How to Make the Best Training Videos

1. What is a training video?
2. Why create training videos?
3. What types of training videos can be created?
4. Training video examples to inspire you
5. Six easy steps on how to create great video training (a practical guide)
6. Producing training videos that stand out
7. Always remember

Ready? Let’s dive right in.

This is the commonest training video type that features an instructor speaking and delivering information on a screen to a virtual audience.

Instructors use slide decks, images, screencasts and examples in order to make the training video effective and engaging. The videos are concise, with experts recommending the videos be short—between six to ten minutes is the optimal length for a video, and the content is broken into several small videos for easy understanding.

How-to training videos show step-by-step instructions on how to do something. These types of videos are popular on YouTube, also -known as tutorials, and have subsequently led to the urban phrase “learning from The University of YouTube.”

This step-by-step process structure allows learners to have control of their learning (at their own time, pace and convenience) and to be fully engaged as it involves a learning-by-doing approach.

How-to training videos effectively tackle multiple subjects from cooking to fixing complex electronics to data analysis and serve as a guide for learners along each step.

Popular for demonstrating technical processes like software tutorials and demos, screen share training videos help companies teach their customers how to use their software.

Screen share training videos, usually with voice-over narration from the product demonstrator, help guide learners on how to use the different features of the software.

Of all the videos, interactive training videos are the most effective for learning. This is because they actively require the involvement and engagement of learners with interactive features like quizzes and choosing a course of action based on scenarios and knowledge provided.

While costly in terms of budget and time to produce, interactive training videos provide an immersive learning experience and can be integrated into any video to increase learner engagement.

Animated videos are created and produced using animation styles like motion graphics, cartoons, icons, whiteboard, 2D/3D animation, and infographics, to mention but a few.

Animated videos are a favorite to use to explain complex and technical processes and ideas. They use visual animations to tell stories that learners find easy to connect with and remember.

This is a short video – usually one minute or less whose purpose is to deliver impactful information in a very short time. Micro training videos are excellent tools for motivation, sharing best practices and knowledge refreshers for learners.

A micro training video is created using the Hook-Prep-Message-Review-Next method that taps into a learner’s prior knowledge, delivers content, recaps the information shared and shares the next steps to encourage knowledge retention and behavioural change.

Step one to creating training training videos is ‘THE IDEA’ where it all begins. Selecting an idea for a video topic is essential. Before you choose a topic idea, you should be clear about the purpose of creating the training video; for example, is it a tutorial or explainer or onboarding video, and what you would like your audience to know.

The training goal will then determine and narrow down the right topic idea for the training video so you know what type of content to develop and what information to include.

Knowing your audience goes hand-in-hand with picking the right video towards producing great training videos. Without fully understanding your audience, you run the risk of producing a training video that holds no interest to the target audience.

For you to identify and know your audience, it’s paramount to collect essential demographic information on them like age, sex, skills, and location, among others, in order to understand their needs, pain points, habits and interests. This background information will not only help you identify your specific target audience, but it will also assist you in picking the right topic, idea, content and type of video to create.

In order to make great training videos, its vital to always put the audience first and thinking about their point of view.

After identifying and selecting your audience, choosing the training video you want to create is the next step. With the different types of training videos mentioned previously, you have a variety of options to choose from depending on your audience’s expectations and available resources (time and money), information to share and stakeholders.

The key to choosing the best training video format is taking into consideration the audience and the knowledge to be shared with them; for example, creating a training video built for employees is different from an educational video for children. An employee training video could be an interactive video format to retrain employees, while a children’s educational video could be animated to make learning fun and keep them engaged.

There is no clear-cut way of choosing a suitable training video type; however, knowing the strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics can help you determine the best type for you.

As a creator, you can envision what the video looks like and what features and scenes you would like to see included. However, bringing this vision to life requires preparation before recording the video. The prep work involves committing the ideas and scenes from your mind to paper to create a script and storyboard.

A video script is the blueprint you use when you create training videos. A well-written script is an effective tool in ensuring that the training video contains the relevant information and is organized and easy to understand for learners.

