Using video for eLearning is here to stay. But it’s almost impossible to answer fundamental questions about whether or not your training video is reaching its goals. In many cases, you don’t even know if the viewer is still in the same room after they’ve clicked play.

You’ve created a video, and visually it looks great. At the same time, something about it feels flat to you. You’ve shared the video with others and it seems sort of flat to them as well. The problem is often not with the visuals; it’s with the audio. Video often needs more than just voices to be engaging.

Video will become increasingly important as a method of imparting knowledge as our populace transitions from a linear written-word culture to a global and visual culture. Many instructional designers and developers would like to implement “how-to” videos in their programs but do not know how to go about it. Practitioners are unable to leverage the power of video instruction into their presentations and eLearning projects.

Rapid instructional development tools provide us with the ability to add narration and text-to-speech to eLearning courses, but many instructional designers aren’t using the audio medium to its full potential. Bringing quality audio design together with engaging stories can transform a click-and-read presentation into an immersive experience.

Currently, a lot of eLearning can be defined as a high-level PowerPoint presentation that includes animated text, images, and narration. The problem is that this type of eLearning doesn’t grab and hold the learner’s attention. Many times the learner can’t relate to what is being presented to them, or understand how they can apply it to future situations.

Your course looks fantastic, but how does it sound? Learning is most effective when it takes advantage of both audio and visual pathways into the brain. Adding quality voiceovers to your eLearning program can greatly enhance knowledge transfer. But hiring professional voiceover talent can be expensive, and subject-matter experts may not always be available. That leaves just one person: you!

The heart of many eLearning solutions is a video presentation. A recorded lecture, voiceover PowerPoint, or training video transfers information in a scalable, anytime, anywhere manner. They are also often passive, isolating, and dull. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses have over 500 hosts working in almost a hundred restaurants around the world. How do you teach such a disbursed group the meaning of hospitality that makes the Ruth’s Chris experience unique? Training videos were not working.