Keeping Their Attention: How to Create Engaging Training Videos

It has been a long day. 

After yet another too-short break, the walls of the conference room feel like they are about to cave in.

And yet another bland, boring, nap-inducing HR training video is droning on in the front of the room. 

Is it Friday yet? 

If you just shuddered and immediately wanted to book a vacation to Fiji, you already know how vital it is to create engaging training videos. 

You have been the one in the stiff-backed chair “learning’” from boring videos that seem to never end. 

You know first-hand that boring training videos rarely stick with the viewer. 

If you want effectively trained personnel, you need engaging training resources. 

Engaging training videos = effective training videos. 

If your audience is not engaged and interested in the material, they aren’t going to learn it well. Plain and simple. 

As the studies show, engaging material can make all the difference in whether or not your team retains what they learn. 

Creating an environment where your team is constantly learning and growing is a major key to building a happy, healthy, thriving workplace. 

We promise, it really is possible to make corporate videos interesting.

Learning how to make great training videos begins with knowing one simple truth: shorter is better. Long, drawn-out videos lose your audience quickly and they just don’t work. Keep your videos short, sweet, and to the point. Less really is more.

There are 3 main types of training videos that companies need. 

• Videos for high-turnover environments

• Policy review videos

• Software training videos 

Knowing how to make each of these types of videos engaging is the key to successfully training a productive team.

If your company has a high turn-over rate, then utilizing training videos is a great option for you for several reasons:

• You have the ability to train large groups all at once.
• A minimum amount of time is required of managers.
• Everyone is trained according to company policies.
• Everyone learns the same thing – no more company policies getting lost in translation.

Nothing kills an attention span faster than long videos of talking heads. 

When creating training videos for work environments, consider integrating some of these:

• Interactive videos that pose a question and then pause for a few seconds
• Role-play videos that depict people doing the tasks they are being trained to do
• Targeting multiple learning styles by:
  • Having text on the screen
  • Using high-quality audio
  • Showing different types of diagrams, graphs, etc.

In any good company, keeping employees up-to-date on HR and legal policies is incredibly important. 

A great way to do this is through engaging training videos.

There is no other way to say it: policy review is the stuff of corporate nightmares. 

When most people think of policy review or legal training, they think of endless hours in a stuffy room with stale office coffee and a video that looks like it was made 20 years ago. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

It is possible to create policy review videos that are informative and engaging. 

A great way to do this is to change up the background. 

The average attention span lasts 60-90 seconds before a change of scene is needed. 

Have a narrator share the policy while depicting a related scenario in the background.

Not only does this keep the watcher engaged, but it also offers them real-world scenarios to which they can apply the information.

Sometimes you need to train employees in using certain software. 

Twenty-minute screen recordings are boring, and they don’t do a good job of teaching new skills. 

But there are some great ways to teach new software. 

When creating software training videos, use techniques that demand attention such as:

• Exaggerated cursors
• Changing the viewer perspective from just a screen view to different views of someone watching the training
• Keeping the videos short and to the point
• Adding text when appropriate to break up the video

Every audience is different, and that means that every video needs to be different. 

But there are some factors that must be present to create online training videos that grab attention.

Training videos are not hands-on. 

They are a passive learning source. 

In order to keep the watcher’s attention, create a narrative that weaves through the video. 

Everyone loves a good story, even if it is based in the corporate world.

Don’t leave your main point to the end of the video.

Your watcher should know exactly what they are learning about right up front. 

Your lesson is not a cliff-hanger, it is the main point, so give it the seat of honor right at the beginning.

It is believed that the human brain can retain about 7 new things at a time when engaged. 

Some suggest that this is actually lower, closer to 3-4. 

But whatever the number, there is a limit to what someone can learn. 

We also know the average person’s attention span lapses every 60-90 seconds. 

By creating engaging videos that change scenes every 60-90 seconds, we can make sure people are able to learn from the videos. 

When each video is kept short and to the point, minding the 7 new things rule, you can be sure that your team is learning at peak performance.

We understand. 

Creating engaging training videos is difficult. 

But, with the right help, you can create content that adds value to your team and helps them to understand the expectations of your company.

Here at Houston Video, we know how to create the perfect video, or set of videos, that creates an incredible learning environment in your company.

We want to help you grow your pool of well-trained employees. 

With our unique approach and experience with big-name brands, we are equipped to take your training game to the next level.