Jot down some ideas, start designing slides, and record your content. This is often how many courses come to life, but do this long enough and you'll find that you've made content that looks and sounds excellent.... only it doesn't do anything for the audience and falls flat.
Often as content creators, course designers, and instructors, we can get so wrapped up in creating "the thing" that we forget to stop and ask ourselves some essential questions that can ensure the "thing we make" provides a real solution for the "people on the other side of the screen."
So how do you avoid building amazing content that does very little to drive value for your learners?
We've outlined a shortlist of 5 Essential Questions that you should ask before going all-in on your next training development project.
Is 'training' a real solution to the problem/challenge?
All too often organizations want to build a course to solve a problem that either a) doesn't really exist, or b) can't be solved by a one-time training event.
Taking some time (even an afternoon to meet with folks experiencing the challenge or observing the challenge) to really validate what challenge, process, or friction exists can make a huge difference in the program you design.
What does my audience already know about what I'm covering in the course?
This one might seem simple, but when we are designing one program for multiple audiences - think job roles, experience levels, functions, etc. it can be easy to only frame the content from one perspective.
This often means -
- Some attendees are bored to tears, disinterested, or disruptive
- Completely left behind and confused.
In online training, it's difficult to know which because they all report the same thing in your LMS - progress is incomplete.
When planning your outline, explore ways you can expand on the topic or provide background information in a non-intrusive way for an "easy, medium, hard" approach.
If you have more flexibility in how you deliver the program, you might design the program as a series that lets individuals build on their knowledge or skip ahead based on what they already know.
What's the main reason people would show up to this course?
Thinking about "what's in it for them" is another way to view the "goals and learning objectives" you may be familiar with. It's not enough to design instructionally sound training, we've got to make sure we inform, educate, and entertain the audience while fulfilling the promise of the course.
Take some time to sketch out how you can ensure people will end your course feeling ready to "take on the challenge" with the solutions you've shared.
How can the results of this training experience be measured?
In a traditional sense, training programs often conclude with short knowledge checks, a quiz, a survey, or an assignment that has to be scored. This builds upon the concept that learning objectives must be observable or measurable.
But in a virtual or on-demand training scenario, this can get pretty tough. And for expensive, or high-stakes training scenarios, a multi-choice question bank may not cut it.
So look for new, creative ways to measure the effectiveness of the training program. Some options that may be helpful -
- Can you create a hashtag for learners to share their wins? Then share these wins in a weekly newsletter, wrap up, or as social proof on essential web assets?
- Could you create a post-course challenge for learners to apply what they've learned to win something? Think spotlight on Slack, team lunch/dinner, Amazon gift cards, or VIP access to your next event.
- Could you host a weekly/monthly session for Q&As or peer group time where learners continue to expand on your program, the new challenges their facing, and the progress that's being made?
- How about designing a pre-survey benchmark, post-survey for recall measurement, and then short-mid-long term follow-ups to assess growth and new issues?
Would YOU pay for this experience?
This one is a tough one for many. But, it is a good metric to keep in mind.
We're asking people to exchange money for our programs, give up valuable time to spend in our workshops, or certify them in skills and tools for their profession.
If you deliver on your promises, engage and entertain, and design creative ways to measure progress effectively, you can not only positively impact your clients and learners, but also enjoy the benefits of word-of-mouth referrals, organic reach, and increased success.
Final Thoughts
As educators and change-makers, it can be easy to just "push another course out into the catalog," but we're competing for the most precious resource of all - ATTENTION.
Make valuable experiences that you yourself would pay for.
Be helpful. Be efficient. Be creative. Build training your customers will love.