How To Do Voiceovers That Interact Learners
Tips for lifelike speech synthesis
Now that you know how to write scripts that will appeal to learners (see our previous article), it’s time to talk about the exciting things: voice-over. How can you bring your content to life with the right text-to-speech voice over? There are a few important steps involved.
eBook release
Text-to-Speech for L&D Professionals: The Next Frontier of Storytelling
Learn how to create inclusive online training experiences that engage your remote learners.
How to create voiceovers that drive learner engagement
Choose the right avatar
First and foremost is choosing the perfect avatar for your shot.
You want to audition avatars like a voice actor. Don’t just test how avatars rattle off the standard samples online. Instead, pull a blurb out of your script and then test your avatars with it. That way, you can better imagine what the voiceover actually sounds like as you read your content.
This also helps ensure that the context of your content matches the avatar voice. For example, you might like the way an avatar sounds but you find that they are too optimistic, casual, or dry for your specific training content. Testing avatars before clicking Record will help you determine before you waste time recording.
What if you can’t find the right avatar? The nice thing about text-to-speech is that you can create one. Define attributes that are important for you, such as tone, age, gender or personality. Some text-to-speech platforms, including WellSaid Labs, can help you create the perfect avatars for your business that you can use for future recordings.
Comment on the text for emphasis
Just like you might add notes for a voice production artist or collaborator, you can annotate your scripts anywhere you want your avatar to add emphasis.
For example, ellipses or commas indicate pauses, while quotation marks or capital letters indicate emphasis. The spelling of acronyms or complex terms can be used to ensure that the avatar makes the desired statements.
One of the main advantages of text-to-speech is that instead of getting a recorded playback from a speaker or staff member, you realize that it sounds flat and that you have to re-record text-to-speech in order to edit it whenever and wherever it works for you. No need to coordinate with an agency or employee’s calendar, set up a sound room, or make sure all the details are perfect. You can just open your computer and do a magic.
Create a consistent brand narrative
Text-to-speech is one of your brand’s most powerful assets. This is one of the first things your employees will consider when they sign up for your company. It reflects your values, improves your processes and ensures that your organization functions smoothly. Your brand’s materials are not limited to just advertising or social media channels, they are also reflected in your training content.
The avatars you choose can bring your brand to life. You can choose or create different avatars for different types of content, or weave the same familiar voices into your content so staff can feel a continuation between your training sessions.
Another benefit of text-to-speech is that once your voice-over avatars learn to speak, you don’t need to train a new recording artist on your company’s vocabulary. The data is stored for as long as you need it. This saves you time, reduces inefficiencies and creates a common language for your company with acronyms, titles, pronunciations and complex terms.
Another plus is that many people in your company can access the same character suite for all types of training content. Instead of coordinating multiple calendars, reserving specific artists, or waiting for an artist to become available, you can have multiple producers work with your avatars as often as needed. No matter where you are or when you pick up, there is no change in audio quality and no waiting in line.
Conclusion
Text-to-Speech is your best ally for bringing your scripts to life. When you can find an avatar (or set of avatars) that reflects your brand and your learning context, you can get multiple people in your organization to create compelling, understandable voiceovers – with no downtime, retraining, or inefficiencies.
Download the eBook Text-to-Speech For L&D Pros: The Next Frontier In Storytelling to learn how to use AI speech generators for your remote learning programs and drive employee engagement. Also, attend the webinar to learn how to update eLearning voiceovers on time and under budget!
