Hello, and welcome to Part 2 of “Why Hire a Pro Voice Actor for eLearning”. In Part 1 we looked at a few compelling reasons to work with a professional voice actor.
Including the fact that we:
- Make your job easier by taking a big job off your plate.
- Help you to exceed your timelines as you won’t spend time recording and editing the voice over yourself.
- Improve the quality of your end product.
- AND since we streamline your workflow you can find more leads and book more work which helps make you more money in the process!
To read Part 1 click here! Today we are going to look at a few more reasons to work with a pro-fesh! Let’s dive in!
Why Hire a Pro Voice Actor for eLearning #5 We have the skills needed to engage your learning audience!
Professional voice actors aren’t just people who talk into a microphone and drone on like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with zero skill set. Just like hairdressers aren’t people who haphazardly run around wielding scissors they’ve never used on a human’s head. No matter how convincing Johnny Depp was in Edward Scissorhands. We voice actors spend years practicing with coaches to build the skills required to engage a listener.
We practice pace, tone, emotion, flow, inflection, and what keywords to stress to verbally illustrate complex ideas or step-by-step instructions. Voice actor’s learn microphone technique, articulation, build vocal stamina and acting skills. What does all this matter though? It means that we take a script and bring life and engagement to it. A skillfully narrated script helps your learners:
- Comprehend what is being communicated
- Retain what is being taught
- Feel comfortable when they believe another person cares about their learning experience.
- Feel like an active participant in their learning journey
- Reach their full potential
This is why AI voices can be so disturbing to people, and a barrier to learning. Everyone has clicked on a YouTube video and has been assaulted by the robot voice. As soon as you hear it you abandon the video.
You will never be able to tell an AI voice “sound more compassionate here”, or “say that with more warmth, bring a smile to it”, or “add a little chuckle when you say that”. When you need engagement so people have a positive learning experience – nothing beats a real live human voice actor who has the aforementioned skills!
Why Hire a Pro Voice Talent Reason #6 We can save you money
We took a look at how working with an eLearning voice actor can make you money in Part 1, but we can also save you money. Have you ever tried to cut costs on something only to end up in a worse position saying “I should have paid more for the qualified person in the first place, now I’m paying more in the end anyway!”
As a voice actor, it is not uncommon to be hired to re-record a script because the client didn’t hire a professional in the first place. If someone with a cheapo microphone is going to record a 5000-word script for you for $200… Run. Run far away and never look back. The recording will likely be riddled with mistakes, and/or take a very long time. It’s better to hire a professional who will provide you with a superior product faster. #hireaprofessional
Why Hire a Pro Voice Actor for eLearning #7 We process the audio and remove distractions
Processing audio is a specialized skill set. These skills take time to develop and a trained voice actor who understands processing audio is a true asset.
Why does this matter? Well, if you work with someone who doesn’t know about audio engineering, they will likely leave harsh and distracting noises in the recording. This is especially important for people with learning or cognitive disabilities that are easily distracted. Learners should be given the best opportunity to succeed.
It’s important to spot “plosives” or loud pop sounds that come from words that have “P’s”, or harsh “S’s” that can hurt people’s ears if they are listening through headphones. There’s also mouth noise to remove (it’s gross), and loud breaths that can be distracting.
Various tools manipulate and improve audio to give it that final polish. Things like EQ, compression, removing low rumbly noises, and normalizing the audio to make sure the volume is at a good level all elevate the quality of your audio.
Professional voice talent with a solid understanding of audio engineering principles is a valuable asset worth every penny.
Why Hire a Voice Talent Reason #8 We help you establish credibility and trust with your learners.
Science Communication published a study from The University of Southern California and the Australian National University that found the quality of audio influences whether you believe what you hear
High-quality audio builds trust and credibility with your audience. To read the full article click here.
Norbert Schwarz and Eryn Newman said that when you make it difficult for people to process information, it becomes less credible.
“When the video was difficult to hear, viewers thought the talk was worse, the speaker less intelligent and less likable and the research less important,”
Norbert Schwarz and Eryn Newman
This is valuable information when considering every audio component in your project. Not just the voiceover but the quality of music and sound effects. All these things work together to establish trust and credibility. If someone doesn’t trust you how can they learn?
The last word…
If the end goal is creating a successful learning experience, you need to consider if cutting the budget for voiceover will undermine that goal. Sometimes a professionally trained, experienced, and human voice actor is a great partner in producing a successful learning experience.
Just a few things to consider when you are developing learning solutions. Go forth and succeed!!
