What Makes a Good Training Video?

How 20+ years in education can help you create effective training and onboarding videos

Many organisations assume that a training video simply needs to deliver information clearly. Explain the rules. Repeat the key points. Maybe add a few graphical bullet points on the screen.

Job done… right?

Not quite.

In reality, most people have sat through training that was technically clear but somehow still didn’t stick. I've been there many, many times. The information is there. It was explained. It was even repeated. And yet a week later (sometime even days or even hours later), very little of it had actually stayed with us.

So the real question isn’t “How do we present information?”

The real question is “How do people actually learn?”

As well as a video storyteller and filmmaker, I am also an education specialist, with over 20 years experience in teaching, learning and educational psychology. Delivery of information is easy. Embedding information is much more tactical: tactics that are very rarely used in corporate training, onboarding or demonstration videos.

This approach sits at the heart of my wider video production services, where storytelling and educational thinking are combined to help organisations create films that audiences genuinely remember and act upon.

The Mistake Many Training Videos Make

One of the most common mistakes organisations make when creating training videos is focusing only on the delivery of information.

The assumption is that if information is announced clearly, and perhaps repeated a few times, it will naturally be understood and remembered.

Unfortunately, human beings don’t really work like that.

Another common approach is trying to simplify everything so that absolutely anyone can understand it. On the surface that sounds sensible, but in practice it often leads to something else entirely: training that feels overly simplified, generic, and sometimes even a little patronising - especially to those professionals or those trained within that field.

When information becomes too generic, it loses something vital: relevance.

And relevance is what makes learning meaningful.

When viewers can see a direct connection between what they’re watching and their real environment, their real job, and their real responsibilities, something changes. The information stops feeling abstract. It becomes grounded in their daily experience.

And that is when people start to remember it.

(This is explored further in What Is a Video Storyteller? Story-Led Video Production That’s Worth Remembering.)

A Training Film Example: Welcoming Students Back After Covid

Towards the end of the Covid pandemic, I produced a training film for a local college. Its purpose was simple but important: welcome students back and explain the new safety processes that had been introduced across the campus.

The goal wasn’t just to tell students the rules. It was to help them understand how those rules applied to the places they were about to return to every day.

First, the information needed to be clear and accurate. That meant careful scripting and making sure the explanations were tailored specifically to the audience - students aged 16 to 25.

But clarity alone wasn’t enough.

So we placed each key piece of information in the relevant location within the college itself. When students were told about distancing rules, they saw those rules demonstrated in real corridors. When they were told about hygiene procedures, they saw them demonstrated in the actual spaces where they would need to follow them.

We also used familiar staff members from around the college to deliver the guidance. These were people students already knew, people they would see again once they returned.

That subtle choice changed the tone of the message. Instead of feeling like instructions coming from a distant authority, it felt more like a shared effort. Staff and students working together to keep the community safe.

And because the information was tied to real places, real people and real situations, it became far easier for students to remember and apply.

This kind of story-led approach is something I often build into my training and learning video production work, helping organisations move beyond simple instruction and towards meaningful, memorable communication through professional video production services.

Why Story Improves Learning

A story-led approach strengthens training because stories create anchors for new knowledge. Facts on their own can feel abstract. But when those facts sit inside a situation, a context, or a human experience, they become something our brains can hold on to.

Stories help viewers:

• Understand why something matters

• See where it applies

• Connect the information to real-life situations

When people can see how something fits into a bigger picture, and especially how it affects them personally, an emotional connection begins to form. And emotional connection plays a powerful role in memory and recall.

In my time as an educational practitioner, I’ve seen countless training sessions where the audience simply didn’t engage with the material. And if I’m being honest… teachers can sometimes be the toughest and worst students of all.

If they don’t understand why something matters, they will sometimes politely sit through the session - but they won’t truly embrace it.

That experience taught me something important: Relevance and meaning are essential ingredients in learning. Without them, information rarely leads to real change.

(If you're interested in the educational thinking behind this approach, you can also explore my work with Education Through Storytelling.)

The Key Ingredients of a Good Training Video

From my experience creating training films at Curious Spirit Pictures and working in education, a strong training video usually includes a few key ingredients.

1. A Clear Purpose

Every training film should answer one simple question:

What should someone be able to do differently after watching this?

Clarity of purpose shapes everything that follows.

2. Information That Is Right for the Audience

Accessibility doesn’t mean making something understandable for everyone.

It means making it understandable for the specific audience it is intended for.

A training film for new apprentices will feel very different from one designed for senior staff - and it should.

3. Real Relevance

The closer the training feels to a viewer’s real environment, the more meaningful it becomes.

Show the real spaces. Use real scenarios. Connect the information to real decisions people will have to make.

When viewers recognise their world on screen, the learning becomes far more powerful.

4. Relatable Human Connection

Training shouldn’t feel cold or distant. When people see familiar faces, authentic situations, or human moments they recognise, they become far more open to the message.

Learning is a human experience and training films should reflect that.

5. Something Worth Watching

This one is sometimes overlooked.

A training film still needs to hold attention.

Too long and viewers disengage. Too short and the message feels rushed. Too static and people mentally switch off.

Like any good film, it needs rhythm, clarity and a sense of movement.

It’s always a balancing act.

Two Questions Every Organisation Should Ask First

Before creating a training video, there are two questions I always encourage organisations to think about.

Who is this really for?

Many organisations define their audience in very broad terms: children or adults.

But that’s a bit like organising a birthday party.

Yes, there are children’s parties and adult parties. But a party for a four-year-old looks very different from one for a twelve-year-old. A party for someone in their early twenties looks very different from one for someone in their seventies.

The same is true for training. Understanding the specific audience shapes everything — the language, the examples, the tone, and even the pacing of the film.

Why would anyone care about this?

This question can feel uncomfortable, but it’s incredibly important.

If viewers don’t see why the training matters - or how it affects them - engagement drops quickly. But when the purpose is clear, when the impact is visible, and when the information connects to real situations people face… that’s when learning truly begins.

For organisations ready to transform training into actionable learning, our professional training video production services show exactly how this can be achieved.

Training That Actually Stays With People

A good training video doesn’t just present information.

It connects information to real human experience.

When viewers can see themselves in the situations on screen… when they understand why something matters… when the message feels relevant to their world… the information stops being something they simply watch.

It becomes something they remember.

A

nd that’s when training begins to do what it was always meant to do:

change behaviour,build understanding,and help people move forward with confidence.

That philosophy shapes how I approach every project through my story‑led video production services, helping organisations create films that not only explain ideas clearly, but genuinely influence understanding, behaviour, and confidence.