For audio files to sound good on a phone, they need to be formatted in a particular way. Below are step-by-step instructions, but please be sure to test the voice calls yourself.

Software Setup Instruction »

How to Record audio files »

How to Convert your existing audio files »

How to increase the volume of your audio files »

Free online tools to convert existing audio files and to merge, split, and increase the volume of existing mp3s »

Software Setup Instructions – you only have to do this once

1. Download and install Audacity from http://web.audacityteam.org/download/
   (It’s free! Windows PC and Mac OS versions are available)

2. Download and install LAME from http://lame.buanzo.org/
   It’s free! Windows PC and Mac OS versions are available)

3. Download and install FFmpeg from http://lame.buanzo.org/
   (It’s free! Windows PC and Mac OS versions are available)

Recording Instructions: How to record audio files for IVR calls using Audacity

1. Go to a quiet place with little to no background noise (an interview room is a good choice).
2. Use a good headset or mic for your recordings, preferably a USB headset.
3. Launch Audacity.
4. Press the Record button on the top of the window and start recording.
5. Press the Stop button when you’re done recording.
6. Click on the arrow next to Audio Track in the top left section of the bar that appears on the page.
7. Select Split Stereo to Mono.  The recording will be split into two sections.
8. Delete one of the two sections that appear by clicking the x on the top left of one of the sections.
9. Click Effect > Amplify.  Check the Allow Clipping box if it is unchecked.  Click OK.
10. Click File on the top left of the window and select Export As, then choose Export as OGG.
11. Leave the Quality setting at 5.
12. Enter a name for the Ogg file.
13. Select the location where you want to save it and click the Save button.

How to Convert your existing audio files for IVR calls – Conversion Instructions

1. Ideally, your original file should be in wav format
2. Launch Audacity
3. Click File on the top left of the window, click on Open
4. Find the location of your audio file (e.g. a wav file)
5. Select your audio file.  Click Open
6. Two bars will appear on the page with waves
7. Click on the name of the audio file in the top left section of the bars that appeared on the page (you’ll see an arrow pointing down next to the name of the audio file – click there)
8. Click on the name of the audio file to open the menu and Select “Split Stereo to Mono” towards the bottom of the menu.
   

10. We recommend adjusting the volume of the file by using Audacity’s recommended amplification setting.  To do so, Click Effect > Amplify.  Check the Allow Clipping box if it is unchecked.  Click OK.
11. Click File on the top left of the window and select Export As, then choose Export as OGG.
12. Leave the Quality setting at 5.
13. Enter a name for the Ogg file.
14. Select the location where you want to save it and click the Save button

How to increase the volume of your audio files for IVR calls

If your file is already in OGG format, then simply follow steps 10-14 in the Conversion instructions section above.   If it’s not in OGG format, then follow all of the steps in the Conversion instructions above.

Free Online Tools

There are also a number of free online tools that can help you do most of the items listed above.  While we recommend Audacity because it is one of the most powerful free tools out there, you may also want to check out https://audioalter.com/, which offers a suite of free audio manipulation tools.

Now you’re ready to engage your contacts using IVR!