Why Quality Audio Matters in Corporate Training for Improved Employee Performance
Want to boost retention by up to 7.5?
Invest in high-quality audio!
According to a study published by the Journal of Educational Psychology, students who listened to high-quality audio scored an average of 7.5% higher on comprehension tests compared to those who listened to poor-quality audio recordings. Good audio helps maintain focus, engage learners, and reduce miscommunication, leading to better overall retention of information.
In the world of corporate training and instructional design, it’s no different. The quality of audio for learning and development plays a key role in delivering engaging and effective learning experiences. Whether it’s voiceovers for eLearning modules, podcasts featuring subject matter experts, or recorded employee interviews, clear and professional-sounding audio can significantly enhance the employee’s experience. By prioritizing audio quality, businesses can improve knowledge retention, and ultimately achieve better training outcomes.
That’s why we’ve rounded up our resident audio expert’s top tools and voiceover gear for any budget. We’ve categorized this guide to cover everything you need for audio recording, editing, publishing, and promoting—ensuring your employee training content is top-notch and actually gets heard!
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Hardware for High-Quality Voiceover and Audio Recording
- Microphones: Dynamic microphones like the Shure SM7B or Electro-Voice RE20 are great for voiceovers and podcasts because they capture clear, rich tones while minimizing background noise. For budget-friendly options, consider the Shure SM58 Pro XLR, Blue Yeti, or our virtual team’s go-to headphones: Logitech H390 Wired Headset as seen here when I took over the mic.
- Microphone Preamps: Act like magnifying glasses for sound. They amplify the quiet signals from microphones to a stronger, clearer level, preserving sharp details and minimizing background interference. Good preamps like a Millennia HV-35 500 Series specifically boost low-level microphone signals to a higher line level, ensuring the signal remains clean and detailed for further processing without introducing noise or distortion.
- Audio Interface: An audio interface such as a Universal Audio Volt 2 is like a translator for your microphone, converting its analog signals into a digital language that your computer can understand. This ensures your recordings sound clear and professional when you’re using software on your computer. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option, consider the Focusrite Scarlett audio interface.
- Signal Processing: tools like LA-2A, 1176 Universal Compressor, or e-EQ 500 enhance audio quality by managing volume, reducing distortion, and refining sound frequencies. They’re helpful for getting clear, balanced, and professional recordings, similar to adjusting camera settings for the perfect shot. For those on a budget, the EQ and compression plugins included with your DAW (see below) are a great starting point to get exposure and great sound without a big investment.
- Acoustic Treatment: Installing acoustic panels reduces room reverberation and echoes, creating a controlled environment that enhances audio clarity. Doug created his own setup, but here are some affordable options. Alternatively, you can improvise by recording in a closet full of clothes to capture sound, placing a rug on the floor, or surrounding yourself with thick blankets. Doug used these tricks before our video podcast! It goes to show that it doesn’t have to be fancy to be effective.
Audio Editing and Post Production Software
- Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): Software like Logic Pro enables precise recording, editing, and audio processing, including effects such as compression and equalization adjustments, essential for professional-quality audio production.
- Denoising Software: Tools like iZotope RX 10 effectively remove unwanted background noise from recordings, significantly enhancing audio clarity by eliminating distractions. This is helpful when recording without a microphone, although it’s best to record in optimal conditions to minimize the need for extensive editing.
- Budget-Friendly Options: While less advanced than premium software, Audacity and GarageBand can effectively reduce background noise in recordings for basic editing needs.
Podcast Recording and Hosting Tools
- Recording Tools: Platforms like RiversideFM empower podcasters to conduct high-quality remote interviews and discussions. Riverside utilizes AI for automated show note generation, episode transcription, and draft show notes, saving time while ensuring accuracy and consistency in summarizing podcast content. We appreciate its exceptional video quality, user-friendly interface for guests, AI capabilities, and the ability to export transcripts. It also features tools for creating social media snapshots and shareable video clips, though we find Opus Clip to deliver superior quality (more on this below). It’s a cost-effective option compared to other tools in the market like Zencastr, which we considered too.
- Hosting Platforms: Captivate is our preferred podcast hosting platform that gives podcasters everything they need to store and share episodes across major podcast directories (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.). It offers some analytics to track how your audience is growing, tools to promote your podcast and monetization options. One of the things we really like about it, unlike Libsyn, there’s no limit on how much you can upload each month. Plus, it makes it easy to distribute your episodes on YouTube, which is a nice plus!
Podcast and Audio Promotional Tools
- OpusClip: AI-powered video tool that simplifies creating short audio clips from your video content. It automatically extracts the most engaging parts, like what we discussed in this podcast episode on “TikTok-ifying” your learning content. Perfect for sharing on social media or promoting learning content in social learning networks. We like the auto-caption feature, multiple aspect ratios, and b-roll capabilities for enhancing the engagement and relatability of your content. While we’ve explored similar tools like Munch, we found it to be relatively new to the market and the clips that it pulled weren’t as compelling.
- Canva: Create visually appealing graphics for your podcast show notes, episode artwork, and social media posts. Canva’s user-friendly interface and vast library of templates saves us so much time and makes it easy to create professional-looking designs, even for those without extensive design experience.
- Copy.AI: A favorite for our marketing team with it’s unique features that go beyond ChatGPT. It includes a brand voice feature where you can input examples of your brand’s tone and voice, generating copy for blog posts, social media, newsletters, landing pages and show notes—ideal for podcast promotion. One standout feature is their AI Workflow Automation, offering a robust library of automations for sales, marketing, and operations teams. Here’s a few examples of how we use workflows: quickly turn content briefs into comprehensive blog posts (perfect for show notes) or repurpose existing blog posts into email newsletters and social media posts. Like all AI tools, it should be treated as a launching point then further customized to align with your brand and goals.
To see more, go behind the scenes with Doug as he tours his podcast studio!
