How to Create Engaging Training Videos in 2021
Originally published at Engaging Training Videos
Video content is one of the most common ways to explain something, tell and show how to do an action, and share any kind of knowledge. This is a proven fact that people learn better with videos. A lot is changed between telling something and showing how to make it happen.
Sharing knowledge through online courses is not something you may do while drinking coffee. This is an extra responsibility. You share valuable knowledge. People pay to get this material they require. So, you should do your best to present the material so that you meet the users’ expectations and do not disappoint them. Below I present my visual expectation about how to create engaging training videos.
Stage 1. The Idea
Everything starts with a good idea. I think you already have come to that great idea of creating online courses. So, I won’t speak much about idea generation. I may also recommend to make research on your course idea and learn whether or not it will be required in the market. Do not work on something people are not interested in, and you won’t satisfy your expectations.
Stage 2. Preparations
In this process, you need to follow the available trends and requirements to present training videos people like and enjoy learning from. Neither you should think about having a professional studio to make this work. You may just create a working area for you — as I like to call “a home video studio”. It has nothing to do with a professional studio, but a comfortable area appropriate for organizing the process.
Once you know there is a convenient corner you may start from, you should make a plan for the expected course. Gather all the educational material that will be shared. Create SlideShare presentations if necessary. It is very easy to do with the help of Google Slides.
Stage 3. Recording
This is the most important and responsible stage. You should implement the recording process in a way that your potential students stay satisfy. Below, I am going to discuss some tactics, approaches, or methods that will help you create engaging training videos.
#1 Manage the Time
Don’t make long videos. People get tired when learning for a long time. Keep your videos short. If the topic you present is wide, you may divide it into subtopics and record separate videos for each one. This is more effective and preferable for learners. Getting a lot of important knowledge immediately, the human brain does not manage to memorize every detail so that sometimes some points are missed and the student has to go back and rewatch the video.
To avoid such inconvenience, online trainers are recommended to keep their videos short. Many experts consider that 15–30 minutes lasting videos are the best for online courses. This is based on various psychological researches, detailed analysis, content patterns, feelings, and reactions.
#2 Keep on the Most Important
Do not take the students’ time speaking about points that are not essential and may be missed. People who prefer to learn with online courses are usually short of time. They choose courses to learn something new whenever and wherever they manage. So, do not make them disappointed.
If the learners see you speak about not important points too much they will stop watching you and a negative opinion will be spread about your course. Accordingly, the student will avoid buying your content. So, in order to increase the engagement level with your online courses, keep on the most important. This will also help you to record a normal length video and you will manage the previous point as well.
#3 Talk to the Camera
If you are shown in the videos then make sure to face the camera while explaining something. This makes the learners think you are talking to them and it increases the engagement. So, imagine that there is a student sitting in front of you instead of the camera and you teach them that specific topic.
Of course, this does not refer to some specific professions, for instance, it may be impossible for fitness trainers, cooks, hairdressers, or makeup artists to keep eye contact while recording online courses. Probably, they just need to show the process. In any case, they are also recommended to look at the camera whenever it is possible. This is a proven fact that attracts in the learning process.
#4 The Clear Voice Matters
Learners should be able to listen to your voice clearly. In this matter, you should make sure there is no noise in the room you record courses. Then work on your voice.
Many teachers complain that their voices sound tired after some time of recording or online classes. This usually happens when the trainer speaks in a monotonous way. What you need to do is to speak in an energetic way. Keep a medium volume of your voice. Speak neither too loudly nor quietly, neither too fast nor very slowly. Just find the golden mean and go on. But do not keep it monotonous. From time to time change your voice tone. For instance, speak loudly and with a specific intonation while mentioning some critical factors.
#5 Keep the Motivational Mood on
Learners like to know the content they learn and the industry they want to become experienced in, is a growing one and they are in the right direction. Before getting starting on the general point of the course, you should present its importance, especially, in the introductory videos.
You may also choose some words or expressions to use in order to make people do something. Some trainers use such words at the end of the video and motivate them to go on to the next video.
