The beauty of eLearning is that it’s timely, self-paced and cost-effective. The medium itself improves learner retention by around 45%. Scholarly articles indicate a good professional voiceover can increase that percentage by an extra 20 percentage points or more. Here’s why good eLearning voice over work is important to any educational project.
Setting the Pace for the Curriculum
Your voice over artist is not only the teacher but often the most human component of your eLearning program. Correct pacing and rhythm is important to guide students through the course material. It’s up to your narrator to speak at the right speed and find the balance between ensuring every student can keep up and not holding anyone back. They help make that info stick and neither over, nor under whelm. This right rhythm needs to be maintained throughout the entire project.
Saying What’s Not Seen
Think about what percentage of the program is audio from the learner’s point of view. There are huge teams of graphics, IT, design and programming all dedicated to the visual elements of any eLearning program. Your voiceover ties it all together. Well-written eLearning programs do not reiterate the text, but rather complement it. Whether the students are following the voice with bullet points or graphics onscreen and games, the narration is crucial to imparting the audio component of the course material and provides insight into the text.
Good Narration Fosters Better Learning
Have you ever written a sarcastic or loving text message only to have it completely misinterpreted by the recipient? Ideas are better understood through conversation rather than the written word. On the page, words can fall flat and be lost or misinterpreted; whereas the voice over artist makes the learning more effective. She or he emphasized key points, focuses on important material, and breaks up the heavy course load to allow the information to sink in. A professional interpreting your eLearning text by staying present and in the moment. They avoid falling into a robotic drone. They are engaged with your content sound engaging. Your voice over artist is an important aspect of your learner’s education and critical to the eLearning content creators, aka, you and your client’s success.