Showing SMEs what is available?

In an ideal world, I can meet with them before they put that dang PowerPoint together to determine what format will work best for their content.  I try to get them to tell me a story, or multiple, to figure out the best method of conveying the content.  Otherwise, I feel like giving them a list of the things I can do leads to clicky clicky bling bling (http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=1999745) where they like the 'stuff' but doesn't have a learning reason behind it. 

I do have a portfolio I share with internal customers to show a similar project to the solution I am proposing as well. 

However, I know this is a really idealistic answer! 

Hi Kate, yes that's so true! We do try to meet with them ahead of time. They don't "get it" when we are just discussing formats, so maybe I can develop a portfolio of samples to show after I make the suggestion - thanks!  Curious - in what format do they usually provide content once you're able to suggest the best method.

Also - clicky clicky bling bling is my new favorite phrase lol!

I actually have a number of different ways I share.  I pull things up from our drive that are similar projects if I am meeting with them.  I do have an internal public facing portfolio that is more 'advertising' our services and links to some good examples of a variety of different types of training options. 

I try to work with them on the best way to send content without ever asking them to use PowerPoint.  Sometimes that is through documentation of a process they have put together, sometimes that is them walking me through a process and me just recording my screen (to re-do later) so I can remember, me interviewing them, etc.  The more I can keep them away from creating a PowerPoint to 'save me time', the better work I can do.  I then put together a very simple draft of what I am thinking and meet again to make sure I interpreted our communication correctly before I put in more time.

That's  great insight, Kate - thanks for sharing!

Hi Deidre, 

I had a similar experience with one of my SME's.  

I got round it by having them shadow me as I was building a course, I basically walked them through some interactions I had created.  I showed them what could be done quickly, what took more time and how I turn a PPT into a course.  

The SME found this really useful and what she then provided me with was much better than what I was used to.

I appreciate we don't always have the time or availability to do this, but on this occasion it really helped.

Kim

I find this issue a little strange. Your subject matter experts should not be dictating the instructional design so I would not bother wasting everyone’s time trying to teach them how to become instructional designers.

Just tell them to give you content in an unstructured format and you will figure out the best way to present it. 

Nancy beat me to it...

As I read through the thread I had the same reaction.  Your SMEs are experts in the subject, you are the expert in the best delivery designs/methods. In other words you tell THEM what the best methods for conveying and assessing the knowledge are; not the other way around.

Possible caveat: If your SMEs are also true Stakeholders  (ie they are paying for the project) then that might be a bit different. But in the classics definition of "SME" this is rarely the case.

So now what....?  It sounds as if you may have to re-align expectations a bit and "mark your turf" so to speak with your SMEs.  I might suggest a sit-down discussion. One tactic that often works well is to bolster their subject matter expertize....  Remind them it probably took several years of education, training, hands-on experience, and hard work to become the experts they are in the subject matter at hand.  And remind them that similarly your expertize lies in how to translate that hard-won knowledge in the most efficient and engaging way to others. And that you are counting on them to be an expert regarding the content and they can count on you to be the expert in course design.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks, Kim. We do have one SME who we work with often who might benefit from a sit-down like you described. I wish we could do more of that at the beginning to save time down the road. 

Nancy and Bob, I agree 100%.  I'm not trying to teach anyone to be instructional designers. I'm trying to show them what's possible when we are able to design the courses as opposed to being provided a ppt with expectations to not change it much. I think showing examples will give them the "aha" to take their hands off and finally provide that unstructured content.

It's an existing culture that I am trying to work with while simultaneously trying to change. Some of the courses are conversions from ILT or other PPT's and their expectations have been set a certain way because of how learning design has occurred in the past. I've only been here 3 months as a Learning Specialist so marking my turf is a delicate situation when dealing with very senior level SMEs who have been here a decade or more. A sit-down discussion is definitely appropriate, but without examples of what to show them to let them know we are not just a ppt mill, they don't have a reference point to know what is possible and why sending ppt's is not the best route.

Hi Deirdre,

Totally get it and it can be hard to change culture for sure.  So in addition to the previously shared thought about how to bolster their expertise on content, here's something else I've seen work...

Instead of random examples, take a single content chunk (ie learning object) that represents one PPT slide, and work it up three different ways for them. For example...

• As a boring text-based slide
• As a graphic-based exploration
• As an animated timeline
• As a character-based scenario

The particular formats matter less than the fact that you want them to see that there are multiple ways to deliver their content.... and this opens the door for the discussion about what you need from them and what you can provide in terms of guiding the right design choices.

Good luck!

Using their own content as opposed to random examples could be a great strategy. Thanks for the insight!