To write a script, you can begin with these basics:

• Create an outline containing the topic, the key information you want to include and characters and scenarios that support the information.
• Set time aside to write the script and vocalize it as you go along to get an idea of how it flows and the tone of language used. This helps you visualize and refine your message.
• Edit the script to improve the content and eliminate any unnecessary words. Additionally, share and request feedback from others on the writing to help finetune the information.

The secret to writing a good script for training videos is concise information and remembering the audience’s perspective. The script language should be conversational and simple. Check out our article on how to write an explainer video script.

With the script completed, next comes the storyboard. A storyboard is a visual flow representation of the video depicted by the use of pictures and sketches.

A storyboard takes the text written in the script and creates a simple visual equivalent that is arranged in chronological order based on the script flow. Creating a storyboard offers an overview of the information layout throughout the videos. The storyboard doesn’t need to be fancy; just a simple outline will do to guide you to create the training video.

An interesting hack to writing a script and building a storyboard simultaneously is using two-column scripts that are commonly used in television and film by putting the audio and visual parts together for example;

We are officially now in the creation stage. In order to create training videos, the audio and visual are vital elements that have to be created and included so as to produce great training videos.

It’s time to record and keep in mind that to make excellent videos, the video and audio   must both be of high quality to make understanding seamless for the viewers.

There are various visual and audio tools that can help you produce high-quality videos.

Audio recording

Invest in a decent external microphone that is plug and play as those are the easiest to use. A good quality microphone will ensure audio clarity and high-quality sound to convey information. While you can use your computer’s inbuilt microphone, we don’t recommend it as the sound quality is usually poor.

To produce good voice-over narrations, you need to:

• Find a quiet space. We recommend you find a room filled with furniture as it minimizes echoes.
• Test the microphone and corresponding software and listen back to your recording for any sound irregularities like echoes and background sound.
• Do a practice run with the script and listen back to note areas that need improvement.
• Press play and record the script in a clear and confident voice, keeping a steady and dynamic pace.

Screen share recording

Screen share recording is the way to go for software demos. Software programs like Explain Everything can be used to screen record.

To create a sound screen share recording, you need to:

• Watch tutorials to see how others have created and edited screen recordings.
• Practice beforehand and go through the demo process until you have a clear understanding and can easily navigate it.
• Clear your computer of all non-relevant information, including tabs, desktop icons and bookmarks. We recommend that you use a different browser or sign out to have clear visuals.

Animated Videos

The use of animations and other visual graphics makes great training video as it invites engagement from the learners. Animated training videos are great for storytelling and professional animators like Creamy Animation who deliver the information with simplicity and clarity.

Training Videos with Live Shoots

When you create training videos that necessitate shooting videos scenes, more equipment is need to bring it to life. Therefore, it would be best if you can get space and equipment like HD cameras, lapel microphones, tripods, and lights to shoot videos.

Shooting and producing great training videos requires;

Production Planning

For everyone involved in the shoot, a scheduled date, time and location must be arranged and agreed upon to secure everyone’s availability. In addition, everyone should know their roles, the video objective and the sequence of events so as to maximize the shooting time.

Video Lighting

The ideal light would be good natural light, but as we know, the weather can change, affecting the look of the video quality. Therefore in order to have an evenly lit set, it’s preferable to use artificial lights that can be controlled as needed and provide consistent light.

Location

The environment where the video is shot can make or break its quality. The best space would be one with limited vehicle or human traffic or sound with a simple background against which the presenter can sit so we can keep the focus on them.

Video Equipment

A professional training video shoot needs equipment like tripods and gimbals for steady video shots, which improves the video’s production quality. Tripods are also excellent tools to use when filming yourself and have no one to assist.

The Rule of Thirds

Use the rule of thirds to position the video subjects in the left or right third of an image, leaving the other two-thirds more open. While there are other forms of composition, the rule of thirds generally leads to compelling and well-composed shots.

