The art of creating auditory content

As podcasting becomes a more wide-spread distribution method for e-learning content, attention to the quality of auditory delivery becomes more important. I found this article offers tips that are helpful to instructors delivering live lectures as well as those who are considering the production of online multimedia presentations:

Excerpted from "Scripting for E-Learning"
by Laura Steinhart

Most e-learning content-- from simple PowerPoint slide shows to customized screens with text and images--is designed for reading. Some content also includes voice-overs, such as user instructions or character voices in a scenario. Occasionally, narration tightly integrated with animation creates engaging explanations of complex processes.

In e-learning that is heavily pictorial rather than textual, the learner’s attention focuses on the visual content and the voice-overs are secondary. This does not mean that the voice-overs or words on screen are less important to the instructional designer. You would typically storyboard all content at the same time. But, it does mean that you need a clear plan for the visuals with the voice-overs in supporting roles, much as you would create a comic strip or animated film.

Storyboarding

The multi-media storyboard typically has three sections: Visual sketches, production notes, and voice scripts. A producer integrates and times the voice-overs or narrations with the visual stills and animations.

Writing for the ear

Writing for the ear, rather than the eye, is fundamentally different and is a much less forgiving task. The ear notices and cringes at awkward shifts, pretentiousness, repetitiveness, and--in technical material--long strings of nouns used as qualifiers.

The beauty of auditory content is that it speaks directly to the mind. As infants, we hear and understand spoken language years before we learn to read. Our ears are perceptive to nuance. We naturally distinguish speech styles as sharply different as TV infomercial patter, voice mail instructions, and corporate promotions.

Writing for e-learning voice-overs also encompasses different styles. You can distinguish characters in a scenario by their speech as much as their appearance. The omniscient voice may give warm, encouraging user instructions or explain how things work in spare, neutral sentences.

Playback and timing

The single most important technique in scripting for e-learning is to record and play back a voice reading the material. If you close your eyes, you will notice abrupt shifts, omissions, repetitions, and other areas needing improvement.

Tips

Pay attention to flow. When scripting narrated explanations, unfold each fact or concept sequentially and naturally into the next with no backtracking and no jumping ahead. Explanations should describe processes stage by stage rather than define terms. The name of a concept may, in fact, follow its description.

Be aware of the strong emotional power of heard speech. The narrator can vary the same text to convey very different messages. Use this to strengthen the motivational effect of your material. Specify the narration purpose, style, and emphasis in the storyboard’s production notes or by adopting typographic standards in the script. For example, all caps might indicate a louder voice and ellipses might indicate a pause.

Unless e-learning chunks are segmented for modularity, transitions can be very helpful. Students appreciate, “In the previous section, you learned . . . In THIS section, we learn . . . Next, . . . ”

Use rhetorical questions, such as, “How does the body break down carbohydrates into sugar?”

Technical material often includes long strings of nouns used as qualifiers. When possible, try to avoid this in both print materials and scripts. Keep sentences simple and declarative. Except for necessary technical terms, use basic language.

Scripting is a very satisfying task. It involves the basic composition skills used for print or online writing, but extends those skills to develop our innate auditory awareness. One integrates the auditory and the visual for a single, powerful message and better retention of learning.

Laura Steinhart (laura@mla.mv.com) is a consultant specializing in the design and development of e-learning materials.