How to make training videos

Create training videos easily with Canva

Training videos are one of the most effective and efficient ways to show the value of your product, onboard and update staff about important information, educate customers and help people upskill. Customer-facing training videos help customers make informed decisions and save your customer support team having to answer more questions. And internal or staff training videos save precious time by replacing repeated meetings with the ability for people to watch and revisit training videos in their own time.

So, how do you make a training video? With Canva Video Editor⁠(opens in a new tab or window), it’s easy. This guide will show you why training videos are so important, different types of training videos, how to make them more engaging, and how you can save time making your training videos. If you’re familiar with training videos, you can learn more about creating videos with Canva in these tutorials⁠(opens in a new tab or window).

Why make training videos?

Training videos are so much better than text-only or in-person training. Video lets you show and tell your staff or customers what they need to know and they can rewatch it and re-visit the tutorial as many times as they need. Video content can also help improve your Google search ranking, increase traffic, empower your customers to make better purchasing decisions and your staff to work smarter, and ultimately grow your business.

Types of training videos you can create

Working out what type of training video is best for you will be informed by your audience and subject matter. When deciding on which type of training video⁠(opens in a new tab or window) you want to create, think about what will best deliver the information you want people to remember.

Screencast

A screencast is a recording of your computer screen. In Canva you can record a voice-over and even record yourself so it appears inset in your screencast. Screencast tutorial videos are excellent for showing complex processes like guided step-by-step walkthroughs for software. Screen shares are easy to create and are an excellent quick option for internal training videos. You can create polished, professional screencast videos for customer-facing training videos too.

Presenter

Presenter tutorial videos are when someone is in front of the camera presenting. You may’ve seen this type of video on YouTube, it’s one of the most popular styles as people talk you through anything from CPR to recipes to camera repair to beauty routines. If you’re looking to replace in-person training but want to keep that human connection, try a presenter video.

Animation

Animated videos use text and graphic elements to convey your message. Animated training videos are a great way to avoid having to cast and hire talent for your videos. And, if you keep text to a minimum, they’re easy to use across different languages. And the best part? You can create professional animated training videos in Canva.

Scenario

Scenario training videos are great for showing people how to handle different scenarios. Using role-playing or hypotheticals, you can show people how to use customer support scripts, and sale tactics – soft skills that require some initiative and instinct to use.

How-to videos

How-to tutorial videos show you how to do something. While they’re often done as a presenter video, they don’t need to be. They can simply show the process with a voice-over guiding people through. YouTube has a wealth of how-to videos as people use it as a convenient source for problem-solving.

The power of YouTube

YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world after Google. So if you’re creating a training video for customers, uploading it to Youtube is a great (and free) way to make it easily searchable. It’s also worth putting in the extra effort to ensure your video is as good as it can be because it can sit on YouTube for years answering your customers questions and increasing brand awareness.

Why training videos are so useful

The beauty of making training videos is you can make it exactly what you need, and Canva helps you customize your videos easily. Making your own training videos is cost effective and faster than relying on an agency or third-party. And once you’ve finished your training video, you have it forever. You can share it and your staff or customers can watch it as often as they need.

How to make your training video more engaging

There are a few ways of making your training videos more engaging and effective. Adding closed captions is one of the best ways to improve engagement and also improves accessibility for people with impaired hearing. With Canva, you can also add annotations, animated graphic elements⁠(opens in a new tab or window) and text overlays, which all improve engagement and retention of the training materials. Remember, less is more with these tools – you don’t want your video compilation⁠(opens in a new tab or window) being too busy with overlays as they can lose their effect as people start to tune them out.

How to save time making tutorial videos

Planning your training videos will save you a lot of time in the execution phase. Investing time in your pre-production will pay big dividends later. If you’re collaborating on the training videos, learn how to set up a team in Canva⁠(opens in a new tab or window) to make it easier. Start by working on your script. Less is more here and it will likely take multiple rounds of edits to get your script succinct and effective. Next, you can move onto storyboarding. Storyboarding is the process of mapping out the visuals elements that will go along with your script. Canva has heaps of storyboard templates⁠(opens in a new tab or window) you can use to get started.

Once you’ve finished your storyboard, it’s a great time to look at your video and incorporate some of those tips to make your training video more engaging. Now that your script is tight and your storyboard is finalised, you’re ready to start creating your video. If you’re doing a presenter video, allow plenty of time before you start shooting, for the presenter to practice and familiarise themselves with the script.

How to make training videos with Canva

Making videos with Canva is easy. Jump straight into the Canva Video Editor and use our intuitive tools, create animated videos, colorful presentation, 3D intros⁠(opens in a new tab or window), or check out our tutorials to learn more about video editing in Canva⁠(opens in a new tab or window).