These days, businesses and organizations are always on the lookout for new and more effective ways to train employees, teach students, and share knowledge. Let’s face it: traditional training methods—like long manuals, boring slideshows, and endless lectures—don’t always engage people. As a result, learners struggle to retain information and the results aren’t always great. That’s where animated training videos come in. They’re changing the game by offering a fun, engaging way to learn and retain information.
Animated instructional videos mix visual storytelling, clear narration, and captivating graphics, turning even the most complicated ideas into easy-to-understand and memorable content. In this article, we’ll dive into why animated training videos are becoming so popular and how you can use them to improve your training strategy.
Why Animated Training Videos Are a Game-Changer
Keeping Learners Engaged and Helping Them Remember
One of the biggest challenges in any training program is keeping people engaged. Traditional methods often fail to grab attention, especially when explaining something technical or complex. Animated videos solve this by presenting information in a visually exciting way that holds the viewer’s interest.
Studies show that we remember about 10% of what we see and read, 20% of what we hear, but an impressive 80% of what we see and do. Animated videos tap into this by combining visual and auditory elements, which boosts retention. When learners are entertained and actively engaged, they’re much more likely to absorb and remember the material.
Breaking Down Complex Ideas
Some topics are hard to explain with just text or still images. Animation does a great job of simplifying these tricky ideas, turning them into easy-to-understand chunks. With visuals, step-by-step guides, and clear illustrations, even the most complicated topics become accessible.
Take, for example, explaining how a complex piece of machinery works. You might need several pages of text and tons of diagrams. But with an animated video, you can show the machine in action and highlight key parts, all in a few minutes.
Consistent Training Every Time
Training content can vary when it’s delivered by different instructors at different times or locations. This inconsistency can lead to confusion and mistakes. Animated videos solve this by making sure everyone gets the exact same information in the same way, no matter where or when they watch.
This is especially helpful for large teams or businesses that need to ensure everyone is on the same page about company policies, safety procedures, or compliance guidelines.
Cost-Effective and Scalable
While making animated videos might cost more upfront than traditional methods, they’re incredibly cost-effective in the long run. Once you’ve created a video, you can:
- Use it over and over again without extra costs
- Update it whenever information changes
- Share it with as many learners as you want
- Let people watch it whenever they want, saving on live training sessions
- Translate it into multiple languages for a global audience
For example, Vodafone used animated videos to train more than 100,000 employees worldwide, proving how scalable this method is for large organizations.
Accessible and Flexible Learning
Animated videos are great because they cater to different learning styles. Visual learners get the most out of the animations, auditory learners benefit from the narration, and kinesthetic learners can enjoy interactive elements. This makes animated videos a more inclusive way to train diverse groups of people.
Plus, they’re flexible. Learners can watch the videos whenever it’s convenient for them, pause and replay sections, and learn at their own pace. This self-paced approach is especially helpful in today’s workplace, where people are often juggling multiple responsibilities.
Types of Animated Training Videos
2D Animation
2D animation is one of the most popular and versatile options for training videos. It uses flat characters and backgrounds to explain information clearly, often in a fun or stylized way. It’s cost-effective and quick to produce, making it suitable for a wide variety of topics.
Some examples include:
- Explainer videos for new products or services
- Step-by-step guides for software
- Safety procedure demonstrations
- Employee onboarding videos
Whiteboard Animation
Whiteboard animation makes it look like someone is drawing on a whiteboard in real time. This style works great for storytelling or breaking down complex ideas in a logical, easy-to-follow sequence.
Whiteboard animation is perfect for:
- Explaining financial concepts (like UNSW’s finance training for students)
- Process walkthroughs
- Historical stories
- Problem-solution scenarios
Motion Graphics
Motion graphics use animated text, shapes, and icons to create dynamic, informative videos. This style is particularly good for data-driven content, abstract concepts, or any material that doesn’t need characters to tell the story.
Common uses include:
- Presenting statistical data
- Explaining systems or workflows
- Showing timelines
- Highlighting brand features
3D Animation
3D animation creates realistic, detailed visuals, making it ideal for situations that require a more lifelike representation of objects or environments. While it’s more expensive and time-consuming, 3D animation offers unparalleled realism.
3D animation is great for:
- Medical and anatomy training
- Industrial equipment demonstrations
- Architectural presentations
- Explaining complex mechanical processes
Character-Based Animation
Character-based animation uses relatable characters to walk viewers through content. These characters can demonstrate actions, model behaviors, or even narrate the video. This style brings a human touch to training, making it more engaging and relatable.
