The Authentic Voice in Learning

I’ve been cyber-quiet this past month as I take some time to transition into a new career phase. The most important thing I’ve gotten from this valuable experience is time. It is so easy to get caught up in the next project, the next curriculum, the next deliverable, until there is no longer space to appreciate all of the inspiration out there.

So I did what a lot of people do when they have spare time (or are procrastinating!): I aimlessly surfed the web. I was not looking for anything in particular. It was more that I wanted to spend some time really experiencing digital content, or rather as a learning strategist, to eat my own dog food. While some content was crunchy, others left a bad aftertaste and heartburn.

One of the main things that struck me again and again was tone of voice. Most courses had a similar style: a second-person narrative that is instructive, rather than conversational in tone. Likewise, the structure was a generic format repeated across all modules: overview, learning objectives, step-by-step content, then a summary. A multiple choice question or drag-and-drop might be thrown in for some spiciness. Other than that, a very predictable and formulaic experience.

Obviously, there is much to be said about clarity; learners should not have to interpret or intuit content. Consideration should also be made for global content with ESL audiences. I also greatly appreciate how standards allow for the rapid creation of content, especially for large companies with high learner demands. Lastly, as a former English Literature graduate, I am passionate about strong writing and grammar. I also have an open love affair with the Oxford Comma.

At some point, has the over-reliance on style guides and templates rendered content sterile, and perhaps, unpalatable to the modern learner?

In a digital environment, the tenuous relationship between learner and facilitator is drastically altered from the one in the classroom. The learner is in supreme control of the interaction and can click close at any time. Hours spent online also means that the learner is not only extremely finicky, but has a very astute BS detector for content that they do not have an affinity for. They are also extremely adept at the triangulation of data – seeking out comments, filtering for likes, and distrusting sources they do not share values with.

This begs the question of whether the style and tone adopted by much of the learning content out there really resonates or is simply white noise.

Here’s a very interesting parallel tale:

A few weeks back, a video featuring musician Pharrell Williams and an then unknown artist, Maggie Rogers, went viral. It was a clip from a Music Masterclass at NYU. Students presented their songs and Pharrell provided feedback. When Maggie Rogers’ song “Alaska” is presented, there are a few things to note:

1. The song is in a raw and incomplete format
2. Maggie speaks honestly about her musical journey towards creating the song
3. The classic expression on Pharrell’s face pretty much says it all.

Not only is “Alaska” a phenomenal piece of work, what really resonates in this video is the authenticity. There are no filters or constructs. It is an open exchange of ideas and collaboration without prefabrication. More critically, viewers contributed actively to the refinement of the song via their comments and likes on various platforms such as Sound Cloud and YouTube

This is an extreme example, but there is a definite trend towards authentic and unscripted content. Consider James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke or Reddit’s AMA (Ask Me Anything). These experiences are appealing because they that have not been rigidly pre-planned or controlled. They say to the audience: we will show you a peek behind the curtain to establish a stronger relationship.

So what does this mean for learning design? For a start, challenge some of the artificiality in content voice. I am frequently presented with canned, corporate speak, copy that really does not engage. It sounds much like “This innovative tool will allow for real-time collaboration to break-down communication silos and yield transparent metrics”**. Contrast this with, “You can use this tool to view and comment on everyone’s projects”.

I would also question whether every piece of learning content needs to have the same voice. Yes, there are standards that must be met and a good copy editor is worth their weight in gold. That said, if a learner is going through hours of content, find ways to engage with tone. Write to captive, not to inform. If you are doing the latter, then what you have is a User Manual, not a piece of learning.

Lastly, quit striving for perfection. Awhile ago, news sites started to employ the “Report a typo or error” button. As speed to publish is critical, it is a fine balance between flawless writing and meeting the ravenous appetites of the audience. No one likes to spot an error, but with rapid authoring tools, content can be fixed post-launch. It is more important to push out the information to meet needs.     

No learner likes to feel pandered to or as though they are being fed content that has been strained and mashed to a pulp by marketing or communications. Respond by trusting your learners to be mature colleagues who are savvy enough to see-through corporate rhetoric. A loosening the grips of the style guides and structure just might add a human element your learners will respond positively to.

