4 Tips On Choosing The Right Voice For Your eLearning And Explainer Videos
Both eLearning and explainer videos are a huge industry now. Considering the numerous courses available online and the increasing number of people wanting to learn without paying the hefty fees of college tuition at a traditional brick-and-mortar institution, that’s a no-brainer.
The Revolutionary Evolution Of Remote
COVID-19 and its impact on social interaction will have lasting repercussions too. The sheer convenience of remote functionality—let alone all the other benefits—is sparking a complete paradigm shift in how we work.
eLearning and explainer videos have also turned out to be a significant go-to source for those yearning to gain more knowledge in a subject or even companies that wish to showcase a quick product demo. Be it an introduction to a new medical instrument or SaaS service, explainer videos are beneficial for viewers since they are incredibly easy to follow.
Of course, a major requirement for preparing the best eLearning or explainer videos isn’t just the quality of your content, the flow of your script, and the effectiveness of your marketing efforts but also the voice actor you hire to narrate the content. You might think that using automated text-to-voice translation should be absolutely fine—but no, it ain’t.
The Power Of The Human Voice
According to the 2018 Voiceover Trends Report, 93% of folks who responded to an annual survey pegged the human voice as more powerful than a robotic voice [1]. How a voice actor chooses to deliver the content of your eLearning or explainer video can make or break your product.
Good voice acting matters, and you need to understand it better to ensure you book the right voice. Here are 4 things to keep in mind.
1. The Voice Actor Should Have An Engaging Voice
When you’re trying to learn via an eLearning/explainer video, the instructions or content must be clear. It’s crucial that the voice actor has sufficient experience in voice acting and delivers the script with an engaging pitch and volume when speaking. They also need a warm, pleasant, and friendly tone that helps viewers feel comfortable. In short, viewers must want to listen.
Remember that when the voice actor is likable, your eLearning or explainer videos become attractive as well. Consequently, viewers are likely to watch them again and look forward to subsequent recordings.
That said, make sure that the voice actor narrates the script without heavy breathing, gaps, or other technical issues. Editing is very important.
2. Consider A Female Voice Actor
An experiment conducted by psychologists at the University of Glasgow revealed that the higher pitch of the female voice instilled more confidence in listeners than the lower-pitched male [2]. Thus, female voices are often more suitable than male ones [3].
Male and female voice actors frequently approach narration differently. Many female voices can soothe and comfort more than male voices. Male voices sound authoritative. Perhaps a female voice instills more trust?
Don’t, however, reject a male voice if the quality of delivery is better than that of a female candidate. There are quite a number of variables in the eLearning/explainer video equation. The subject matter can also play a role. Some subjects are simply more suited to a specific gender. Choose wisely and get a second (or third) opinion!
3. Proficiency In The Chosen Language
Pronunciation and enunciation of words and syllables need to be excellent. There’s nothing more off-putting than listening to a voice actor who mispronounces words or whose cadences are incorrect for a given language. The likes and dislikes of your target audience are mission-critical, so ensure that the audience will be able to relate to the actor’s voice.
Delivering a grammatically and phonetically correct interpretation of your script is one thing; narrative elements are equally important. In the final analysis, it’s about storytelling [4] and everything that entails! At the very least, your video needs to engage. To be memorable, it needs to captivate.
4. Experience And Talent
eLearning and explainer videos are often complicated because they deal with complex topics. In many instances, you may need to have the voice recorded before you put the video together so your visual and audio elements sync up properly. This means that the voice actor may have nothing visual to guide their style of narration.
Briefing well is crucial, as is the ability to deliver an edited and finalized voice over to you.
References:
[1] Voice over Trends in Marketing and Advertising, 2018
[2] You Had Me At Hello: The Science Behind First Impressions
[3] Does gender matter when choosing a voice actor?
[4] The art of storytelling and why it should matter to you
Originally published at voice123.com.
