DIY Narrator: For Instructional Designers Who Narrate eLearning
by Josh Risser
Narrating your eLearning is about more than just delivering information, it's about engaging your learners. To get the most out of your time narrating, you need to make sure you're focused on the things that will improve the conversationality of your narration and connect your learner to the message and intent of your e-learning project.
Episodes
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Rise of the Robots! AI Voices in eLearning
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...
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Is A VO Too Pro?
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...
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Home Studio Setup with Neil Zielsdorf
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...
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Nebulous Woo-Woo Stuff
024: AKA Method Acting for the Instructional Designer This episode picks up where last episode ended: My presentation at the Learning Solutions conference. Last episode, I talked about the Bad and Incomplete Advice you've been given and some pitfalls that can cause your narration to be not so...
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Bad and Incomplete Advice
023: Learning Solutions 2019 Presentation - Part 1 Note: I accidentally pointed the last post to the wrong file! This is a duplicate/new post to make sure everyone gets the right file downloaded. You might not have noticed, but in case you think you already grabbed this episode, that's what's up....
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What is Authority in eLearning Narration?
We should rethink the word "Authority" when it comes to eLearning Narration. Episode 22 of the DIY Narrator Podcast is here! Time to talk about sounding like an "authority" in your eLearning Narration. I'll be honest, I don't like the word "authority" as part of the direction for narrating an...
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021 – More on “Who’s it for” – Part 2 – Conversational Style
Yer gonna wanna listen to this one! This week we continue with the question “Who’s it for?” and dig into how you can adjust your narration style to sound more conversational with the intent of appealing to and connecting with your audience. If you haven’t heard Part 1, check it out! And if you…
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020 – More on “Who’s it for?” – Part 1
"Who's it for?" You already ask yourself this question when you begin working on a training module. It should impact every element of your eLearning: the outline, the visuals, the length, the language, and the method of delivery. It should also impact your narration in a number of ways. This…
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019 – eLearning Fail! Who’s it for?
It's been too long since the last episode, but it was all for good reason! Apart from being crazy busy over the holidays, I spent a lot of time thinking about where I wanted to take DIY Narrator in 2019. I think you're going to like it. Also, near the end of 2018, I took on my first project with…
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018 – Audio for Training Videos
Video is BIG in L&D. But I don't have to tell YOU that. All you have to do is think about the last time you visited YouTube and you'll realize how engaging and effective video content can be when done well. Or how ineffective it can be when done poorly. Specifically, I'm talking about poor audio...
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017 – Tips for Getting Into Voice Over
When I was at DevLearn back in October and introduced myself as "voice talent" often their response included some variation of the following question: "My friend/My spouse/I've always wanted to explore voiceover. Do you have any advice?" Lucky for me, I love to talk shop. For a long time, I've...
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016 – Hotel Recording Booth – DevLearn Special
The introvert in me needed a break from the amazing networking and learning event that is DevLearn... and what an amazing event it is. The Keynote from Julie Snyder (Executive Producer of the Serial Podcast) was killer (no pun made in poor taste intended), the sessions have been awesome and...
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015 – Tips for Marathon Recording Sessions
Whenever you have to record a longer project over the course of a few days, a flood of thoughts and concerns may come to mind: How will I make sure tomorrow’s recording sounds like today’s? What if I lose my voice from all of this talking? What happens if my computer blows up? This episode, I’m...
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014 – Sibilance
The hisssssss of sibilance is a killer of a great narration. It's harsh on the ears, distracting for a listener, and just plain annoying. Sibilance in an eLearning narration can be caused by a number of issues, but thankfully, there at least as many ways to address or fix it. However, my…
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013 – Storytelling in eLearning Narration
“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” ― Rudyard Kipling This week I worked on three different eLearning projects that incorporated a story, each in a different way. I wanted to take a minute and share the methods with you. We've all experienced the…
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012 – Control Your Breath
Breathe in! Breathe Out! Did you know that you're probably breathing incorrectly? That leads to difficulty working your way through longer passages, awkward breaks to catch a breath, and taking large gasps after long sentences. Those loud breaths will cause you to spend more time editing. Never...