**not a real piece of content

That's Some Bad Learning Event, Oho Oho!

I was forwarded a YouTube video by a colleague, who shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. The header was “Does this remind you of anything?”. Ten seconds in, I could feel a wave of cringe spreading across my face and shoulders as I recalled one of the epic fails in my learning & development career. Oh yes, this video did remind me.

If you have a spare five minutes, click here to watch the video. If you do not have the stomach for it, here’s a summary: Siemens wanted to launch a new internal campaign to change their corporate culture. The theme was to transform Siemens Healthcare into healthcare pioneers, or “Healthineers”.  This culminated in a massive outdoor dance party. The Healthineers song, a combination of Ace of Base and DJ Bobo, was performed. Leadership swayed awkwardly as the lyrics “We are, we are, Healthineers! Oho oho!” splashed up on the massive LED screens. Dancers in head to toe blue and orange spandex played air guitar and clapped. The audience stood stunned. Turns out healthcare engineers are not big ravers.  

The video first appeared on Reddit and was quickly picked up by satire sites. It then migrated to major news sites, like the Irish Times who declared, “Siemen Healthineers sing away 120 years of self-respect”. Ouch. Efforts to contain the damage were made and the video was deleted several times from YouTube. This whack-a-mole strategy did not work and clips are still available. Incidentally, a review of the comments left by viewers makes for extremely fascinating reading on how people feel about corporate culture, if you can handle the salty language.

I do not throw any stones at Siemens for this atrocity, especially since I live in a HUGE glass house on this one. I completely (and regrettably) understand how an idea can get so out of control that you have no power to extricate yourself from the tsunami of cringe. Luckily, mine occurred before the days of iPhones so the evidence is well-buried.

Face to Face large scale learning events are a rare breed. The costs are high and are usually reserved for company-wide transformational initiatives. Having run many of these types of events these are some of my observations:

• Know thy audience – Yes, this is a basic in L&D, but it is quickly forgotten when the excitement of a new product or innovation is on the table. Determine the general mindset and culture before considering your plan. To build momentum and energy, you need to engage at a common level. Tone is critical, as evidenced with Siemens.
• You are not the audience – Be the wise advisor to the gung-ho leader who wants to put their spin on everything. While rock climbing may be a passion of the CEO, it may be petrifying to others. Anyone remember the plethora of abseiling or walk-on-hot-coals experiential courses from the 90s? Sadly, I do.
• Bonding does not happen by force - Sure, the quirky photobooth or round of improv theatre appeals to many, but do not forget your introverts. Facilitate opportunities to connect and engage on meaningful levels.

Lastly, when it comes to these types of events, the line blurs rapidly into marketing and event management. Whenever possible, engage areas who have that expertise. Share the sandbox.

While I am super relieved that my embarrassing L&D moment will never again see the light of day, Siemens is a cautionary tale. A wide scale L&D event can instantly cross-over into the social media space, impacting brand and reputation. And when in doubt, a song is never a good idea. Oho Oho!

Data Driven Learning Design - Coming Soon

In a former life, I managed client education at a brilliant SaaS company called Eloqua. It was there that I began to learn about digital marketing and marketing automation. To a L&D person, it was fascinating to see the completely different approach to digital content and the usage of metrics and data.

I've continued to think about this for a long time and (finally) have the time to pull together my thoughts in what I'm loosely calling an eBook, which sounds rather grandiose for a 20 -25 page article.

As I write, I wanted to post a few sections to see how the concept resonates with other learning professionals. Download the full piece in June.

Excerpt from "Data Driven Learning Design"

The current landscape of Learning & Development is precarious. Companies are no longer willing or able to invest in large-scale initiatives, and departments are expected to deliver more with less. These trends are true for most industries. What is unique to L&D are the number of predators circling. Unlike a decade ago, content is everywhere. A flick of a mobile gives a learner access to millions of pieces of digital content. Knowledge assets are built by anyone, anywhere. How does a Learning department survive when its biggest competitor is a Google search? L&D is the ageing elephant on the Serengeti surrounded by hungry lions and poachers. The elephant may be wise, but it is slow and cumbersome.

