Creating a quality eLearning project requires coordinating many pieces and parts. Not only are the software, the script and the graphics important, the voice you use to narrate it is pivotal to its success! Every part of the eLearning course demonstrates to your clients and the world that you value quality.

The 3 Reasons

1.What you pay for is what you get. Typically, when you ask the person who sits down the hall from you to narrate a script to save a few dollars, you aren’t going to get a quality narration. While I am sure they are great at their actual job, and he or she may have a lovely speaking voice, they are not trained in voiceover.  Plus, they are already busy doing the job they for which they were hired! A professional, trained voice talent will be able to respond quickly to your needs and understand how to interpret and connect with the copy. This will engage the listener leading to a much higher level of comprehension and retention. You have made an investment in your developers and the software. Don’t forget to invest in the voice talent to have your course sound as professional as it looks.

2.E-Learning is long-form narration. The intended audience will have to listen to the narrator, in some cases, for a sum total of hours while going through multiple trainings for their job, school or college courses. A professional voice talent understands the purpose of the e-Learning project and will speak to the intended audience when narrating in order to generate interest in what they are learning, rather than just regurgitating the information they see in a script.

3.Voiceover is their livelihood. Professional voice talent work from a professional studio with professional equipment. They are trained to work and perform in front of a microphone. Most professional talent either knows how to edit the audio or have professional editors at hand to ensure you receive high quality audio. They stay on top of the industry trends as well as the latest technology to best serve their clients around the world.

Hire A Professional

Yes, hiring a professional voice talent will cost you some of those shekels you’d like to save. But think of it as an investment. The higher the quality of the e-learning projects you create for clients, the happier they will be. The happier they are, the more clients you will gain. The more clients you have, the more shekels you have!

Dana Rizzo is a professional, female voice talent. Voiceover is her livelihood. Her voice can be heard internationally in a variety of eLearning niches including corporate training, college courses, medical courses and training, as well as explainer videos and television and radio commercials. Dana has been a professional voice talent for seven years following a career in education. Her demos and other work can be heard at www.danarizzo.com. She can be reached at dana@danarizzo.com.

One – you will retain more clients! Two – you will earn more money! Three – your business will grow!

The Voice Matters

There was some disappointing news posted this week from one branch of the military regarding eLearning. They have decided to dramatically reduce the amount of eLearning they use for a few different reasons. A primary reason was that the learners were not engaged because of the VOICE used for the narration. I did some research and managed to find a few non-classified trainings for this branch of the military as well as for a government agency and some corporations. I was horrified. Yes, horrified. That is not an overstatement. The modules themselves were well designed and user friendly. The VOICES were awful. I can’t blame them one bit for dumping the bulk of their eLearning program.

And hey you, yeah you, production companies that create local and regional radio and television commercials, if you want your customer to be happy and sell more of their product or service, hire a professional talent who is adept at sounding conversational and natural, not like they are reading a script. I cringe when I am driving down the road listening to those commercials with voices of folks who, though I am certain are perfectly wonderful people and fabulous at their primary jobs, do not know how to deliver a script.

It was almost painful to listen to some of the eLearning modules I found. I had to turn one of them off after 20 seconds. No kidding. The narrator was reading the script in monotone. It was obvious that it was recorded on subpar equipment in a room that was not a controlled studio space. Additionally, the editing left a lot to be desired. There was constant mouth noise, big breaths between sentences, and room noise. These are all things that could be avoided by hiring a trained voice talent who has a controlled recording space, knows how to deliver the script to hold the interest of the listener, and can edit the recording to the high level of quality you should require for your projects.

Cost vs. Reward

Yes, I am aware that it is cheaper (or may cost you nothing at all) up front to use the person that sits down the hall from you and have them record in the empty conference room. However, they are not professionally trained voice talent. Not to mention, the audio quality of a professional studio (including the professional home studios that many full-time talent use) is leaps and bounds better than the echo chamber of a conference room or office.

And, yes, I know that there are a lot of you out there that do know the value of, and use, professional voice talent. Thanks for that. You are greatly appreciated. Not only by the voice talents out here, but more importantly, by your clients.

Hire professional voice talent. You’ll be rewarded with repeat clients, a much improved bottom line and a thriving business!

Dana Rizzo is a professional, female voice talent. Voiceover is her livelihood. Her voice can be heard internationally in a variety of e-Learning niches including corporate trainings, college courses, medical courses and training, as well as explainer videos and television and radio commercials. Dana has been a professional voice talent for seven years following a career in education. Her demos and other work can be heard at www.danarizzo.com. She can be reached at dana@danarizzo.com.