Phishing awareness training video: how to make one your staff remember

A phishing awareness video works when it shows the moment it happens: a busy person, an urgent email that looks right, and the three seconds in which they check or click. Keep it to 60 to 90 seconds, show what to check (the sender, the link, the pressure) and end on one habit, such as reporting the email. Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found the human element in 62% of breaches.

Updated 28 October 2026

Why most phishing videos do not stick

The usual video lists red flags over stock footage of a hooded figure. Staff can recite the list and still click, because the real email never arrives when they are thinking about phishing. It arrives at 4:55 on a Friday, from someone who seems to be their manager.

Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found the human element in 62% of breaches, and phishing was the way in for 16%. It also found that in phishing simulations the median click rate through text and voice messages is 40% higher than through email, so show the text message too, not only the inbox.

A 60 to 90 second structure

Beat	What we see	Seconds
The busy moment	someone your staff recognise, mid-task, behind on something	10
The email	it is plausible: the right name, a real-sounding request, a deadline	15
The near miss	their cursor on the link, the pause	10
The check	the sender's address up close, the link's real address, the pressure in the wording	25
The habit	they report it, and a colleague says it was the right call	10
The line	one sentence on screen and spoken	5

On-screen highlights carry the check: a ring around the sender's address, an arrow to the link. In Nima Learn those are drawn in code in seconds, so rendered motion is spent only on the shots with people moving.

What to show, close up

The sender. The display name is right; the address behind it is not.
The link. What it says, and where it really goes.
The pressure. Urgency, secrecy, a request to skip the usual step.
The way out. How your company wants it reported, by name: the button, the address, the person.

Make it look like your company

Staff believe the email when it looks like theirs. Put your brand folder in (logo, colours) and use a mail screen that resembles the one they use. Keep the cast for the next video: a series with the same people builds a habit better than a one-off.

Common questions

What should a phishing awareness training video include?

A realistic moment when the email arrives, the three things to check (the sender's address, the link's real address, the pressure in the wording) and the one habit you want, such as reporting it.

How long should a phishing training video be?

60 to 90 seconds for one trick and one habit. Make a new short one for each new kind of attack.

Can a phishing video use our own branding?

Yes. A brand folder and a look are applied to every picture, so the screens and the people look like your company.

Does it export to my LMS?

Nima Learn exports an mp4, which most learning platforms accept as a video item.

Want your next training video made this way? Get started with our team.

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