddenly become mid-recording! I also do stretches before recording – sometimes just sitting in my chair, sometimes full-body stretches on the floor, different days and topics need different preparation.

You will want to practice (out loud!) multiple times before recording – I find at least three times through works out the odd languaging that reads well but doesn’t necessarily translate to spoken words, to find the places where you want to pause a bit more, or whatever needs ironing out. Use a conversational tone. Don’t just read the words, use intonation, and deliver the words with emotion, regardless of the topic.

If you are still having concerns about your narration skills, watch documentaries. I have found that by watching programs that are designed to present complex information in an understandable way, these voice-over artists have refined their skills of pacing, emotion, connecting with the audience, and creating a credible recording.

Now that you’ve got a script, practiced it, set up a comfortable area to record, and stretched, it’s time to relax, smile, and begin recording. Be sure to do a couple of test recordings to start, to make sure that volume levels are good, the recording is clear and there is minimal-to-no background noise.

The beauty about recording your audio separate from other pieces of the course allows you to edit the audio before you bring it in to whatever you’re using to produce the course. This takes the pressure off an “all in one take” mentality that can consume a beginner. I started my eLearning career trying to simultaneously record a software demo and accurate narration. Honestly, the frustration level was crazy. I was not given much support for my decision to record separately and then line up (I was using Camtasia in this case) in the timeline. Because I was working from home no one could “control” my processes; after I generated a few successful videos, I told my managers about my process, and I got support for continuing in this fashion because, ultimately, I saved significant time in creating my software demo videos.


If you choose to include music into your eLearning, be sure that it’s supplemental to the content, royalty free, credited, and appropriate for the topic/audience. Music should be an enhancement, not a distraction, and needs to be a fluid part of the final product.

Whenever you are integrating audio into your courses, be sure to spend time working with the audio so that it is all delivered at about the same volume level.

Before Adding Audio

As with all aspects of eLearning, there are things to keep in mind when incorporating audio into your materials.

  1. Audience – the more you know about them the more you can tailor your deliverables.

  2. Learning environment – where will the course be taken, will learners have access to speakers/headphones, what kinds of distractions might there be.

  3. Knowledge goals – make sure that there is no conflict between providing audio and what the ultimate goals of the training are.

  4. Equipment – what do you need to record or produce quality audio.

  5. Preparation – is the content aligned, organized and complete.

I hope this has given you the confidence you need to take on voice-overs and adding audio to your eLearning courses. Audio can provide an extra layer of learning support to your audience. It can help you mitigate cognitive load and keep learners engaged.

Successful audio is in your future!


References

Das, S. (2020, March 28). How To Effectively Use Audio In eLearning. ELearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/tips-using-audio-in-elearning.

De Vries, J., & Haskin, S. (2014, August 11). Top Tips for Producing Better eLearning Audio. Learning Solutions Magazine. https://learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1484/top-tips-for-producing-better-elearning-audio.

ELearning Industry. (2016, April 19). Audio In eLearning: 7 Golden Rules For eLearning Professionals. https://elearningindustry.com/audio-in-elearning-7-golden-rules-elearning-professionals.

Free Photos. (n.d.). [Photo]. Boy at microphone. https://pixabay.com/photos/microphone-boy-studio-screaming-1209816/.

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Los Muertos Crew. (n.d.). [Photo]. Condenser microphone. https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-a-condenser-microphone-7586689/.

Rodrigues, I., & Huether, A. (2020, March 31). Professional sound from a DIY studio: It can be done! NPR Training + Diverse Sources Database. https://training.npr.org/2020/03/31/professional-sound-from-a-diy-studio-it-can-be-done/.

Shaw, Y. (2013, May 22). Voice Recording in the Home Studio. Transom. https://transom.org/2013/voice-recording-in-the-home-studio/.

TechSmith. (2020, October 15). How to Do Voice Overs Like a Pro: The Complete Guide. Welcome to the TechSmith Blog. https://www.techsmith.com/blog/voice-over/.

Tumisu. (n.d.). [Photo]. Online learning. https://pixabay.com/photos/online-learning-e-learning-5059833/.