Show up on camera. Learners need to know you’re real.

Lately, I’ve been questioning a lot of the faceless content I come across. I find myself wondering whether it’s been created using AI and voice cloning.

For example, if I see a video that sounds exactly like Tony Robbins and in his tone but it’s just generic B-roll footage, and it’s not from his official channel then I immediately doubt its authenticity.

It could very well be a real audio clip from one of his seminars or videos on the internet. But with how easy it is now to clone voices, I just can’t be sure. Frankly, I don’t want to hear someone else’s ideas voiced by a Tony Robbins clone. That’s deception, not inspiration.

The same problem is creeping into L&D. I know a lot of our colleagues are starting to question the authenticity of the content they’re consuming. Maybe you have too. Everyone knows AI is being used to create content. It's efficient but it comes with a problem. People are getting skeptical. And we can't afford that.

Additionally, voice cloning and deepfakes introduce cognitive dissonance. When learners suspect a video is fake, their attention shifts from learning the content to questioning the source. That extra mental load diminishes learning effectiveness.

Put simply, distrust disrupts learning. If learners doubt the authenticity of our content, they disengage. Distrust shuts down learning.

This is why I believe talking head videos are making a comeback. Once dismissed as old-school, here's how they’re proving to be one of the few remaining ways to build real trust in digital learning environments:

• In a world flooded with AI-generated, soulless content, seeing a real person speak, even imperfectly, cuts through the noise. It feels human. It feels credible. And that trust in the instructor shapes how learners receive, process, and retain information.

  
  

• There’s science behind this too. Our brains are wired to respond to faces, expressions, gestures, and emotional cues. Talking head videos deliver these non-verbal signals which help learners connect not just with the material, but with the person behind it.

That said, not everything should be a talking head video. They’re not always practical, feasible, or pedagogically sound.

But when used strategically, here's how talking head videos can serve as trust touchpoints that anchor the learning experience in human presence:

• We can use them to frame introductions, transitions, and reflections. Just enough to make learners feel like someone is right there with them even if the core content is delivered through animation, and interactivity.

  
  

• We can use them to show the real humans behind the course, such as the instructor or a subject matter expert. This helps reduce the "facelessness" of digital learning and boosts perceived social presence, which is a strong predictor of learner engagement.

  
  

• We can also use them as credibility signals. A short, authentic message from a leader, SME, or respected peer signals trustworthiness, intent, and accountability.

We don’t need long talking head videos either. Brief appearances for even just 15–30 seconds can go a long way. Such moments of authentic human presence can reframe the entire experience as human-powered, even if the rest is voiceover or animation.

In a time when anyone can fake a voice, showing your face might just be the most powerful way to earn trust.