Topic 3.3

Professional Voiceover Costs $500. AI Narration Costs $11/Month.

Not perfect. Good enough for most courses.

⏱️ 12 minutes 📋 Prompt Templates ✓ Quality Checklist

The Voiceover Problem

You need narration for a 20-minute module. Ten slides.

Professional voiceover quote: $500-800. Timeline: 2 weeks (script approval, recording, revisions).

Budget says no.

So you record yourself. Laptop mic. Background noise. Awkward pacing. You can hear when you swallow.

It works. Barely.

💡 The shift

AI voice generation produces professional-quality narration in minutes. Not Hollywood. Not laptop mic either. Good enough for most e-learning.

The Tools

🛠️ Four main AI voice tools ▼
Tool Cost Quality Best for
ElevenLabs $11/mo (30K chars) Excellent—most natural Long-form, multiple projects
WellSaid Labs $49/mo (4 hrs) Very good—broadcast quality Corporate, high production
Play.ht $31/mo (2 hrs) Good—improving rapidly Multilingual, variety
Google TTS Free (1M chars/mo) Decent—better than laptop Testing, low-budget

For most IDs: Start with ElevenLabs. Best quality-to-price ratio. 30,000 characters ≈ 20-30 minutes of narration.

The Basic Workflow

🔄 Seven-step narration workflow (25-30 minutes total) ▼
  1. Write script — conversational style (10-15 min)
  2. Select voice — from tool library (2 min)
  3. Generate first version (1 min)
  4. Listen and mark issues (5 min)
  5. Adjust script — fix problem areas (5 min)
  6. Regenerate (1 min)
  7. Export audio files (2 min)

Total: 25-30 minutes for 10-15 minutes of narration.

Compare to professional voiceover: 1-2 weeks minimum.

Writing for Ears, Not Eyes

Scripts that read well look different from scripts that sound good.

❌ Written for eyes (too formal)

"Employees are required to utilize the customer relationship management system when documenting interactions with clientele."

Stiff, unnatural

✅ Written for ears (conversational)

"When you talk to a customer, document it in the CRM. Every interaction gets logged."

Natural, clear

The rule: Read your script out loud before generating. If it sounds stiff, rewrite it.

What AI Does Well vs. What It Gets Wrong

✓ AI Strengths

  • Clear pronunciation of standard words
  • Consistent tone and pacing
  • No background noise or audio artifacts
  • Multiple takes for free (no studio time)
  • Fast turnaround (minutes, not days)

✗ AI Limitations

  • Emphasis on the wrong word sometimes
  • Unnatural pauses in longer sentences
  • Struggles with jargon and acronyms
  • Can't convey subtle emotion or nuance
  • Doesn't match lip sync for video (yet)

💡 The Division of Labor

AI handles delivery. You handle the script—and that's where quality lives.

The Cost Math

20-minute module, 15 slides:

💰 Cost comparison: Professional vs. DIY vs. AI ▼
Method Cost Timeline Revisions
Professional voiceover $500-800 1-2 weeks Limited (1-2 rounds)
Your laptop mic Free Immediate Unlimited (sounds amateur)
ElevenLabs $11/month 30 minutes Unlimited
WellSaid $49/month 30 minutes Unlimited

One project? Professional voiceover might be worth it.
Five+ projects per year? AI saves thousands.

Voice Selection

Match voice to audience:

🎙️ Voice matching guide by training type ▼
Training type Voice characteristics
Corporate/compliance Professional, neutral accent
Customer service Warm, friendly, empathetic
Technical Clear, authoritative, measured pace
Onboarding Welcoming, enthusiastic, upbeat

Rules:

  • Don't switch voices mid-course. Pick one narrator. Stick with it.
  • Test multiple voices. Generate the first paragraph with 3-4 options. Pick the best match.

Handling Acronyms and Jargon

AI will pronounce "OSHA" as "oh-sha" when you mean "O-S-H-A."

🔧 Script fixes for pronunciation issues ▼
Problem Script fix
Acronym as word Write: "oh-sha" instead of "OSHA"
Letter-by-letter Write: "H-R" instead of "HR"
Company names Write phonetically: "ess-A-P" for "SAP"
Jargon terms Include pronunciation guide in first use

Pro tip: Always generate a test clip with your acronyms. Fix the script before generating the full narration.

Key Takeaways

  1. AI narration costs 95% less than professional. $11/month vs. $500-800 per project.
  2. Write for ears, not eyes. Conversational scripts sound better.
  3. Test voices upfront. Generate paragraph 1 with 3-4 options before committing.
  4. Fix pronunciation in script. Spell acronyms phonetically.

Try It Now

🎯 Your task:

Write a 2-minute script (250-300 words) for one slide from your current project. Generate it with 3 different AI voices. Pick the best one.

The test: Does it sound professional enough to ship?

📥 Download: Script writing guide and voice selection checklist (PDF)

Ready-to-use templates for conversational scripts and pronunciation fixes.

Download PDF