Ok, I’m just going to start by saying I’m obviously biased in my opinion about where AI can (should?) live in the eLearning narration world. Full disclosure, in the last year (2020) around 50% my income was from eLearning Narration work. There was a HUGE surge in people needing to produce virtual training, especially in the upskilling/certification world. Not necessarily in the world of corporate learning, that was honestly pretty steady compared to 2019, for me at least. That said, I try to keep my eyes on future advances in technology related to voice and learning, things that might impact ..read more

Last week, the wonderful Devlin Peck released a video titled “Does your eLearning Project Need Narration?” – which I thought had some great ideas around necessary application of narration in eLearning. If you haven’t watched it, I absolutely suggest you go check it out. Subscribe to his channel while you’re over there! Great videos released much more consistently than episodes of this podcast! In this episode, I riff on some of my thoughts on Devlin’s major points and expand on them from the perspective of a narrator. I know what you’re thinking..   There is one point where I kinda ..read more

A piano, guitar, and the alphabet walk into a bar… Oh wait. That’s a different thing. After a bunch of questions, I’m revisiting the concept of practicing your eLearning narration.  Many of you have asked “How much do I need to practice?” or maybe “What should I practice?” Well, listen in and you can hear me riff a little more on what practice actually means to me. You can also listen to the previous episode, if you want to dig in a bit more.  Photo Credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/music-musician-piano-keyboard-4934190 ..read more

Ask any good musician and they’ll tell you the trick is the space between the notes. That’s what we’re here today to talk about. Pauses. We’re usually so focused on the words and the performance of them, that we forget to address intentional silences. We can use them to catch a breath, add emphasis, and help pull a listener along. They can also be used to overwhelm a listener or ruin your effectiveness because you paused for too long and left them wondering if maybe the audio dropped out. Because less is more, that’s all I have to say for now. Enjoy the episode.   ..read more

This month I’ve been working through a huuuuge eLearning Narration project. I mean, HUGE. Nearly 80,000 words, more than 30 modules, all for one client. That equates to probably close to 8 hours of completed audio. The full process involves the following main steps: A quick read to know what’s coming Recording the first take and fixing mistakes as I go Creating regions for file naming Proof listening a module to find mistakes I missed during recording Cutting in new lines or recutting an entire section to improve the original take for clarity/pacing/spaces/etc Fixing any annoying breaths, mo ..read more

Today, we’re talking about finding your intent in your eLearning Narration performance.  And I may have just simultaneously written the best and worst headline in the history of the Internet, but it will all make sense when you listen to the episode. What is Intent? Stop. Right. THERE! Intent is not a “what“. Intent is your “why”. Why are you narrating this eLearning? Why are you saying the thing you’re saying? Why are you talking about this concept before the next one? Do not confuse your “why” with your “what”! Your intent is not just to get someone to learn something, it’s not to diff ..read more

“I still sound like I’m reading!” I’ve heard that sentiment from a number of people trying to get better at eLearning Narration… Then I realized something. All of these people (possibly even you!) are missing one key ingredient when it comes to improving their eLearning Narration and sounding like a professional voice talent — not someone sitting in an office and reading a script or an even worse version of Amazon Polly. That key thing is something you’re very familiar with. In fact, when you hear it on this episode, it’s going to hit you like a flyswatter on a hot August afternoon. Ta ..read more

One major complaint, gripe, or observation I’ve heard a number of times is that professional voice talent can sometimes sound too professional. When you’ve heard it, you may have said something like this: “They just sound too professional!“ “They don’t sound like us.” Traditionally, a voiceover talent performing eLearning has a very distinct sound. It could be described as “professional.” But more often, I’d probably describe it as steady, deliberate or precise… but on the less-nice side maybe even dull, droning, or boring. The thing is, that “professional” sound that pops into your head ..read more

With apologies to Eli Manning… Listen to this one before the Cease and Desist letter hits my mailbox. Last night was Super-Duper Football Game night. As usual, the commercials were the true highlight. Though, when you can see them all online the week before the surprise of a really good Super Bowl commercial is shot. As is usually the case, my ears were focused on the commercials that feature voiceover. I’m listening to hear if there is a voice I recognize, how it was performed, what the big trends are. Super Bowl commercial VO is a great place to get a feel for the current expectations of a ..read more

This episode is a change of format for DIY Narrator! In this episode, I’m joined by Neil Zielsdorf. Neil is an Instructional Designer for Amazon who has recently moved into a new house. As a result, he’s been incrementally setting up a room in his home to be his new workspace for recording eLearning narration and videos over a green screen. We had a great discussion about sound reflections (echo), acoustic treatment, and attempting to keep the sounds of a household out of your space. In this conversation, we cover a number of approaches you can take to improving the acoustic quality of ..read more