You're tasked with creating engaging training materials. How can you make sure they're top-rated?

Even more important: Do everything you can to tie training to live, real-world examples that participants have experienced. Nothing engages more than when people can apply it directly to their lives or use past experiences to understand things. Use sports teams, favorite foods, hiking, video games - whatever connects.

My tried and true tips: - Put people to work immediately (avoid starting with long framing, objectives and openings) - Create time for reflection and provide a clear space for it on documents - Make time to truly close the session where folks capture their own learnings and takeaways

Materials need to be in bite-size portions which will make the content more digestible but also customizable and relevant. You may never know enough about your users, but allowing them to make decisions about what they want to learn, and bubbling up content so that it isn't embedded deep within a long course, allows for more personalization.

Don't just know what your audience does. Get to know who they are. What motivates them? What inspires them? What triggers apathy? What are their career goals?

Empathize with your audience. It’s critical to put yourself in their shoes as them (not you). You need to see the world through their eyes and understand how their issues and pain points make them feel—what do they experience? With that understanding, you will be better able to offer a relevant range of examples, create exercises that resonate, and provide learning steps and solutions that help them change their behaviors effectively. Practicing empathy helps you recognize that each person is different. This is essential in cases where you need to show how certain solutions are based on principles so they are adaptable and can be applicable and useful in many different situations—for example hybrid work models.

Do not overuse multimedia Do not overuse multimedia Do not overuse multimedia People's lives are already filled with many, many flashing lights and distractions. Use some when it makes sense, but make sure they genuinely adding to the experience and not fluff.

"Show, don't tell" isn't just for the movies! Use videos sparingly when showing an action or interaction will best illustrate the point to be made. Videos can also be used to set up interactive quiz questions. With the exception of introducing individuals, avoid talking heads at all costs.

This all depends on what you are creating training materials for. Using multimedia to teach people to use a new ERP system may not be best. Sometimes practical application/hands on learning wins. The goal of training shouldn't be about the show, it should be focused on the learning. If multimedia can enhance the learning outcomes, go for it. If it is there to make things more fancy, let it go.

Como disse o filósofo Byung-Chul Han: "O essencial é invisível aos olhos". Somos sobrecarregados de informa??es, principalmente vindas das telas. Segundo a Common Sense Media, passamos em média 9 horas e 22 minutos conectados, por isso é primordial cautela e sabedoria no uso de multimídias.

Use multimedia when you need to show a learner HOW to do something. It is great for illustrating processes, role-play real-life customer service scenarios or compare/contrast. If they already know, they can always skip over it.

As a corporate trainer, I recognize that adult learners value relevance, experience, and practicality. I build training materials by respecting their prior knowledge, providing clear outcomes with real-world examples, and encouraging active participation. Continuous feedback and flexibility in learning modes ensure a personalized and effective learning journey.

I use Gagnes learning outcomes to ensure participants have knowledge to apply to practice and also to ensure the most appropriate methods are used depending on the type of learning outcome

As a facilitator/trainer of more than 25 years, I recommend utilizing visuals, videos, and interactive simulations to enhance understanding. Integrate real-life scenarios to demonstrate practical applications, fostering a connection between theory and practice. Offer opportunities for feedback and reflection, fostering a continuous improvement mindset. Regular assessments ensure comprehension and enable learners to track their progress. Lastly, do not shy away from the hard stuff. Make sure your materials allow for difficult topics to be discussed or addressed. This will ensure diversity of thought, variety of solutions and set your training apart from any other.

Remember to give people the guidance and features with which to make their own decisions about what path they will take through your content. If you've made your content modular, then you're only halfway there. Here's an idea: Lay out sample trajectories with different configurations of the modular constant for select user profiles.

A key principle in adult learning is scaffolded instruction. Scaffolding provides the learners with support and guidance as they learn new concepts and skills. Scaffolding provides heavy support for the individual as they are learning something new. It may look like breaking complex tasks into smaller steps or having the learner observe the task being completed. As the learner builds knowledge and confidence, the instructor can provide resources, feedback, and encouragement until they master the new material.

