Get Rid of Bad Narration Once and For All

Here are two posts from the Rapid E-Learning Blog that provide excellent audio recording tips and tricks.

I get a lot of questions about microphones and getting good audio.  I think the single biggest thing you can do to get good audio quality is to switch from a headset microphone and buying a desktop microphone.

You can hear the quality differences in these two examples recorded on the same laptop in the same environment.

• $30 headset
• $72 desktop (with no pop filter or any other type of adjustment)

You’ll notice that the headset microphone doesn’t sound as good.  You also hear the pops of air and movement of the mouthpiece.  That’s why I use a desktop microphone. It just sounds better, which most likely means less editing and retakes.  Plus bad audio is worse than a bad screen.

4 Simple Tips for Recording High-Quality Audio

• Invest in a good mic.
• Maintain a consistent environment
• Get rid of ambient noise
• Dampen the sound

13 More Tips to Help You Record Narration Like the Pros

• Place your microphone in the right position
• Record a demo to make sure it all sounds right
• Listen to the audio playback with headphones
• Don’t get distracted with animations and annotations
• Make sure your script is conversational and easy to read
• Stand up while recording
• Don’t ad-lib
• Have plenty of liquids available
• Get rid of the plosives
• Record 10 seconds of silence
• Relax and don’t rush your words
• Mark your retakes
• Dampen the sound