Not many training professionals have a TTS tool on their list of must-haves, but they do have their uses, especially when compared with the alternatives. We found that our two main alternatives were: hiring outside professional voiceover talent, and using internal voiceover talent. For our team, those options can suffice, but may not be the optimal option for several reasons:
| Professional | Internal | |
| PROS | – Optimal sound quality – Forces scripting of video (which we don’t always do) – Human inflection and pronunciation of words. | – Low/no cost – In-house |
| CONS | – EXPENSIVE! Especially for the volume of videos we produce – Turnaround time – Talent would not be in-house | – Subject to the capacity of the talent – Quality is variable depending on available equipment – Availability is variable based on person |
During research, I thought a TTS tool would combine the best of both worlds, so I also began researching TTS tools. Most sounded robotic, including some of the more well-known ones (that shall remain nameless, lol). One tool from WellSaid labs actually gave the best quality I’d ever heard. While it’s not free, it is still cost-effective for our purposes. We will be examining this tool more.
What’s you go-to choice for TTS tool?