Published Date:
September 2, 2025

In 5 Steps: Turn a document into a narrated how-to video with NotebookLM's Video Overviews

Say goodbye to lengthy training documents. You can now turn them to concise and engaging narrated how-to videos.
Evelyn Le
By
Evelyn Le
Strategic Product Lead, Stay Ahead, FlexOS

Step 1: Start a new project with the content you want to train

First, create your notebook and add the technical content you want to turn into a video.

Step 2: Customize the video’s structure and language

Before generating the video, tell NotebookLM exactly how you’d like it to present the information and in what language.

  • In the Studio panel, click the three-dot menu next to Video Overview
  • Select Customize
  • Paste this guidance:

This is a how-to video tutorial. Focus on clearly explaining each of the prompting techniques, with examples. 

Structure the video like this:

- Start by explaining what GPT-5 is and why good prompting matters

- Then walk through each of the prompting tips one-by-one: 

  1. Give GPT time to think 

  2. Format prompts as dialogs

  3. Show, then tell

  4. Use XML tags for structure

  5. Ask for structured output

  6. Use incremental prompting

  7. Provide text as context

- End with a summary of 3 best practices and 1 mistake to avoid

Make it clear and practical like you’re training someone on the team.

  • Choose the language you’d like the video to be narrated in: from English to Vietnamese, Arabic, Hindi, Swahili, and more

Step 3: Generate the Video Overview

Once you’re happy with the setup, it’s just one click to start generating.

  • In the Studio tab, click Video Overview
  • NotebookLM will process the content and generate a narrated, slide-based video, usually within a few minutes
  • You can review, adjust the customization, and then regenerate if needed.

Step 4.: Download and share with your team

Once the video is ready, put it to use.

  • Click Download to save a local copy
  • Or use the Share link to send it to your team, add to onboarding flows, or post internally
  • It’s short, skimmable, and replayable, perfect for async learning

Step 5: Rethink what else you could turn into a training video

Now that you’ve done one, consider where else this could work.

  • Turn an internal SOP into a quick refresher
  • Create client-facing explainer videos from product guides
  • Record a narrated recap of your team’s strategy memo
  • Offer onboarding in multiple languages using the same source

The more repeatable your content, the more scalable this becomes.

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See you next week,

Evelyn Le
By
Evelyn Le
Strategic Product Lead, Stay Ahead, FlexOS