L&D has not embraced digital disruption the way other industries have. Yes, we have adopted eLearning and other digital modalities as delivery channels, but we still apply our traditional classroom lens to what we build. Design and development is based on methodologies like performance consulting, Bloom’s taxonomy, and ADDIE, all of which were constructed far before digital learning was even a glimmer on the horizon. This type of thinking will only hold back L&D.

Unlike the classroom, learners can, and WILL, close the browser and open Facebook if not interested in the content. This massive shift in the dynamic between L&D and learner means the learning design methodologies have to change. The learner is now in control of the content consumption.

Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section.

Join Me At IPL LearnFest in Halifax

I am thrilled to be speaking on "Decoding Learner Digital Body Language" at the Institute for Performance and Learning LearnFest in Halifax on June 2, 2016. Learn how to use data to make better design decisions instead of waiting for Level 1 results. Experience how digital marketers approach content so you can drastically streamline your needs analysis, and still achieve ROI on learning.

Minimum Viable Learning

Awhile ago in my career, I was brought onto the type project that I'm sure you're vividly familiar with - the large-scale, technology-based solution, intended to transform the day-to-day operations of a company. Of course, our L&D team delivered what was expected by the business: learning paths, complete with talking head videos, "how-to" vignettes, WBT courses, culminating in an in-person facilitated event designed to bring it all to life. 

Since then, I've been engaged in a few more of these types of initiatives and I can't help having a feeling in the back of my head that we haven't gotten this right. For one thing, it takes an incredibly long time to develop, and much of the "how-to" stuff explained basic functionality that should be already intuitive with good user interface design (Why some L&D shops design assuming that learners have zero knowledge of how a computer works is a topic for another post...). No one watches a video on how to use Facebook. So why were we building fancy videos to demonstrate how to perform basic tasks? Our learners don't need or want this.

I came across a news headline while standing in an elevator one morning. It was about "Minimum Viable Product" (MVP) design - a strategy for avoiding the development of products that customers do not want or need. The idea is to rapidly build a minimum set of features that is enough to deploy the product and test key assumptions about customers’ interactions with the product. 

 MVP has been used successfully for years in product development, but it is complete anathema to how L&D thinks. With limited budgets and high expectations of responsiveness from learners, we can't keep designing the way that we do.

"This module needs more talking head videos," said no learner ever.

So if I had to do it all over again on a technology implementation, and if my stakeholder was brave enough, here's what I'd do:

• focus the learning on the pure behavioural changes and design content for that only - be brutally ruthless on what is developed
• don't start every learning piece with the laundry list of learning objectives. Likewise, no lengthy intros and extros, and use talking head footage sparingly. The truth is, your learners don't care
• ignore the basic "how-to" stuff. Your learners are technology savvy. L&D isn't the solution for poor user interface design - send it back to product dev
• work with comms/change management to build an overarching WIIFM piece that details the 5 or 10 ways things will be different with the new technology

Lastly, once you have this extremely lean program developed, launch to a set of early adopters and monitor usage. Not just usage of the learning, but of the technology platform. Most importantly, when you have this data, look to see if there are behaviours that are already intuitively demonstrated by users. For example, if learners are naturally using a feature, then you don't need a learning intervention. If there is something learners aren't doing, then that's your phase two development identified.

If I can close with the analogy that I started this post with: applying MVP design to L&D projects is picturing your learner sitting down for a meal. You could design a Swiss Army knife for every possible scenario, or maybe you provide a plastic spoon to eat their mashed potatoes with. Because after all, they're hungry now.

Why Autopsy When You Can Diagnose?

Marketing uses big data to gather insights about user preferences and behaviours. Learning relies on intuition.

At their cores, both Marketing and Instructional Design have a similar goal: inform an audience in order to influence a change of behaviour. Whilst the outcome in marketing is the completion of a sale, and the desired results of a learning intervention are far more varied, the principles are still aligned. Marketing automation, via Big Data analysis, has refined much of the business of converting leads to sales from an art to a science. Yet L&D still relies on theory, or trial and error.

What if learning professionals borrowed from marketers when it comes to building online content? Are there lessons from digital marketing that can translate to how we better design? Why do we rely on a Level 1 Evaluation after a learning event? That's like waiting for an autopsy instead of getting a diagnosis.

