How to Fix Echo and Bad Audio in Course Videos

You can get away with a lot in a course video. A plain background, a slightly soft picture, a webcam instead of a camera. Students forgive all of that.

They don't forgive bad sound. If a lesson sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom, or the volume jumps up and down, students stop listening, and some of them ask for a refund. Udemy's own audio standards ask for clear audio that doesn't distract students, and list problems like distortion, background hiss, low or uneven volume, and sound coming from only one speaker.

Audio is also where we see the biggest gap between how a recording sounds to the person who made it and how it sounds to everyone else. Here's how to find the problem, fix it, and know what's still fixable after you've recorded.

Why your recording sounds echoey

Echo in a home recording is almost always about two things.

The room. Bare walls, hard floors, high ceilings and empty space bounce your voice around before it reaches the microphone. Kitchens, home offices with nothing on the walls, and newly moved-into rooms are the worst.

The distance to the microphone. The further the mic is from your mouth, the more room it hears compared with your voice. A laptop mic or a camera mic a few metres away picks up mostly room. One Udemy instructor described recording from too far away as sounding like you're in a tunnel.

You can fix one or both, and fixing the distance is usually the cheapest.

Fix it before you record

Get the microphone closer

• Lapel (lavalier) mic: clips to your shirt about a hand's width below your chin. Cheap, invisible on camera, and much better than a camera mic.
• USB or XLR mic on a stand: keep it 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) from your mouth, just out of the camera frame.
• Headset mic: fine for screen recordings where your face isn't on camera.

Soften the room

You don't need acoustic foam. You need soft things between the hard surfaces:

• Record in a room with a carpet or rug, curtains and a sofa or bed
• Hang a heavy blanket or duvet behind the camera, opposite you
• Fill empty corners and shelves with books, cushions or clothes
• A walk-in wardrobe full of clothes is one of the best-sounding rooms in most homes

Clap once in the room. If you hear a ring or a flutter after the clap, the mic will hear it too.

Set your levels properly

• Do a test recording and look at the meter. Your loudest moments should peak well below the top, around -12 to -6 dB on most recorders.
• If the meter hits the red, the sound distorts, and distortion can't be undone.
• Keep the same mic position and gain for every lesson so the course sounds consistent.

Cut the noise you can control

Turn off fans, air conditioning and fridges where you can. Close windows. Put your phone in another room. Record at quieter times of day if you live on a busy road.

Record a 30-second test first

Before a full recording day, record 30 seconds of you talking normally, then listen on headphones and on your phone speaker. Listen for:

• Echo or a "roomy" sound
• A hum, hiss or fan noise under your voice
• Crackles or distortion on louder words
• Sound in one ear only

Udemy offers a free test video review for new instructors, which is worth using before you film a whole course for that platform.

What an editor can fix afterwards

Modern audio tools are good, but they have limits. Here's what you can realistically expect:

When we edit a course, the audio work usually includes noise reduction, a light de-reverb where needed, EQ so the voice sounds full rather than thin, and levelling so every lesson plays at the same volume. That last part matters more than people expect. Students notice when they have to turn the volume up for one lesson and down for the next.

Echo that appears only after you upload

Sometimes the file sounds fine on your computer and echoey or muffled on the course platform. Instructors have reported this on the Udemy community forum, and in one thread Udemy staff confirmed the problem had been reported to their engineers.

If it happens to you:

1. Play your exported file again on its own to confirm the original is clean.
2. Re-export with standard audio settings: AAC, stereo, 48 kHz. Kajabi's video guidance recommends 128 to 160 kbps and notes that higher audio bitrates can degrade after processing.
3. Upload the re-export and listen again after processing has finished.
4. If it's still wrong, contact the platform's support with both files.

Our guide to export settings for Kajabi, Teachable and Thinkific covers the video side too.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get rid of echo in my course videos?

Move the microphone closer to your mouth and record in a room with soft furnishings like carpets, curtains and a sofa. After recording, an editor can use de-reverb tools to reduce light echo, but heavy echo can only be partly removed, so fixing the room and mic position first gives the best result.

What is the best cheap microphone for recording an online course?

A lapel (lavalier) microphone is usually the best value. It sits close to your mouth, so it picks up much less room echo than a laptop or camera mic. A USB microphone on a stand also works well if you keep it 15 to 30 cm from your mouth.

Can bad audio be fixed in editing?

Some of it. Uneven volume, quiet recordings, steady background noise and light echo can usually be fixed or greatly improved. Distortion from recording too loud and heavy echo from a distant microphone are very hard to repair.

Why does Udemy reject course videos for audio?

Udemy's audio standards ask for clear audio that doesn't distract students. Common reasons for problems include distortion, background hiss, low or inconsistent volume, muffled speech, and sound coming from only one speaker.

What volume level should course videos be?

Keep peaks around -12 to -6 dB while recording so the sound doesn't distort, then level every lesson to the same loudness in the edit. Consistency across lessons matters more than any single number.