DIY Narrator: For Instructional Designers Who Narrate eLearning

Hmm... Title ideas...

* The secret that Voice Over Talents don't want you to know!* These 5 things help you sound more conversational. You won't believe number 4!* Don't even think about recording your eLearning narration without doing this first!

Oh wait, I'm producing valuable content here, not clickbait.

But seriously, this really is one weird trick that most voice talents use on a regular basis and it will probably have an immediate impact on your eLearning narration delivery.

And it is so simple.

The "lead-in" is essentially a short phrase you add to the start of your read that keeps you from slamming into the first word after hitting record. It also has the added benefit of helping you keep your frame of mind on the key components of your narration scene:

* Who are you?* Who are you talking to?* Why are you saying this?

Check out the last episode for more info on those concepts and why they're important.

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 conversational sounding.

This week, we're going cerebral! Time to get in your head and figure out what you're thinking about when you're sitting down to narrate.

I bet I can guess what you're thinking about:

* "Time to knock out some narration before my meeting in 20 minutes!"* "I hope I don't stumble over my words! I hate starting over and having to edit!"* "I only had one [beverage of choice], I shouldn't slur my words... too much."

You could probably guess that those kinds of thoughts are not helpful when you go to narrate your eLearning course.

Listen to this episode to hear my thoughts on where your head should be when you go to narrate.

Stuff In This Episode

* A 3-part template for getting your head right* A one-man play I wrote called "The Bathroom"* My LSCon Slide Deck* Some bad advice* Probably not any Method Acting at all, actually

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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.

First, a story:

Once upon a time, there was a guy who had a podcast and was speaking at a conference. He thought, "Hey, I'll record my session and release it as a podcast."

He bought a cool lavalier mic for his phone and tested it to make sure it worked.

Session day came and before he started presenting he fed the mic through his shirt, plugged it in and tested it out. Everything worked!

Then, about 35 minutes into his session he realized he forgot to actually start recording the session.

The End.

Sooo... At the end of March, I was honored to be allowed an hour to present at The eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions conference in Orlando.

It was an amazing experience. If you made it to my session, thank you so much for coming.

For those of you who didn't (which I think was most of you since I have a few thousand listens and about 40 people in the room), I want to recap my session over the next couple of episodes.

This episode focuses mainly on the advice you've heard in the past and how it's lead you astray. Not because it was bad advice, but because it was incomplete.

You've heard it all:

* Billboard Important Phrases!* Speak Slowly and Steadily* E-nun-ci-ate Your Words

These are all great pieces of advice, but I've found that there isn't enough context or understanding out there about how to properly implement them.

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 eLearning script. To me, "authority" too strong or negative.

In my head, I see the grumpy professor standing behind a lectern and regurgitating information. Expecting you to sit quietly and take notes.

Not like someone I'd enjoy learning from.

When trying to add "authority" to your narration, you have to be really careful. Doing so can take you down the wrong path. You may end up with a less friendly read or you could even end up sounding condescending.

No learner wants to be talked down to. People enjoy learning from a friendly person they trust and see as an equal.

When I see "authority" or "authoritative" in direction spec, I mentally swap it out for the word "confident." I've found this satisfies the feeling my client is hoping to get across, while not negatively impacting the tone of my narration.

Not sure about you, but I love to learn from a confident teacher. Someone who knows their stuff, understands how to teach it, and is brining me along with them in the learning process. That is not at all like the person I think of when I picture authority.

Listen for three tips on how you can sound confident to satisfy the "authority", without sounding like a jerk.

I also mentioned a few other episodes:

* Episode 001 - 5 Performance Tips for eLearning Narration* Episode 020 - Tips for Conversational Narrations

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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 have heard the episode on how I failed by not answering the question of “Who’s it for?”, be sure to check it out here.

I guess you could call that Part Zero.

Oh, be sure to listen all the way through to hear my impression of the worst elements of conversational American English and a horrible pirate joke.

In the next episode, we'll talk about your energy levels and sounding "authoritative"... whatever that means. ;)

Things covered include:

* Elements of conversational narration style

* How they all fit together

* When they don't work

* What NOT to do!

* A terrible pirate joke

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"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 week, we're talking about scriptwriting and pace.

I did touch on pace a bit in Episode 19, so be sure to check it out as well.

In the next episode, we'll move onto how the conversationality of your narration will change based on your answer to the question of "Who is it for?"

Things covered include:

* Understanding the question "Who is it for?"

* Approaching your script

* Questions to ask to impact your performance pace

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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 a brand shiny new client and quickly proceeded to make one serious mistake that caused a bit of extra work on my end and some unnecessary stress on their end.

I want to tell you that story in this episode, along with what you can learn from it to improve your next narration project.

Things covered include:

* DIY Narrator Academy

* DIY Narrator Podcast Changes

* My eLearning Narration FAIL!

* Who's it for?

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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 quality.

Knowing how effective video can be for training, I wanted to discuss how you can get started taking steps to improve your audio quality.

With how great cameras are getting on phones these days, in my opinion, audio quality is the low-hanging fruit when it comes to improving the effectiveness of your training videos.

Things covered include:

* A short rant about audio in videos

* Camera Audio

* Mic Solutions - Upsides and Downsides

* Lav mics

* Shotgun mics

* Recording Solutions

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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 avoided this question on the podcast, but I wanted to cover it and get it out of the way! For the most part, those of you in L&D are passionate about learning and teaching and aren't looking for another career.

But that's what this episode is all about. How can you, as an Instructional Designer narrating your own eLearning, get into other areas of voiceover?

You have the equipment and you've improved your space and skills based on advice from the DIY Narrator podcast. Why not try your hand?

Here's my advice, which doesn't really differ at all from my own path into voiceover.

Things covered include:

* Listening to commercials!

* Coaching

* Getting Auditions

* Agents?

* A special announcement!

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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 informative, the Expo is amazing, and everyone is the nicest person I've ever met.

Plus, in Episode 15, I promised you a podcast!

This week is all about doing the best with what you have and improving the sound of your recording. In a matter of minutes, I went from a very echoey room on a glass desk with a bunch of background noise to a very serviceable sound using just some stuff from the hotel room.

Could it be better? Sure. But that's not the point. The point is simply that there is no excuse to use what you have around you to improve the sound of your eLearning Narration.

Here are some photos-

Desk Setup:

Pillow Fort:

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