There are many things to love about remote working. There is waving goodbye to the commute, enjoying the good coffee, finally seeing what the dog does all day - and even taking it alfresco if you want a change of scenery. But not everything is better remote, as we’re sure anyone who has tried to deliver remote training sessions will agree.
Between patchy internet connections, tech issues, and PowerPoint problems (“Can you enable screen-sharing, please?”), facilitators, and trainers have never needed so much patience. We’re happy to announce that there is a better way to deliver remote training: animated explainer videos.
Why use animated explainer videos to deliver remote training and learning?
Beyond the tech issues and sketchy Wi-Fi, one of the biggest challenges a trainer can face is engaging people in the subject. Getting audiences hooked is tricky at the best of times, but when delivered remotely, staff training can struggle to capture your participants' attention. It’s not just down to dry or complex subject matter; when we’re learning remotely, there are just more distractions.
Whiteboard animation was developed first and foremost as a learning tool, so it is more than ready to tackle these distractions and make dry content engaging. It has several tricks up its sleeve to help you educate, inform, and entertain your colleagues and trainees.
Making information and messages relatable - everything is easier when we’re invested in it, and learning is no different. Using tools like cultural references and visual metaphors your audience will connect with, you can engage people in what you say.
Getting information across in a fast and accessible way - animated explainer videos use illustration, animation, onscreen text, and a voiceover to explain and deliver information. These multiple information streams allow you to say a lot without overwhelming viewers.
Holding viewer attention - animation and characters keep us watching. The constant change of animations and the connection we feel towards characters hold our attention, fighting distractions and letting us take in what the animation is saying.
Messages that stay with us - all of the above makes animated explainer videos very memorable. The information you share stays with viewers long after they have watched the video.
Delivering calls to action - every whiteboard animation ends in a call to action (CTA). CTAs let you take the momentum and engagement in your video forward. They could direct people to a website or resource, leave them with a takeaway message, or any instruction you like.
Creating a resource library - by incorporating animated explainer videos into your team training, you can keep supporting your students long after the session. The animations can be re-watched as refreshers and shared with colleagues who could benefit from the knowledge.
Whiteboard animation explainer videos communicate your company ethos and personality to remote employees
From shaping the way teams work together to the experience customers will receive, sharing the company ethos with every employee is essential. This can be a challenge, however, when employees work remotely. Whiteboard animation can help you here too.
Ethos
It’s crucial that everyone understands the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of your organisation. This can be included in your staff training animation’s script, be part of broader messages, or even put in a standalone animation.
Personality
Personality goes hand in hand with ethos and is especially important in customer-facing situations. Whiteboard animation is packed with opportunities to feature this, from the tone of your script to your illustration style and the voiceover artist you choose.
Brand
For colleagues and clients, your brand is symbolises you; anything created in its guidelines should feel linked to your ethos and reputation. Make the most of this in your whiteboard animation using brand colours, fonts, logos, and slogans. You can even include mascots or famous faces linked to your brand. The freedom offered by whiteboard animation means there’s no shortage of creative and engaging options.
Talking heads vs whiteboard animation - the research
Perhaps the best reason to use whiteboard animation when delivering remote training is that research has shown it works better than talking-head videos. After the success of our RSA Animates series, we worked with Professor Richard Wiseman, a social psychologist, to compare how audiences reacted to talking-head videos and whiteboard animations.
Together, we found that the whiteboard animation:
Was 66% more likely to be shared;
Resulted in a 15% increase in information retention;
And was rated 33% more entertaining.
The benefits of effective remote training
When it comes remote learning, getting your training right can open up a whole host of benefits that improve your team training and improve the learning and development of staff in your organisation.
It’s scalable
When your training includes a library of engaging animated explainer videos, your trainers can provide a high standard of teaching, whether to a small group or a large one. This has the bonus of ensuring all your staff receives the same information and allowing you to shorten the gaps between courses.
No one is excluded
A major benefit of remote learning, when it is done well, is that the content can be made accessible to your colleagues, whatever their needs, helping everyone to be part of training and to share in the information. Accessibility is inbuilt into animated explainer videos; They suit people with various learning preferences by combining explanatory illustrations, animation, onscreen text, and voiceovers.
On top of this, features like subtitles, transcripts, and audio descriptions can be added to increase accessibility. The custom nature of whiteboard animation means a video can be designed from the beginning with specific accessibility features built-in, by choosing inclusive fonts and colours and by controlling how much happens on screen.
It can be revisited
Whether they’re a new employee who wants to double-check something or an experienced colleague looking for a refresher, having a library of training animations open to staff at any time allows them to seek information as and when needed.
This means you can increase the impact of your training without the need for trainers to be present to deliver the refresher. Animated explainer videos are particularly well placed here, as their use of explanatory illustrations, onscreen text, and a guiding voiceover gives learners everything they need.
When it comes to conducting remote training, whiteboard explainer videos are ready to help you make it entertaining, give your team the learning and development they need, and beat the other distractions. You can do all this while informing people about company ethos and other elements made challenging by remote working.
We’ve been creating animated explainer videos since 2004 and helped pioneer the medium. We’d love to chat about making your remote training more engaging or sharing your message. Book a free creative consultation or contact us today!
By combining simplicity, creativity, and visual storytelling, whiteboard animation offers numerous benefits that can help companies improve their communication strategies. In this blog post, we will explore some of the key advantages that whiteboard animation brings to the table.