Making Training Videos in 5 Easy Steps [2024]

Training videos are one of the most accessible and efficient formats for information consumption. It is excellent for onboarding your employees about important information, updating them about new changes and providing further software training.

Training videos can help you save time by providing in-person training on the recurring topics and ensuring the same quality and standard of provided information. It can be easily updated, maintained and revisited as many times as needed in the future.

3 benefits of creating training videos

1. Higher engagement and easier information consumption

Most people are visual learners, making video format more convenient and efficient to consume.  97% of Synthesia survey respondents find video effective for knowledge retention to train employees.

2. Cost savings in training

Investing in online video training is cost-effective as you only need to produce the video once and can use it for various employees.

A case study by Microsoft shows that launching an internal video portal reduced the cost of learning & development by almost 95% compared to classroom training. That's a reduction from $320 to $17 per person.

3.  Simplified maintenance

When using AI video generation platforms it is always easy to go back and update existing video content, modify or add information. Which will help you cut costs and always stay compliant.

‍How to create a training video?

There are various options for creating training videos. AI is a cheaper and faster alternative to filming and audio recording equipment.

For visual learners, we have a video summarising the process:

Here are 5 steps for creating a training video:

Step 1: Define the topic and objectives of the video

Before recording a training video, define the topic and the training materials to be delivered. Break down the materials into distinct topics for easy consumption by viewers. For cybersecurity, this could include tutorials on social engineering, malware, data protection, and more.

Before making a training video, define the goals and objectives you hope to achieve. This ensures that viewers can learn new skills or improve existing ones through your video content.

It is important to make training videos with the appropriate content and style for your audience.

Consider these questions to set the right goals and objectives:

• Why do you want to make this video?
• Who is the target audience for the video?
• What do you want your audience to learn from the video?

Step 2: Choose the right type of training video

Setting clear goals will help you determine the appropriate video type.

There are 6 main training video types to choose from:

• Presenter-style videos
• Animated videos
• Screen recording videos
• Interactive videos
• How-to videos
• Microlearning videos

All the types are described in detail in the next section.

Step 3: Write a training video script and create a storyboard

An effective training video requires a well-written script. Without a script, the video creation process becomes messy and unstructured, potentially resulting in a lengthy video.

We have a detailed post outlining our 6-step framework for writing and structuring a training video script. The blog post also includes 5 useful (and research-based) tips for writing training video scripts.

If you don't have time to spare for script writing, check out our handy training video script templates.

While a video script is essential for the recording process, a storyboard is not always necessary. You can bypass it by explaining the visuals in writing or by using pre-designed video templates.

Step 4: Produce the training video in an AI Video Maker

In this step you would typically film the video using equipment like cameras and microphones. But we're going to show you how to create professional-looking videos using an AI video maker called Synthesia STUDIO.

1. Choose a training video template

The design process takes up a large chunk of time when creating your own training video, especially if you don't have any design experience.

Video templates eliminate the need for design skills and significantly speed up the process.

Synthesia has 60+ training video templates to help get you started with video creation: anything from microlearning templates, scenario or setting-based templates, or even Storyline-specific templates.

You can get started with templates in your Synthesia dashboard by going to 'Templates' -> 'Featured templates.'

2. Paste your script into the video maker

The first few steps have been pretty hands-on and required some deep thinking, a.k.a. 🧠-work.

In this step, AI steps into the picture and makes your job easier. 🙌

All you need to do is copy your video script and paste it into Synthesia STUDIO scene by scene.

Here's what will happen once you do this:

• Synthesia will generate an AI narration of your text using text-to-speech technology (think Alexa and Siri)
• You will be able to choose a voice from over 400 voice options
• If you paste the text in another language, the voice over will be generated in that language. In fact, you can choose from 120+ languages and counting.

As you can see, this step completely eliminates the need to record audio.

That means no need for microphones, audio editing, voice actors, or cringing at the sound of your own voice!

3. Add an AI presenter

Remember that text-to-speech narration you just created? Well, the narration comes with an optional human-like AI avatar that acts as a presenter in your training video.

There's no need for actors, subject-matter experts, or appearing on camera. In fact, you don't need a camera at all to make a training video.

Step 5: Edit the video

Okay, now that you have a visual outline and the narration, let's get into the editing process.

In this step, you can do everything you can do in any other online video editing software, such as creating engaging videos with:

• transitions
• animations
• text on screen
• screen recordings
• images
• videos
• shapes

... and everything in between.

You're done with the video creation process!

Take your edited video, and generate it by clicking on 'Generate'.

Synthesia will take a few minutes to animate the avatars, check that the content passes our strict moderation guidelines, and perform some general AI magic to make a great training video for you. ✨

After your training video is generated, you can download the video file, share it using the link or embed it on your LMS/LXP of choice.

What are the types of training videos?

There are multiple types of training videos and  choosing the right video type is essential.

Here are the 6 most popular types of training videos:

1. Presenter-style training videos

Otherwise known as a talking-head video, presenter videos feature a person (or people) that acts as a narrator, or presenter in the video.