What Marketing Does that Learning Doesn’t

Marketers analyse online behaviour to determine a user’s Digital Body Language (DBL)*, which, in basic terms, is understanding a user’s preferences by tracking activity such as where they click, and more importantly, don’t click. Through this data, they can begin to predict what will best attract a user’s attention. For example, if a user more likely to watch a video or read an article on the same topic; the time of day when a user is likely most active; and what types of emails influence action, such as downloading a whitepaper or visiting a website. Once the DBL of a user is better understood, then marketing can better respond based on these preferences. Content can be delivered in the demonstrated preferred media type or pushed out at a time of day when the user is likely to be active. Responding effectively to DBL correlates directly with proven increased sales outcomes. For more details on DBL, read Steven Woods' book "Digital Body Language".

It’s one thing to understand and respond to an individual’s DBL, but there’s also a great deal of insight to be discovered in comparing and aggregating the online behaviour of large audiences. Consider the following demographic profile:

• mostly female
• living in Central America
• between the ages of 26-34

Rather than using a “one size fits all” approach, algorithms from previous marketing campaigns can reveal trends for specific audiences. In the case of this particular demographic, choices about type, length, and media, can be made in a more informed manner based on concrete data and not intuition.

What Should Learning Do?

Learning has had 70 20 10 for years but lacks a framework to support that effectively. Learning needs to step back and approach learning culture in the same way marketing approaches lead nurturing. Learning must leverage other sources of data about user activity to gather and gain insights. This will lead to better solutions that are more calibrated to how learners will engage.

Start With What You Have...

What data about users do you have access to right now that can be mapped and leveraged to analyze beyond learning assessments? What social aspects can be leveraged in your technology? What data do you track that goes beyond completion (e.g. drop off, etc)?

...Then Make Informed Decisions

Using the data you can procure, analyse it to uncover the insights to build learning that your users will prefer and increase their engagement.

Co-written with Adrian Celentano

Learning Designs I Have a Crush On

You know the feeling: you see a certain module or piece of interactivity and your heart begins to beat just that little bit faster. Suddenly, the synapses in your brain are firing. You want to show this divine creation to your friends! You want to introduce it to your family! Okay, this is probably just me. There are, however, some learning designs that I have developed a serious infatuation with over the years. So here’s my secret crush list:

Culture Shock *

*Before you view the module, know that this piece does have imagery that some might find offensive. Safety first, kids.

I first met this piece of eLearning over fifteen years ago. Surprisingly, it is still available and the design has stood up remarkably well against the test of time; a strong testament to the ingenious thinking behind it.

The design is simple: samples of provocative, and sometimes deeply unpleasant, pieces of art are displayed. The learner is asked to decide if they think the piece should be shown to the general public. After answering yes or no, more contextual information is given about the art. For example, it might have been satire or a political statement. The learner then chooses to change their mind or not.

My love for this design is that it turns Bloom’s taxonomy on its head. In a traditional world, this module would have started with the basic information and biographies of the artists, progressing with the history of the artwork, and then an analysis of the pieces. This eLearning jumps right into analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The vast majority of the learning is done internally by the user and the impact is huge. It raises difficult and challenging questions about censorship. From a purely practical standpoint, it does not use extensive branching, which is costly and timely to code. It also gives me a headache to design.

This structure could be applied effectively to other topics. For example,http://www.playspent.org a module that I have mentioned before (and that I seriously love) uses a very similar premise, with strong results. I could imagine it also being impactful for topics just as healthcare, risk and compliance, as well as sales.

These next two modules are like celebrity crushes: expensive budgets, lots of Photoshop and editing, and currently out of my league.  They are still valuable as there are some elements of the design that could be translated to lower investment pieces. Swoon!

Life-saver UK

This is an interactive film about four scenarios that require immediate first aid. Here’s what I adore about it:

• All of the actors look right at the camera so that the learner feels they are the centre of the scenario and sole decision maker;
• The usage of time is amazing: For critical life saving decisions, there is a countdown that adds to the stress of the situation. There is also a brilliant section where the learner must “perform” chest compressions for two minutes to get a sense of what it would be like in a real emergency. At first, I was sceptical about “wasting two minutes” of valuable seat time. I was oh so wrong. It gave me one of those incredible a-ha moments that make learning pop; and
• The innovative use of keyboard and mouse: I admit to being bored of the old drag and drops. They feel gratuitous and stagnant. In this module, interactivity is embedded in the simulation. The learner uses their mouse to feel the degree to which to tilt a person’s head to perform CPR. Likewise, chest compressions are taught by pressing two letters on the keyboard while a real-time monitor instructs whether you are too fast or slow. Beautiful!

