5 Errors To Keep away from When Utilizing Animation For Company Coaching
Animation for company training done right
Motion graphic videos and animation are an emerging trend in the L&D world. They are an attractive tool for a wide variety of training sessions, including orientation training, safety training, technical training, etc. However, creating an animated course can be a time-consuming and laborious process. It is the norm that companies encounter problems when using animation for training. But with a little bit of advance warning, you can easily avoid these mistakes and greatly improve the quality of your L&D strategy.
5 common mistakes when using animation for corporate training
1. Have no curriculum
It never hurts to plan what you want to do first! A curriculum contains both the content and the planned type of teaching. Generating the rough ideas for the course will help L&D strategists stay on topic and effectively achieve their goals.
Without a curriculum, there may be a lack of coherence and coherence in training. Unorganized steps and unsupervised ideas confuse the provision of information, which greatly reduces the quality of training. A clear visualization of the course from the curriculum draft also helps L&D strategists to decide which animation elements should be used. This gives a rough overview of the budget to be expected.
2. Mishandling the balance between cost and effectiveness
The most expensive option is not always the best choice. Organizations need to strike the delicate balance between the cost of the project and its results. Strive for quality first, then budget. You don’t want to spend money on something you don’t really need. For example, a handful of companies would like to conduct training in 3D instead of 2D. But in reality, a 2D animated course can still do the job and cost a lot less.
3. Using distracting designs
The ultimate goal of the training is to impart knowledge. Other animation elements such as movements, text, or voiceovers should contribute to this goal and not distract learners from it. The most obvious mistake here is adding too much text to the training video. Text even appears on the screen as the narrator reads it out. This splits the audience’s attention and reduces the bottom line.
Choosing the wrong type of animation is another major design mistake. There are different types of animation, each suitable for a different type of content. To illustrate, an animation of the mechanism of action (MOA) is characterized by explaining how a drug works or processes in your body on a microscopic level. Using the wrong type of animation for your project can reduce its effectiveness, but increase costs and lose valuable time.
4. Lose focus on priorities
An animated training course has many ongoing elements, such as characters, background music, movements, transitions, and so on. That’s why it’s very easy to lose focus when producing the course. One can overuse the available elements and completely overlook the priorities: the audience and the knowledge.
The animation is intended to help L&D strategists convey the information to learners. In other words, the content must be the focus of the training, not the animation.
5. Forget the audience
The creation of a training course is mainly about the learners. You should be interested in the training, e.g. B. acquire new knowledge or acquire a new skill. If a course developer does not know their audience, there is a pretty high chance that they are addressing the audience’s interests incorrectly. This makes the course less engaging and eventually reduces its effectiveness.
This will avoid mistakes when using animations for company training
Plan what you want to say
L&D strategists should always prepare the content for the training in advance. This serves as the curriculum or framework for the entire project. So don’t miss any points or ideas that appeal to the target audience. Then arrange what they should learn. Try to stay as coherent and coherent as possible in order to shorten the path to your ultimate goal – imparting knowledge.
In addition, creating a curriculum first saves a lot of time in the later stages of production. It’s always better to know exactly what you want to do. And if you make a mistake, just repeat the draft curriculum. It’s a lot nicer than starting from scratch!
Control your budget
The draft curriculum should give L&D strategists a rough idea of the maximum budget they can shoot for. From there, keep track of the financial opportunities available to find suitable animation studios for the project. If you want to find the best animation studios for training, here is a list of the top 5 in the industry with their strengths and weaknesses.
Pay only for what you absolutely need for the project. If you think that certain more expensive features can improve training quality, just give us a call! Prioritize quality first. The course will pay off in the long run.
Combine your content with the right design
Customize your curriculum with an appropriate type of animation to best convey it. Look for the best choice in your budget range. A good design should have just the right amount of text to increase focus. If you are concerned that learners may lose track, give them a copy of the script. If the design is fun and relatable, it also helps to activate long-term memory.
Stay focused
Always focus on clearing the main points so that learners can easily grasp the main concepts. Animation is exactly the tool to implement these concepts. So make sure that the visual aids, motions, characters, and other elements highlight the content rather than overshadowing it.
Know your crowd
Build the training course according to the interests of the audience. Put her unique traits on the table and think about what appeals to her the most. A suitable art style or voice would best bring them into the experience. Don’t let creativity go in a direction that feels immature or inauthentic. This can have a dramatic impact on the effectiveness of the animation.
Tips to increase the effectiveness of corporate training animation
In-house production
Here are a few tips that can help you create a larger training course in-house:
- Stick to the plan
Start the project with a clear curriculum and schedule. This is very handy for managing production as well as navigating the entire course. - Find available resources
Check if your company has enough expertise or equipment to independently produce an animated course. If not, what are your options? Can you hire new staff or buy new equipment for the project? Are you planning to produce animations in the long term? These questions can help you decide which route to take. - Add a little quiz
To make sure that the learners actually take something away from the training, add a small quiz at the end of the course! It’s also a great way to evaluate your success.
Outsource
The production of animation takes so much effort, why not leave it to the professionals? Instead of forcing yourself to do it, let an animation studio save you the trouble.
Tips for working with an animation studio
- First, set your goal
Have a clear idea of what you want to get out of the training. It will help you make better decisions in production. For example, suppose you want to prepare your staff for emergencies and train them to perform CPR. Then you need to choose an animation studio experienced in HSE training to create an explanatory or interactive video. - Go abroad
Animation studios in other countries may offer a cheaper price than your domestic options. You want the best quality of work, but you also want to save your budget. For example, an animation studio in England may charge more for each minute of running time than one in e.g. Vietnam. - Share your ideas
It is important that you communicate with the animation studio to establish mutual understanding. This gives the studio or producer of the training a clear overview of your goals, expectations, curriculum, or insider tips that can improve the course. - Keep track of the project
As a customer, you have full control over the project and should take advantage of it. As the production goes through different stages, stick around and bring in all your thoughts / make changes to ensure quality.
Conclusion
Animation is a great tool for corporate training, but it is difficult to use. In the right hands, it can have a lasting effect on the quality of training. If you plan on creating the animated materials yourself, we hope the tips above will help you avoid the most common mistakes. However, it is in your best interest to hire an animation studio instead.
F. Learning studio
F.Learning Studio offers the best bespoke animation for your e-learning courses at competitive prices.
