How to Make Health and Safety Content Engaging (Without Losing Accuracy)
Health and safety content is often seen as necessary, but dull; something employees have to watch, rather than want to watch.
Yet, making your health and safety training engaging doesn’t mean sacrificing accuracy or compliance.
In fact, when done right, engaging content can improve retention, boost understanding, and help businesses create safer workplaces.
So how do you strike the balance between engaging storytelling and rock-solid accuracy? Here are some proven tips.
1. Start With a Strong Script
Every good video starts with a clear, concise, and well-structured script. When it comes to health and safety, your script must be compliant with the latest regulations and policies. But that doesn’t mean it has to be dry.
Structure your video around real scenarios your employees can relate to. Use plain, conversational language wherever possible (avoiding too much jargon), and ensure there’s a logical flow, beginning with the risk, showing the consequence, and then explaining the safe behaviour.
2. Use Storytelling to Humanise the Message
People connect with stories, not bullet points. Incorporating storytelling into your health and safety content helps employees understand why the rules matter.
Consider this example: Instead of simply stating “Always wear a hard hat,” show a short reenactment of someone who didn’t, and what happened. This emotional connection helps drive the point home more effectively than just listing rules.
Use characters, dialogue, and mini case studies to bring the content to life.
3. Choose the Right Visual Format
Animation, live-action, 3D, or interactive? The format you choose can make or break how engaging your video is.
Live-action is perfect for showing real environments and people in context—ideal for procedures or site-based roles.
2D or 3D animation helps explain complex or hazardous scenarios that are difficult (or unsafe) to film.
Interactive video allows employees to make choices and see outcomes, boosting active learning.
Each format has strengths—don’t be afraid to mix them if the project allows.
4. Keep It Short and Focused
Attention spans are short, especially for internal training videos. A common mistake is cramming too much into one long video. Break topics down into digestible sections, microlearning modules are easier to absorb and revisit when needed.
Aim for clarity, not overload. Stick to one key learning point per video if possible, and offer a series to cover broader topics.
5. Add Subtitles and Clear On-Screen Text
Accessibility is key, not just for compliance but for improving engagement. Subtitles make content more inclusive, especially in noisy work environments or for non-native English speakers.
Use visual prompts, text overlays, and infographics to reinforce key safety messages. The combination of audio, text, and visual cues helps reinforce learning across different learner types.
6. Involve Real Employees
Featuring real team members in your video content helps build trust and authenticity. It shows that safety is a shared responsibility—not just something dictated from the top.
Employees are also more likely to pay attention when they see familiar faces or their actual workplace featured.
7. Test, Learn, Improve
Finally, always gather feedback. What did employees like? What didn’t work? Were the key messages understood and remembered?
Use surveys, quizzes, or informal chats to assess how effective your content is and make improvements over time. Training shouldn’t be static, especially in areas as important as safety.
Health and safety training doesn’t have to be boring. With the right mix of storytelling, visuals, interactivity, and real-world relevance, you can create content that engages employees while staying accurate and compliant. After all, when people actually pay attention to safety training, everyone benefits.
Need help making your health and safety content more engaging?
Get in touch with our friendly team today to find out more:
+44 (0)113 288 3245 | [email protected]
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