Even if you don’t have the Hollywood effects, there are elements to take inspiration from. There’s nothing new about making the learner the centre of a module, but the intensity here is something that would be very applicable to say military or safety training. Likewise, I have been thinking differently about time and timers in learning since I viewed this piece.

6x9

This piece of eLearning just blows my wee instructional designer mind wide open! I have been fascinated with Google Cardboard for quite some time, simply because it places virtual reality into the hands of the masses, without outlandish investment. Here, the Guardian UK uses the technology to place the learner directly into the experience of a person experiencing solitary confinement. It then contextualises the experience with interviews and stories from people who have endured this type of torture, combined with a call to action.

Do I know how I would apply this practically to a module at the moment? Not completely. I still think it’s a good wink towards the future and possibilities. I am also enamoured with the fact that the learning is within an app, since I do not believe that L&D has truly cracked open the mobile nut. That’s another post for another day.

What are some of your learning design crushes? What module makes you want to swipe right on your LMS Tinder app?

Like what you have read? I’d be grateful for a share, like, or comment. Really like what you have read? I am currently consulting and always happy to have a conversation about L&D.

My Learning Design Pet Peeves

For those of you who know me, or have worked me with me, it’s probably fair to say that I can have a reputation to "tell it like it is". Personally I prefer the term “Positive Disruptor”. Either way, my need to question traditional learning design comes from a very honest place: I simply believe that L&D has to let go of some out-dated thinking and really consider learner-centric design.

In no particular order, this is my personal list of learning design pet peeves.

Learning Objective Overkill

Yes, writing LOs is a solid part of good design. I am sorry to break it to you, but your learner does not care about them. They are not concerned about the subtleties between analyse, detail, and describe. And your learner cares even less about LOs in microlearning or digital content. A 4 minute video on YouTube only retains 60% of the audience. 25% are gone in the first 30 seconds.  We cannot waste valuable time on listing LOs. Want your learners to know what the content is going to be? Title it properly.

“Getting to Know You” Icebreakers

 “Tell 2 truths and a lie about yourself”, “20 questions”, “Find someone who…”. These are some examples that are all variations on the same theme: make people share something personal about themselves. I know there are L&D people who love these exercises. If you fall into that camp, you are likely an extrovert. I also get that the outcome is team building. Why do I dislike these icebreakers? When a learner walks into a classroom, they enter into a contract with you: teach me something I did not know. They did not agree to have their personal details on display.

I do believe in the power of icebreakers, but they cannot be gratuitous. Time in the classroom is expensive real estate. Maximise it. Design icebreakers that highlight and reinforce learning objectives.

Avatars and Stock Photos

Trust me, I get it. Learning budgets are tight and it is just so tempting to reach for that pre-packaged rapid authoring tool bundle of characters in delightful poses. When used poorly, it can make your learning look contrived and childish. Learning content about teamwork accompanied by stock photo of people jumping happily in the air; A module about problem solving with a photograph of a woman in a thoughtful pose and a light bulb above her head? Your learners are adults – treat them as such.

Can’t hire a graphic designer? Text can be powerful, too. This is by far one of my favourite examples of a text-driven design: www.playspent.org. Okay, it has had some graphic design treatment, but it could have also been just as impactful without.

Lack of Diversity

This is somewhat related to above. Nothing makes me cringe more when I see “John Smith” used in a module, or a video featuring ten middle-aged, white, men. Now, there is nothing wrong with each independently. But adult learners need to contextualise to internalise content. At a basic level, they should see themselves reflected in the learning environment. Your case studies, imagery, and names, should be as diverse as the audience they are intended for. Otherwise, you have a lot of John and Jane Does who have tossed your learning aside.

