Education Marketing Engagement
You want to create an online course or a workshop that people walk away raving about and …. well are changed in some way. You want to make a difference. Let’s face it… you REALLY want people attend in the first place so this can happen.
You want people to really dig in and get dirty with your ideas. Make changes in their lives and be amazing. That requires creating training that engages and inspires.
You want people walking away saying “Awesome. What’s next? Where do I sign up for your next session? I know what I’m doing now. I’m going to tell all my friends they HAVE to do this.”
You want waiting lists of people yearning for what you provide.
Does that sound right?
What if I told you the secret to engagement, learning design, and marketing are all the same.
3 things matter most and none of them has anything to do with your level of expertise. I can be a professor in my topic and still bore people senseless and waste their time. (Actually I’ve lost hours of my life to those professor types…. Have you?)
But first, let’s look at what you know, but may not have noticed.
Activity
Think about some training you’ve attended. Or perhaps a webinar or eBook you read or some sort of personal development or coaching you participated in. It might have been a fitness presentation, parenting session, body language course, financial planning workshop (Yes they are necessary!!!) Make some notes as you reflect on your experience using the questions below.
Do I need to point out that you want to create learning materials your clients will engage with…. So…. Engage. Do this activity to see how it fits with your experiences and your beliefs/knowledge. Just write the key words. No essay responses required. From an instructor’s perspective, the reasons for including an activity prior to disclosing the lesson are; it is always important to consider base knowledge and experience and build on this solid ground; and you can uncover some issues that need to be ‘discovered’ or even ‘unlearned’.
So back to the activity…..
- Let’s start with a session that left you feeling a bit….mmmhhh. You probably started playing with your phone or planning out other activities in your head.
- How would you describe this experience?
- What did you appreciate about the session?
- What would have improved the session?
- What did you DO because of the session?
- Where you really clear about how to improve your life in some way?
- Where you really clear about how to take away something that was making your life less enjoyable?
- Now think of a session that lit you up.
- How would you describe this experience?
- What did you appreciate about the session?
- What would have improved the session?
- What did you DO because of the session?
- Where you really clear about how to improve your life in some way?
- Where you really clear about how to take away something that was making your life less enjoyable?
Reflect on your notes. What patterns do you see?
How important was it that;
- the presentation applied to you?
- it felt like the presenter was talking to you and understood your situation?
- the presentation involved some kind of action (reflection, conversation with others, application to an example you bought with you or something you are holding in your head, a template to try out, a model to experiment with…)?
- the presenter resonated with you? You related to their message, their language, their tone, their values, their style? Did you feel they were authentic and there to help you out?
Did you DO anything as a result of the session that left you flat?
Did you DO anything as a result of the session that lit you up?
I mean; did you change anything, try a new idea, and implement a tool or strategy based on the session?
It is far more likely that the second session motivated you to make changes and gave you tools for change. And that’s what you want. Right?
Debrief – OH and the 3 points I promised.
I’ve done this exercise so many times with all sorts of audiences and here’s what usually falls out.
1 Relevance matters
I mean relevance to the learner. Get real. Make it clear. I call it the ‘what’s in it for me’ focus. You need to know your ideal customer really well. Use her or his language. Use her or his needs/problems/desires and the solutions they will find in your session. Make it really clear why this course is an excellent choice (hint: it’s not a 5 min video about why you are great at what you do! It’s not about you … Have you seen those??).
Relevance is your first activity. Have your ‘pitch’ ready to go. Not because it’s sleazy marketing. It really works. Tell the learner why this product is the answer to her/his dream. Honestly and with integrity. It’s the hook that has them ready to go and willing to contribute and engage.
Relevance is the focus of every activity and the learning design overall. If it isn’t relevant to the solution your ideal customer is looking for, delete it.
2 Immediately useful
Useful. Not just theories or models to consider.
- For example, use scenarios, case studies, vignettes (role played videos), reflections on current experience/knowledge/beliefs etc.
- Provide strong linear or creative strategies. To do lists. Checklists. Templates to complete. Action plans. Tools to use. Actually, make that immediately useful. Not general or vague or somehow useful in the future.
(wisdom icon) I advocate learning design based on action. Many trainers follow the old method of tell then test. Engaging sessions allow the learner to try out realistic and suitably challenging actions, debriefing knowledge/lessons/stories/models etc. Think – how does a master behave – then create an activity around that.
Can you see this creates a very different product from; here’s what I know, chunked up into topics and subtopics, with some activities at the end of each topic?
3 Connection.
The presenter (that’s you honey) feels genuine, knowledgeable, experienced and honest. Likeable. We’re talking about that ‘safe in my hands’ feeling. Think of people you look to for advice and guidance. Sometimes this isn’t the slickest operator with all of the wizbang technology. It’s the one you feel knows her shiz and is generous with her time and knowledge. Be that one.
Learning Design rule 1
Relevant and useful to your ideal customer NOT knowledge you want to share.
Did the first example you looked at (the mmhhh product) feel a bit like the presenter got a topic, broke it down into subheadings and told you what they know about those? That happens A LOT. It’s the textbook professor method of instruction. Although, that’s not to say it comes from a place of arrogance. It’s just poor design.
So what need does this rule/solution serve you (as you are my ideal customer)?
Your need – Go back to the beginning of this post. Did you feel like I made it clear why the post related to you? Did it sound like I understood your need to better understand engagement? Did it make you want to read on??? I hope so. That’s the ‘what’s in it for you’.
My answer. What lights you up in learning? Put yourself in your ideal customer’s shoes always. It’s not about what you know. Get really clear about your ideal customer and her/his problems/solutions/desires.
Your ideal customer’s needs will dictate what’s in and what’s out. What’s first and what’s last. The tools and strategies to solve your ideal customer’s problem/desire will be clear. You will know how to build activities that grow these skills and make the relevance abundantly clear.
Need some help to tease this out….. That’s another blog. Or hire Yvette to help you tease it out.
