The format question comes up constantly when people are building training for the first time: should this be a video? A written article? A quiz? All three?
There's no universal answer, but there are clear patterns for what works best where.
Video: Best for Context, Culture, and Demonstrations
Video is powerful when the *how* is hard to describe in words, or when you want to communicate personality and tone.
Use video for:
- Welcome/culture content from leadership
- Demonstrations of physical tasks or software workflows
- Anything where seeing someone do the thing is significantly clearer than reading about it
Avoid video for:
- Dense reference material people will need to search and re-read
- Anything that changes frequently (re-editing video is expensive)
- Content that benefits from branching or interaction
A 3-5 minute video with a clear point lands better than a 20-minute lecture. If your video is running long, break it into shorter modules.
Articles: Best for Reference, Policy, and Process
Written content is underrated in training. It's searchable, scannable, and doesn't require someone to sit still for a fixed amount of time.
Use articles for:
- Policies people need to reference later
- Step-by-step processes with multiple decision points
- Complex or nuanced content that benefits from re-reading
- Anything with tables, lists, or reference data
WyzAZ's article format uses a gate system — learners have to scroll through sections to advance, which prevents the "page down and done" problem without being annoying about it.
Quizzes: Best for Verification and Retention
A quiz at the end of a module does two things: it surfaces gaps in understanding, and it improves long-term retention through retrieval practice.
The research on this is consistent: testing yourself on material — even if you get answers wrong — improves how well you remember it compared to just reading again.
Use quizzes for:
- Any training where you need to verify understanding for compliance
- Topics where a gap in knowledge has real consequences
- Any module where you're issuing a certificate
Keep them short (5-10 questions), focused on the key points, and avoid trick questions. The goal is learning, not gotcha.
The Practical Recommendation
For most training programs: lead with a short video if you have one (culture, demonstration), deliver the substance as a structured article, and close with a quiz.
That's the WyzAZ default format for a reason — it works, it covers the main content types, and it gives you a completion record and certificate at the end.