Turnkey Learning

We’ve all seen eLearning content structured like this:

Welcome to Project Management…In this course you will learn X,Y, and Z…There are 5 phases to project management…Let’s look at Phase 1…Phase 1 has 3 sub-steps (1,2, and 3)…Drag and drop the sub-steps with their definitions…Knowledge check question! How many phases are there in project management?

Yes, this covers learning objectives and gives an overview, but it’s formulaic and predictable. It’s also boring. It probably uses clipart.

With a little bit of rework, this could become highly dynamic content. For example, begin the module with an overview of a project that struggled during each of the phases. Then do a dissection of the issues. Follow up with a walk-through of the same project and phases, but how to remedy the pitfalls. The content still matches the learning objectives, but has more impact and includes context.

These are my personal pet peeves and I sure many of these will be up for debate. I would also enjoy hearing your thoughts. Have I surpassed positive disruptor and become troublemaker?

Like what you have read? I’d be grateful for a share, like, or comment. Really like what you have read? I am currently consulting and always happy to have a conversation about L&D.

Is Learning the Biggest Loser?

It’s no secret that weight loss and dieting are a multi-billion dollar industry. Magazine racks are a jumble of headlines screaming, “fit, tone, calories, detox”. Yet, most studies concede that around 85% of diets fail.

So what does this have to do with learning?

Quite a bit. In both weight loss and L&D, there is an end goal to change behaviour. There’s not much difference between motivating someone to hit the gym three times a week, and implementing a new workflow. The obstacles of willingness and motivation are the same. Most people resist change, particularly if they are already comfortable doing things a certain way.

Therefore, a successful learning programme has to take steps to address these stumbling blocks. Too often I see L&D solutions that are applied formulas: a robust needs assessment to generate performance outcomes, which then become learning objectives that some Instructional Designer can write tidy copy against. Tick box learning. Great in theory, but learners are not software that can be programmed.

If you have a spare hour, watch an episode of any of the hundreds of weight loss TV shows. There are carefully constructed methods used to encourage and incentivise candidates to adopt new healthy habits. These could be the promise of a reward or the wake-up call of a medical exam. Whatever the methodology, only a fraction of time is spent on the how-tos of calorie counting and balanced diet. The focus is on developing the why.

Yes, I can already hear learning professionals saying that we already build WIIFMinto our content, or that you use a 70-20-10 approach. Those are all beneficial, but are hardly transformational. These are platitudes that make us L&D folks feel like we have cuddled a bundle of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Consider the following personal example (details changed to protect the innocent): A company wants to adopt a culture of collaboration. They approach L&D. After a lot of performance consulting conversations and a detailed needs assessment, the solution implemented is a mandatory one-day learning event on how to collaborate and why it is important. There was a catered lunch.

Fast forward a few years and collaboration is stagnant. Sure, people loved the course. There were loads of job aids and coaching tools. People tweeted about it for days and the Level 1 evaluations were the highest ever. There was no ROI because a) there was nothing to address the ongoing motivation; and b) they had a body of staff who were hired based on their ability to be individual contributors and high achievers.

For large-scale learning programmes to truly deliver, I believe we need to think in terms of broader change management. In the case of the Collaboration Collapse above, these are a few things I would’ve done differently:

• Hire some collaborators into leadership positions. You don’t see successful overweight fitness instructors for a reason.
• Partner with (gasp) other departments such as HR, Marketing, and Communications, to keep the motivation factor. For example, agree with HR that evidence of collaboration is tied directly to performance bonus.
• Eliminate temptation. Those employees who are not onboard with the program need to go.

As a learning professional, I could build all sorts of courses, microlearning, and job aids, on how to lose weight. Yet all of those solutions are no better than the noise screaming from the headlines on the magazine stand. I can design a multitude of evaluations that prove a learner can distinguish the nutritional differences between an orange and a chocolate biscuit. It still does not influence the daily decision to go for a jog versus binge on carbs.

I’m not suggesting that good instructional design practice be thrown away. Simply that learning needs to tackle the motivation factors and collaborate with other departments to achieve change. Otherwise, your courses could become the proverbial Thighmaster collecting dust at the back of your LMS closet.

 Like what you have read? I’d be grateful for a share, like, or comment. Really like what you have read? I am an L&D consultant and always happy to have a conversation, debate, or problem solve.