#6 Provide Additional Educational Material
During the process of publishing already recorded courses, you are recommended to add additional material. This is usually related to the educational content discussed in the videos in the course chapter. It is accepted to present additional material at the end of the chapter. This material may be in the form of pdf, txt, word files, slide shares, etc.
You may attach some diagrams, tables, and sheets of plans, or something else you have discussed in the course. Such content will be additional support for the learners and an easy way to find the answers to their questions. About these files, you may tell during the video. For instance, when explaining a diagram which you may let the learners know it will be attached at the end of the course chapter.
#7 Come up with Quizzes
Students like to check their knowledge after taking part in a course. Quizzes will give them this opportunity. You may place such tests at the end of every chapter of your course. This will make the participants more engaged with the material. They will be more attentive while learning as they know they should pass the test. Such an approach helps to increase the effectiveness of the online learning process.
Besides separate small quizzes after every chapter, you may also create a general test for the whole course. This test will include questions from every aspect considered in the overall course. And those students who successfully pass the course and get a positive mark, and acquire a good amount of knowledge they may need in future or present work.
Quizzes are especially important as they help students remember the information. During the online learning process, the learners stop and pass a test. This is all about the repetition that makes the transferred knowledge memorable. Such tests are also motivational. Once the learners provide a good result on a test they tend to go on, learn more, and get better results.
Tests also teach to make research. When a student does not remember any point, they go back and try to find the required answer. Accordingly, they remember it. Some tests are even created for developing research skills. All the trainers know that there is a possibility that the learners may search for answers on Google. This doesn’t mean harder tests should be prepared but to help the learners become more skillful in research.
Uteach has this feature of creating quizzes and it is very easy to implement. You get several options of questions to choose from. These types are:
- with multiple-choice answers
- Image questions
- Video questions
- Questions that require a “yes” or a “no” answers
- Questions that require a short or a long answer
If you are not registered on Uteach yet, make sure you do it as long as possible. A lot of learners want to get the valuable knowledge you share.
#8 Award Certificates
Learners, especially those who want to master a new specialty through online courses, pay great attention to certifications. It is proof of their acquired knowledge and skills. For some students, this is a motivation to go on learning and there are even such students who gather collections of certificates.
However, these certificates are not just badges of honor. They are also helpful material for education providers. You may check out the tests students have already passed and learn what are the most common cases where they are mistaken. Maybe something is not explained in an easy-to-understand way in your video or the question in the test is confusing. In this way, you may make improvements, share, and get better results.
Certificates increase the motivation level and engage them. Therefore, online teaching certificates give learners the power to monitor their own progress and proficiency. They know how well or bad their experience is. If they get a high mark then the motivation is improved and in the case of a medium or low mark, they work harder to achieve better.
The certificate section is also available on Uteach. It is automatically generated for those students who pass the quiz successfully and get a positive result.
#9 Congratulate for Every Small Success
People who learn like it when their efforts are appreciated. If you want to make them more engaged with your content then congratulate them in case of every small success. For instance, tell them congrats after completing a course chapter or passing a test successfully. This may be both by speaking during the video (do not forget about looking at the camera) and by a text form that appears after passing a quiz. You may even provide gifts or bonuses in the form of useful files, pieces of advice, or consultation.
Always keep talking to the student who takes part in your course. Even if they get bad results when passing the quizzes, make them feel it was just a try and everything is yet to come. Use some motivational phrases that engage them in learning better and trying again.
#10 Ask Opinions
Student opinion is the teachers’ mark and success. When presenting a course create a poll and let the user vote how useful the course was for them. Such an approach is also accepted when the student passes a test. They get a form to fill in their opinion about the overall test.
You may use this tactic, especially, at the conclusion of your course. Ask the participant to leave an opinion in the reviews section or rate the course if there are special fields available for fill-in or vote.
The Final Words
Following the points that are mentioned above, you will increase the level of student engagement with the valuable courses you present on your online teaching platform. Along with the increasing number of engaged students, you become more experienced as well as required in the market. People who look for educational material you offer will choose your courses as there are many other learners satisfied with the pieces of knowledge and experience you share.
If you want to get your own online teaching platform where you will be provided with the most advanced features to engage your present and potential students then schedule a demo and get familiar with the features Uteach offers. You will create a website within minutes that will become the face of your business.