Editing a video entails bringing together all the scenes created, designed and shot to create a cohesion and visually engagement which makes a great training video. In editing, you can use templates, backgrounds, music, videos, animation, and text overlays to enhance the video.

Proper video editing entails:

• Hiring a video editor or learning video editing software:

Editing a video requires the use of software that ranges from free to paid and from easy to advanced skill set. As a result, the process is time-consuming and intensive.

This leaves two options where you can learn how to use the software from YouTube tutorials and edit the video yourself or hire a good video editor to do it quickly and efficiently. Ultimately, the choice is what works best for you

• Use of graphics, text and annotations

Graphics and text are essential in a video for highlighting essential pieces of information that learners should pay attention to. The use of text should be limited, and you should only use relevant graphics to illustrate the context of the information. For screen share recordings, annotations like arrows and boxes are used to show this important information.

• Consistency

Good video editing must have consistency with transitions, logos, fonts, colors and format. A consistent look and feel help create a cohesive flow within the video, making comprehension easier.

Once the training video has been edited, it is time to produce and distribute it to viewers. Producing a video is rendering it into a video file from the video editor. We recommend that you save the video in MP4 format, as it’s the commonly used format and can play on most video software.

However, you can also check the hosting platform’s accepted video format to download the correct one. To produce great training videos, they should be in format that can be read by computer and phone applications so they can easily be accessed.

With the video produced, the next step is hosting and distributing it. There is a wide range of video hosting platforms, with the more popular being YouTube (for the public) and Vimeo (for private sharing). Training videos can also be hosted on company websites or a Learning Management System (LMS), depending on the use intention.

Now the videos are hosted, they can be shared on different platforms and can view at any time. It should be noted that public videos on media like YouTube can be viewed anytime, while training videos hosted platforms will most likely require permission to be able to access or share them.

• Include extra features e.g. captions or subtitles

LinkedIn reported that 80% of videos on LinkedIn are viewed with the sound off – which is why 70% of videos designed for silent viewing (with texts or captions) are more likely to be watched till completion.

Creating a great training video is one that is created to cater to all learners to improve their understanding of the content shared. For example, including captions gives access and options for audio-impaired learners (deaf or hard-of-hearing) or those that learn better with audio-visual and text. This inclusivity ensures an effective training and learning experience.

• Partner with experts

If you don’t have the expertise, we recommend considering partnering with professionals like animators, scriptwriters, video editors and voiceover narrators to help bring the training video to life. Professional animation companies like Creamy Animation help create high-performing video content for small businesses, large corporations, governments and non-profits to train and educate their staff.

• Provide supporting materials

An immersive experience isn’t complete with extra materials like workbooks, quizzes and assignments to accompany the videos ensure there’s full understanding of the topic. These materials help test the learner’s knowledge and give the instructor insight into the learner’s understanding of the information.

• Optimize for mobile viewing

According to eMarketer, more than 75% of all videos are played on mobile devices which means more people are accessing video content on their phones. It’s therefore important for instructors to create videos that cater to mobile learners and can be easily accessed and used.

• Conclude with a call-to-action

A great training video includes a call-to-action that tells the viewers what steps they should take next with a clickable link that takes them to the next step. A CTA can be easy as click here to ‘learn more’.

• And finally, everything in moderation.

When producing videos, moderation is key in everything from the length of videos to the number of annotations and visual effects used to prevent cognitive overload for the learners. The goal is to produce videos that are impactful, simple, and engaging to ease learning and improve understanding.

So what does it take to make great training videos? Its takes knowing your audience and identifying the best topic idea and the right video format to share knowledge. To create video training content, its essential that they are relevant, concise, engaging and easy to understand for learners.

It its vital to invest in producing great training videos as the training content, tools and resources will be continuously utilized for new learners and for the learners doing refreshers. We recommend Creamy Animation as a great partner with the expertise and experience to create animated videos that are visually captivating and that are effective in providing a unique and interactive training experience.

As we mentioned earlier, to create videos makes all the difference. So what are you waiting for? Speak to us about your video needs.