That person is typically a subject-matter expert (SME), instructor, actor, or interviewee. Although the last one isn't usually applicable to training videos.

A presenter-style video is perfect for training, since humans prefer to learn from learning companions (according to this research).

2. Animated videos

Animated videos have become increasingly popular in recent years, and it's easy to see why.

An animated training video can effectively convey information in a concise and visually appealing way.

Animated videos can also be customized to specifically target certain audiences and created using a distinct and recognizable style that's associated with the business/brand.

However, fully-animated videos are expensive and time-consuming to produce. Some may find animated videos too 'cutesy' or childlike for their taste, which may not be ideal for training videos.

3. Screen-recording video

This video training type is most commonly used to demonstrate a specific task by recording the computer screen with screen capture software.

A screen recording is perfect for a software training video or any type of step-by-step follow-along instruction that can be shown on screen.

These videos are easy to make as they don't typically require a video camera.

One drawback is that a video recording can be quite bland to watch, so we recommend blending screencast videos with other types of training videos to make them more engaging.

4. Interactive videos

Interactive videos are those that support different types of user interaction.

Interaction can be achieved by using interactive elements like clickable hotspots, branching scenarios, built-in quizzes, and 360 views, among others.

Interactive training videos can take a long time to create and require specialized training video software, but the learning experience they provide is hard to match.

5. How-to videos

A how-to instructional video is perfect for walking the learner through a process or step-by-step instructions.

You can use any visuals to deliver the information, as long as the instructions are easy to understand:

• b-roll
• whiteboard
• screen recording
• audio explanation

Structurally, how-to videos are some of the easiest video types to produce, as the content of the video will logically be separated into steps. This will also make the script writing process that much easier.

6. Microlearning videos

A microlearning video is a short, focused training video that covers a specific topic, ideally under 3 minutes in length.

Microlearning videos are perfect for scenarios where you need to focus on one learning objective, using minimum distractions.

If you want to make training videos that fall under the microlearning umbrella, check out our guide on creating microlearning videos.

3 tips for more effective video training

Follow these three tips to elevate your training video from satisfactory to exceptional. This will help ensure that learning becomes an enjoyable and effective experience.

Tip #1: Add a (human) face

Humans prefer learning from other humans. Adding a visual character in a training video will help simulate a person-to-person interaction and increase viewer engagement.

Tip #2: Change up your visuals

When creating a training video, it's not only important that the message is clear but also that it is delivered in a visually engaging way.

The key to increasing engagement in talking head videos is to vary the visuals.

You can do that by:

• including interesting background elements
• showing related text content outside the video frame
• shifting the camera angle
• including graphical elements in the video

Tip #3: Shorten your introduction

Make your introduction as concise as possible, ideally no longer than 5-10 seconds.

In your introduction, address these two questions:

1. What is this training video going to be about?
2. What is the learner expected to do afterward?

Keeping your introduction short is key when it comes to creating training content that is actually engaging. Shorter videos are not only more interesting but also easier for learners to watch and comprehend.

Want to learn more about increasing engagement in tutorial videos? Read our blog post on 7 Research-Based Training Video Tips.

5 examples of effective training videos made with AI

Thousands of companies have switched from traditional video production to AI to make corporate training videos.

Here are some of the best training videos made with Synthesia STUDIO.

Example #1: Personalized onboarding videos

Antisel is a Greek scientific equipment and services company employing over 200 people in 3 markets, with a growing remote workforce.

The company greets remote workers with a series of bite-sized, personalized AI-generated training videos created with Synthesia STUDIO.

Here is an example of an onboarding video received by a new employee, Christos 📹

The video above is personalized for every new employee and is translated into 4 other languages to target Antisel's international employees.

Example #2: Training video with a custom avatar

Cyber Inc. is a security and privacy awareness company based in the Netherlands.

They leveraged a unique feature of Synthesia for their training (custom avatars) and accelerated expansion into 6 markets by creating training programs in 6 languages.

The custom avatar of one of their team members was made to add a differentiated brand feeling to their videos.

Here's a snippet of their video with a custom avatar:

Example #3: Training videos for 50,000 employees

WPP is a creative transformation company focused on building better futures for businesses and brands through solving the challenges of modern marketing.

Here's an example of a training video they created intending to demystify AI for 50,000 employees.

Example #4: Compliance training with specialized avatars

The selection of Synthesia's AI avatars is not only diverse in terms of looks, but also their use case.

In this example you can see an avatar dressed in a light-reflective vest, which fits in perfectly with the topic of the video - construction safety.

Here's a snippet:

Example #5: Software training with screen recordings

When teaching software, using the screen recorder function is what makes the training videos effective.

It allows the learner to see the step-by-step process and replicate it in real time.

Here's a sample video teaching users how to use Google Sheets:

Making great training videos is one step away

Creating effective training videos is a complex process that requires careful consideration of content, visuals, and learner engagement. But as technology evolves, training video creation can be made faster, easier and significantly cheaper.

If creating video content for your training program with AI sounds like something you want to explore, you can find relevant examples, numbers, case studies and more on our dedicated L&D page.

Otherwise, try making a free AI video with Synthesia to get started.