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011 – Announcement and Q&A
Time for a change of pace! This week - Q&A and an Announcement! Questions cover a variety of topics. Topics include: When to use an authoritative/formal vs conversational style My thoughts background audio and sound effects for eLearning Approaches to getting two very different recordings to…
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010 – Save Time Narrating – Part 3: Editing
Saving time Part Three! WOOOO! DIY Narrator is back! Sorry for the delay in this last episode of the series. I went and got myself sick somehow (I blame my kindergarten teaching wife and daughter in daycare). Wrapping up the time-savings series, we're moving into the final step of the narration...
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009 – Save Time Narrating – Part 2: Recording
Saving time Part Two! Continuing the series on saving time that I started last week, this week I'm on to discussing some time-saving tips to incorporate into your recording workflow. There are a couple that will save you some actual talking time and one BIG one that will save you time when you…
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008 – Save Time Narrating – Part 1: The Script
Save time and win the bet! Taking on a DIY project (eLearning narration or otherwise) is a bet. You're saying you're confident that you will be able to do the work with significant cost savings, despite the time and equipment investment, and that the end result will be reasonably comparable to…
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007 – 3 Helpful Narration Warm-Ups
Got Mushmouth? I didn't plan to record this episode today, but I was struggling with this very problem this morning. Sometimes, you just can't get the words out of your mouth in a way that sounds convincing. Today, I was stumbling on simple phrases, sounded like I was reading, and just couldn't…
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006 – Updating Old Recordings
Updates? Pickups? No problem! It's inevitable. At some point, you're going to need to go back to an eLearning project from the past and update the narration. Maybe it's a yearly change, or you mentioned something that's out of date. It could even be a major change to a policy that needs a…
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005 – Working With Multiple Voices
It takes two to tango! The live roleplay scenario is a staple of the in-person training world. But when it comes to eLearning, the closest you can probably get is to have two voices acting out a conversation or scenario as part of your narration. Whenever you have multiple actors, a whole new set...
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004 – 3 Tips to Fix Mouth Noise
Say Goodbye to Mouth Clicks!! Clicks, smacks, pops, spaghetti mouth. Doesn't matter what you call it, mouth noise is annoying for the narrator and the listener. They can add hours to your narration and editing time, tons of frustration... And they're one quick way to disengage your learners. In...
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003 – 3 Common Mic Technique Mistakes
Use your microphone properly! You've thought about your performance, your room is tuned up and you just pulled your brand new Yeti from its cardboard shipping vessel. Time to fire it up! WAIT! Sure, you can flick it on and start talking. It can be that easy. But how do you know you're doing it...
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002 – Your Recording Environment And You!
Time to improve your room! Wow! Thank you to everyone who shared the last episode. Also, thank you for all the new connections and great messages on LinkedIn. It makes me amazingly happy to hear that I'm actually helping you out and maybe helping you think differently about your approach as a DIY...
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001 – 5 Performance Tips for Engaging eLearning Narration
Performance tips for the DIY Narrator! It's finally time for the first real episode of the DIY Narrator Podcast! If you're an Instructional Designer or eLearning Developer who narrates their own eLearning, you should make sure you tune into this one. I'm really excited about this episode because...
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000 – DIY Narration Foundations
Narration Foundations for DIY Narrators Thanks for tuning into the first episode of the DIY Narrator Podcast! If you're an Instructional Designer who narrates their own eLearning, you don't want to miss out. I know, most of the time you can just skip Episode Zero when it comes to podcasts, but be...
About this show
Narrating your eLearning is about more than just delivering information, it's about engaging your learners. To get the most out of your time narrating, you need to make sure you're focused on the things that will improve the conversationality of your narration and connect your learner to the message and intent of your e-learning project.
Hosted by
Josh Risser
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