Good training content can help you educate your users, prospective clients, and employees on any topic. Instructional videos are one of the most popular, engaging, and user-friendly training tools.
Why? Instructional videos allow you to combine visuals with audio and text in a dynamic way, which can make instructional material easier to remember down the line. Academic studies have shown that visual learning helps people retain and recall information better than audio or text alone.
However, you may not know where to start if you don’t usually create instructional videos. How do you go from an initial idea to publishing a full video? What steps do you take?
In our beginners’ guide to making training content, you’ll learn how to make an instructional video for your target audience, from identifying your objective to editing your footage.
How To Create Instructional Videos Easily
Making instructional videos doesn’t have to be daunting — just follow these easy steps.
Start With A Clear Goal
The most important part of knowing how to create training content is setting a concrete goal. What information do you want to convey? What is the specific task that you want to help viewers complete?
Create a simple plan for what you want to get across in the video, and be clear on what viewers will understand by the end. The key word here is “simple” — don’t try to cover too much in one video. Otherwise, you risk bombarding people with information and, ultimately, confusing them.
Write A Script
Writing the script for your instructional video will be tough the first time you try it. If you plan to record it yourself, you may be tempted to wing the voiceover, but that could become clumsy and unprofessional.
Scripting your video will help you know what to say when the microphone is on and make staying on track easier. If you start straying or repeating yourself, your video could go on longer than it needs to and make viewers tune out.
Get everything you want to say on the page for your first draft, then whittle it down to convey the most important information with a logical progression that’s easy to follow. If you need a helping hand you can always use an AI writer to help you craft the perfect script!
Storyboard Your Video
Planning out a storyboard for your video will help you visualize the various shots and better understand how to position elements across the screen. Whether you intend to record live-action footage or use animation, storyboarding can make producing your video more efficient overall.
Not a natural artist? You don’t need to be a virtuoso with a pencil to storyboard your video. Just use stick figures and basic shapes to create a general idea of where the visual elements will fit into place.
Keep Your Videos Short
Research shows that the ideal length for an educational video is less than 12 minutes, and absolutely no longer than 20 minutes. Aim to keep your video concise while still covering all the information viewers need to know.
Shorter videos will be simpler, faster to produce, and easier for the target audience to digest.
Use Simple Language
Language is a critical factor to consider when learning how to create training content. You may be tempted to include poetic phrasing or technical jargon, but that could come across as pretentious and confuse viewers.
Use simple language that gets to the point clearly, and avoid jargon unless absolutely necessary.
Use Visual Aids
Whenever possible and relevant, use visual aids to convey information. Photos, graphs, and screenshots can reinforce points and make data easier to digest.
Use just one visual aid per shot, and give viewers time to understand what they’re looking at before moving on to the next.
Incorporate Humor
Peppering funny stories or tasteful, on-topic jokes throughout your instructional videos can help you get your point across and boost engagement. If you can make viewers laugh, they are more likely to pay attention and absorb information.
Record Your Video In A Way That Suits Your Budget And Goals
Recording your instructional video should be simple and straightforward. You don’t need to hire a professional film crew, a catering team, and sets like it’s a Hollywood movie.
You can record your video with a high-quality smartphone camera or use screen recording software for app product demos or tool walkthroughs.
If you’re filming with a camera or phone, use a tripod to keep your camera steady, and pay attention to your lighting and environment. Aim for a simple but professional look to add credibility to your videos.
Edit Your Instructional Video
Editing your video may be more daunting than recording it, but good editing software will make the process easier than you might expect. Avoid being too flashy or cutting from shot to shot too rapidly, as both issues can harm viewer engagement. Focus on a clean, tidy edit that enhances clarity and steadily progresses from point to point.
Add A Clear Introduction
Finish the visual aspect of your instructional video with a stylish, brief introduction. All you need to do is introduce the training content with a title, subtitle, or short description. Tell viewers what they’re about to watch clearly — no more, no less.
Make Instructional Videos The Easy Way With Genny
As we round out our beginners’ guide to making training content, let’s explore how to create instructional videos with help from a cuttind-edge AI tool.
Meet Genny, designed to help beginners like you make amazing instructional videos with a professional finish. With Genny, you can create highly realistic AI voiceovers that sound human using the latest text-to-speech technology. You can create voiceovers in more than 100 languages, with different emotions, to suit diverse audiences.
Genny can even help you write your script, generate AI art and images for instructional videos, edit your videos, and translate videos into different languages.
Ready to see it in action? Try Genny for free today!
