Text Vs Videos: Weighing The Pros And Cons In Cybersecurity Training

Think of an employee juggling back-to-back meetings, project deadlines, and a growing inbox of emails. Now, add a requirement to complete a one-hour video training on cybersecurity protocols.?

What would be the natural instinct of this employee? Feeling overwhelmed, he lets the video play in the background, potentially missing critical information.?

Consider another situation. An employee, for whom English isn't the first language, sits down for a video training session. As the video begins, she finds the accent unfamiliar, the pace too quick, and some terms seem almost foreign.?

Such scenarios emphasize the need for more accessible and adaptable training methods. In both of these situations, text-based content would likely have produced more effective outcomes.

How?

In the first scenario, concise text-based training could have allowed for efficient content consumption in between tasks, ensuring every detail was internalized. Whereas, in the second situation, with well-structured text content, the employee could have paused, revisited difficult sections, looked up terms, and even used translation tools if needed.?

Text-based training empowers individuals, allowing them a personalized learning journey and ensuring that language barriers don't compromise the essence of training. In this edition, we’ll cover 5 reasons why text-based training is better than video training when it comes to cybersecurity readiness.

The Video Training Myth in Cybersecurity Training?

Prevailing Beliefs vs. Reality

There's a prevailing belief that video content reigns supreme over text when it comes to learning, especially in the context of cybersecurity. This seems to be backed by our daily habits. On average, a person devotes 100 minutes to online videos every day. But let's delve a bit deeper into this statistic.?

Video Consumption: Entertainment vs Deep Learning

Most of this video content is chosen by the viewer based on personal interests and preferences. It could be an intriguing industry webinar or, quite simply, a series of cat antics meant for a chuckle or two. The primary intention here isn't deep learning or substantial behavioral change; it's more about leisure or addressing immediate needs.?

The Objective of Cybersecurity Training

In contrast, cybersecurity training aims to impart critical knowledge and skills, often with the purpose of evoking a lasting change in attitudes and behaviors. When it boils down to this kind of intensive training, the advantages of text-based content become glaringly evident.?

Text: Deep Understanding at Your Pace

Text-based content allows for pausing, reflecting, revisiting, and, most importantly, absorbing at one's own pace. While videos follow a set narrative pace, text grants learners the autonomy to delve as deep as they need to, ensuring that the information is not just read, but understood.

5 Unbeatable Advantages of Text Over Video Training

When it comes to cybersecurity readiness training or corporate compliance, you can’t beat the speed and immediacy of text-based content. Let’s break it down with five key benefits, for both the user and the business.

1. Text offers a complete view of the content

With video training, users are often left in the dark; they only see the starting point and have no clue if the content will be engaging, helpful, repetitive, or just plain boring.?

In contrast, text-based content offers an immediate overview. Employees can swiftly skim through it, gauge its length, identify sections or chapters, and ascertain its relevance. This transparency empowers users to decide how deeply they wish to engage.

2. Text offers immediate engagement

One of the main problems with video content is that you need the user to choose to engage, to click that play button, and say, “Yes, I’ll take a minute out right now to start watching this.” You’re adding a challenge, getting the employee to want to engage with your training.?

Whereas, with short written content, by the time the user has thought about whether they want to start reading, they have already done so. That’s just how the human brain works. Looking = reading.?

3. Text caters to varied roles and needs

Cybersecurity isn't the primary role for most employees. They have designated responsibilities - be it in accounting, marketing, human resources, or clerical tasks.?

Their engagement with cybersecurity readiness training is influenced by their job roles, their familiarity with IT, their current level of security awareness, and their stage in the training process. Some might be revisiting the content, while others could be novices. A few might be preoccupied with pressing tasks and can't afford a prolonged break.

Text offers flexibility in these varied scenarios. It enables employees to rapidly gauge the relevance of content and delve deeper as needed. On the other hand, videos require a full-length watch to grasp the entire content, posing the risk of employees losing interest or missing out on crucial parts, especially if they mistakenly believe they're already well-versed.

4. Text is easier to learn from and retain

In training, text excels in its clarity and ability to hold attention. Each user can interact with it at their own pace, enhancing retention. Reading speeds vary among individuals, and readers can reread, skip sections they're familiar with, or pause and resume as needed.

Conversely, videos follow a predetermined path, offering a uniform approach that might not match individual needs. The one-size-fits-all method overlooks the effectiveness of a modular approach, which is not only more engaging but also significantly more efficient in facilitating learning and comprehension.

5. Text is adaptable and customizable

In today's dynamic world, organizations grapple with ever-changing threats. The beauty of text lies in its adaptability, a trait that outshines video content. With text, campaigns can be swiftly adjusted to match evolving security landscapes.?

You have the freedom to tweak the wording, segment content into smaller, more digestible pieces, or even introduce new languages – all without the need for video designers, graphic artists, or technical support.?

This adaptability empowers you to stay seamlessly in step with the evolving cyber threats.

Learn more on this topic?by watching our video

Elevate Your Cybersecurity Readiness Training With CybeReady

If you’re leaning towards video-based security awareness training, think again. When it comes to compliance and corporate training, the key lies in engaging content that's easily digestible – and that medium is text.

Corporate training isn't just about what people want to watch, but also what they need to understand. The preference for videos doesn't always translate to effective learning.?

Videos can't match the inherent adaptability of text. The freedom to skip, pause, and revisit at one's own pace empowers learners. Text offers the control and autonomy necessary for efficient training, ensuring content is truly absorbed. By choosing text-based training, you open the door to customization, modular learning, and adaptable content. This approach transcends a one-size-fits-all method, allowing learners to engage more deeply and effectively.

CybeReady’s security awareness training solution evolves your organization from security awareness to cyber readiness. Our solution autonomously engages more employees, more effectively, frequently, and easily. Infused with training expertise and powered by machine learning, our adaptive, easy-to-digest simulations and content deliver up to 200% higher engagement, reducing your high-risk group by 80%.

Want to see how it works for you? Get in touch to see a demo of CybeReady cybersecurity training platform.