It’s especially effective for:
- Soft skills training
- Customer service scenarios
- Compliance training
- Diversity and inclusion education
How to Create Effective Animated Training Videos
Know Your Audience and Goals
Before jumping into production, take a moment to figure out what you want the video to achieve and who will be watching. Ask yourself:
- What should viewers learn from this video?
- What’s their current level of knowledge?
- What action do you want them to take after watching?
- How will you measure success?
Knowing your goals and audience will guide decisions like the animation style, complexity of the content, and tone of the video.
Write a Strong Script
A solid script is the backbone of any great animated video. Keep it:
- Clear and concise
- Structured logically
- Focused on the key information (don’t overwhelm the viewer)
- Wrapped up with a clear summary and call to action
Remember, animated videos work best when they’re brief. Aim for 3-5 minutes and break up longer topics into smaller, bite-sized videos.
Plan with a Storyboard
A visual outline of your script, showing what the viewer will see at each moment. This step ensures everything flows smoothly and helps catch potential issues before you begin animating.
Your storyboard should include:
- Basic sketches of key scenes
- Notes on how scenes transition
- Where text and graphics will go
- Timing and animation details
Even simple sketches will help guide the animation team.
Choose the Right Animation Style
Pick an animation style that fits your content, audience, and goals. Think about:
- How complex the subject is
- Your brand’s visual style
- Your budget and timeline
- What your audience will respond to
For instance, if you’re teaching technical skills, a more realistic style might work best. But for compliance training, character-based animation might be a better fit.
Focus on Instructional Design
Apply key learning principles to make your videos as effective as possible:
- Break content into smaller chunks (chunking)
- Use visual cues to emphasize key points (signaling)
- Repeat important information with both visuals and narration (redundancy)
- Place related text and images near each other (contiguity)
- Keep the language conversational and relatable (personalization)
These techniques will make it easier for learners to understand and retain information.
Invest in Good Audio
Audio is a crucial part of any training video. Make sure you have:
- A professional voiceover that matches your brand’s tone
- Clear, easy-to-follow narration
- Background music that enhances, not distracts
- Sound effects that highlight key points
Also, consider adding captions since many people watch videos with the sound off, especially in workplace settings.
Test and Revise
Gather feedback on:
- How clear the content is
- Whether they’re engaged
- The pacing and length
- Any confusing parts
Use this feedback to tweak and improve your video before the final release.
Distribute Your Animated Training Video
Once your animated video is ready, it’s time to get it out there. Depending on your organization’s needs, there are several ways to distribute the video:
- Internal Platforms: Upload the video to your company’s internal training platform, LMS (Learning Management System), or intranet.
- Email: Share the video via email, ensuring that the subject line grabs attention and encourages people to click and watch.
- Social Media: Use to promote your video, especially if it’s designed for external customers or clients.
- Mobile Apps: Consider integrating the video there for on-the-go learning.
Monitor Engagement and Effectiveness
To gauge its effectiveness, you need to monitor how well it performs. Some key metrics to track include:
- Completion Rate: Are viewers watching the video from start to finish, or are they dropping off halfway through? This can indicate whether the video is engaging enough or if it needs some edits to hold attention.
- Engagement: Are people interacting with the video? Do they pause, replay, or share it? Engagement can be a good indicator of how well the video is received.
- Learning Outcomes: If your video is part of a larger training program, you’ll want to assess how much learners retain after watching. Conduct quizzes, surveys, or even follow-up interviews to see if the information has been absorbed.
- Feedback: Gather feedback from viewers to continuously improve. What did they like? What could have been better? This insight will help you create better videos in the future.
Update Your Videos Regularly
Over time, your content will need updates. New information might become available, procedures might change, or technologies might evolve. Keep your training videos relevant and fresh by reviewing them periodically and making necessary updates.
Updating your video content can be much easier than creating new training materials from scratch. Since you’ve already got the animation assets and script, you can simply update specific sections or add new content, making it a time-efficient solution.
Conclusion: Embrace Animated Training for Better Results
Animated training videos are more than just a trend—they’re a practical, engaging, and effective tool for educating employees and learners. By tapping into visual storytelling, animation can make complex information clearer, boost engagement, and improve retention. Plus, they offer a cost-effective and scalable solution that works across various industries and learning environments.
Whether you’re explaining technical concepts, onboarding new employees, or providing ongoing skills development, animated training videos have proven time and again to be a valuable asset for modern education and workplace training.
So, if you haven’t yet explored the world of animated training videos, now is the perfect time to dive in. Invest in the power of animation, and watch how it transforms your training programs.