7 Tried-and-True Tips for Finding An Effective eLearning Voice Over Artist
Adding voice-overs to your eLearning content can do wonders for the quality of your course and overall brand image. It’s a great way to not only boost the accessibility of your content but also add some personality and spark to somewhat boring topics. While it’s crucial to stay on top of script quality, the secret to nailing your upcoming online course is to hire the picture-perfect eLearning voice-over artist.
Here are 7 tips to help you choose the right eLearning voice-over actor. Whether you’re looking for a top-notch eLearning male voice or female voice, these tips will certainly come in handy.
#1. Does The eLearning Voice Over Artist Have A Basic Grasp Of The Subject Matter?
This one is a no-brainer. You want to hire an eLearning voice over professional who has at least some basic knowledge of the topic at hand. This way, the actor can use tonal changes to stress or accentuate certain key phrases or words to make them memorable for online learners. As such, check if your potential artists have background knowledge or past experience in the subject topic.
#2. Consider Your Target Audience
Who’s your target audience? Will an eLearning male voice or female voice better resonate with them? It’s crucial that you pick an eLearning voiceover artist who can connect with your audience on the deepest-possible level considering the nature of the task. It’s not easy to hold an audience’s attention, nor to communicate information that you hope will be retained. So, keep in mind a dialect, accent or tone that’s best-suited for your target audience.
#3. Experience Matters More Than You Think
It’s not enough to hire someone who’s experienced in the voice over industry. More importantly, do they have experience in the eLearning niche? Don’t be afraid to ask for samples of past work, testimonials, and references. Even better, ask for their client list or portfolio.
#4. Don’t Forget About Revisions
Let’s be candid. Errors, mispronunciations, and other mistakes can happen. That’s no big deal. Ideally, you want to hire an eLearning voice over professionals that offer basic necessary revisions at no extra cost, or at a reasonable cost should significant rereading be required after initial project delivery.
#5. Do They Reflect Your Brand Image?
Brand image and reputation is everything in the world of eLearning. That’s why it pays to work with an eLearning voiceover actor who represents well your brand style and image. If your audience is inclined toward professionalism, it is important that the voiceover artist keep the tone less conversational and more formal. Most online learners, however, prefer a more conversational tone. Direct potential candidates to your blog, social media, and website to learn more about your brand image to make sure that you’re on the same page before recording time.
#6. Check Out Their Online Reviews
Online reviews have made it super easy to find high-quality professionals, and eLearning voice over artists are no different. So, check out what others are saying about them. What’s their rating? Are reviews from past clients positive, so-so or negative? What does their client list look like…have they done consistent work for major clients? This can be a strong indication of their consistency and professionalism.
#7. Have The Script Read To You Ahead Of Time
We are so used to writing for the screen or page. Writing for content to be absorbed primarily by listening can be a whole different animal. Go ahead and write the script in a way that focuses on content and communication. But then, be sure to listen to it one time before releasing it to be recorded. This accomplishes two very important things: you’ll find yourself tweaking the script to be heard and absorbed more easily, and it’s also going to helpful in imagining the type of voice you’d like to hear reading it to you if you have to pay attention from start to finish.
Top-quality voice-over can take your eLearning content from drab to fab in a breeze. With the above handy tips, you can choose the right eLearning voice-over artist to take your online course to the next level.
Chuck Brown has been working steadily in the eLearning arena since 1992, with major clients including McGraw-Hill Publishing, Nokia, The U.S. Department of Defense, Wendy’s, Octapharma Plasma, ST Microelectronics and many others. Consider him as your go-to option for male voice talent for online training reads. He is well-read and is quite fluent with technical or medical terminology. Check out his streamining/downloadable audio demo