Involve the participants! I believe that every 20-25 minutes there needs to be an engagement element of some kind. Question/response, small group or partner collaboration, read then respond, etc. My favorite ways to engage learners are through fun activities that then lead to reinforcement of learning objectives.

These techniques can work well depending on the context. But I find, for most adult learners, that if they are already there, they wanted to be there in the first place. That desire creates way more engagement than points, badges, etc. For me, give me the content and I will consume it - don't waste my time with games that might not add value.

1. Use points, badges, and leaderboards to motivate learners and track progress. 2. Create scenarios that simulate real-world challenges relevant to the audience's job roles. Use these scenarios as the basis for games where learners can choose different paths, make decisions, and see the consequences of their actions, enhancing problem-solving skills. 3. What interactive challenges can you incorporate. 4. How can you leverage progress and mastery elements.

Adults love being rewarded!! The research on this is everywhere and we see it everywhere. The only thing is that the big picture or ultimate goal of the training can sometimes get lost when adults focus too much on being at the top of the leaderboard. Because of this, in terms of ensuring strong training outcomes, incorporating gamification with rigorous learning experiences will most likely yield a higher return in learning retention.

Leaders in a fast-paced environment face several common challenges, including rapid decision-making and adapting to change. Making quick decisions with limited information can be stressful and lead to mistakes if not handled carefully. Leaders must be highly adaptable and flexible to keep up with constant changes in market trends, technology, and organizational goals.

Training material needs to stay updated and relevant. Technology changes on a daily basis for example, so should your training materials. Using participants to provide feedback on the learning materials are a very good way to evaluate, especially if the feedback is anonymous.

Always improve your training materials. There is nothing worse as a participant than walking in and getting outdated materials. Theory and practice for everything are always changing, so why are your materials not changing as well?

It's important to remember variety within resources and ensuring that the variety you produce has something for everyone but one of the most important parts of teaching is the passion of the teacher and how they use resources, how they connect, watch, change and absorb the variables to cater for all learners as they go. I have a reflection in action kind of delivery style that responds and becomes fluid while teaching, watching reactions and taking on board what needs to happen to engage more people. This is something that can be taught but elements of the personality of the teacher make a session engaging and challenging.

Anything you create for public consumption, including training materials, should be polished, professional, and flawless. That means no spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. If grammar and punctuation are not currently in your wheelhouse, use the tools in MS Word or get a book, like The Elements of Style, and learn them. Poor grammar and punctuation are directly responsible for communication problems.

Material used and the plan to deliver it must not be set in stone. It must have the flexibility to ensure there is space for re-designing learning materials and experiences to include the needs of learners and the time available. Of course, material must serve to the objectives of the training programme. All this is possible with intermittent feedback from every stakeholder.

Sometimes training involves cringe worthy or even painful ice breakers that are rarely inclusive. Avoid them! Training materials could involve tge Māori concept of whakawhanaungatanga - building genuine relationships. This helps with networking and support.

I find that if engagement doesn't happen within the first five minutes of a training event, it's going to be very hard to build engagement as you go. The best way to do that right off the bat is to open up with a purpose question which connects participants to themselves, each other and the reason for being there. Giving an opportunity for all voices in a group to be heard at the start makes the whole event psychologically safer for participation, and can lead to a top-rating!

Always plan and embed the materials with the following: Real life recent examples Latest news and updates Case studies from the region (could be videos) Written and practical exercises Games and activities Role plays Debates Individuals, dual and group work While planning keep in your mind your audience who are: Visual - add photos and videos Auditory - As mentioned cases and stories Kinesthetic - activities as mentioned above … etc Finally, if you could have a room in your materials, add an interview with a guru in the field Final advice, use AI wisely to enrich your materials

Make it relevant. Clearly explain what the purpose of the training is and the potential impact that it can have for the individuals taking part - if they can see the destination they are more likely to be involved in the journey!

So, what, exactly, does "top-rated" mean? Are you in a competition? Surely we can do better than these subjective kinds of perceptions and focus on relevance to the actual job-based performance?