What’s a Subject Matter Expert (SME)?
What’s the first thing that popped into your mind when someone told you to find the “ess, em, ee” to get the course content you need? Did your rookie self grasp at straws and think something along the lines of “small- or medium-size enterprise"? Or maybe your potential client actually said “smee,” which really threw you for a loop. In the e-learning world, the acronym stands for subject matter expert. SME is really just a fancy way of describing someone who is an expert in his or her field. It’s the person in an organization who has the most knowledge or skill in a specific topic. But don’t go looking for the SME department; there isn’t one. An SME might be an HR staff member, an engineer, a researcher, a product manager, a sales manager, or a finance person. Pretty much every department or business unit has a resident expert. The SME has tons of content, experience, and insights that are essential to creating fantastic courses that your learners need in order to ramp up on a new skill quickly or improve their existing skills. And when you’re developing an e-learning course, the SME can be your best friend. Your SME can help you define learning objectives, craft content, and give valuable feedback as you’re developing the course. In short, you can’t develop effective e-learning without an SME. And if you’re an e-learning developer, your job is to partner with the SME to get the information, strategies, and content you’ll need to build an effective course. So, you need to build a collaborative partnership that’s focused on productive communication. Effective communication is especially important during the course review process. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a (seemingly) never-ending cycle of iterations. But don’t worry, that’s why we created Review 360: a simple web app that makes collaborating with SMEs (and other stakeholders) super easy. And we didn’t stop there! We even created this great course to help you explain the review process to your stakeholders, so you can be sure everyone is on the same page. And we’ve got tons of other resources to help you figure out the best ways to work with SMEs to create amazing e-learning: Learn more about engaging productively with SMEs by downloading our free e-book, “The Essential Guide to Working with Subject Matter Experts.” Read this article for some quick tips on working with SMEs. Discover the secret to turning a reluctant SME into an engaged team member in this article. Check out the top discussions and forum threads in our “Working with Subject Matter Experts” forums compilation in E-Learning Heroes. We’d love to hear your questions and comments about working with SMEs in the comments below! Remember to follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.What To Do When Your Course Has Too Much Content
Sometimes creating an e-learning course is like packing for a trip: it’s easy to keep adding, adding, adding … until your e-learning “suitcase” is bursting at the seams. And guess what? Most learners go numb when slide after slide is stuffed with text and images and ideas. The volume of content overwhelms their drive to “unpack” key messages buried in all that information. And when learners can’t focus on what’s important, how will they ever apply what you’re trying to teach them? Content overload, at both the slide level and the course level, is one of the most common e-learning mistakes. What can you do to avoid it? Here are few ideas to consider. Avoid Making a Course Have an SME who’s really, really insistent that every last piece of their content needs to be in the course? It may be because they’re focused on pushing information at learners, rather than coaxing out the kind of thinking that leads to behavior change. Your job as the e-learning expert is to help SMEs see all the different ways you can structure content to focus on the learner and, ultimately, to impact their performance. Try suggesting non-course options, like: Job aids: A simple quick reference or at-a-glance chart is often far more effective than a course. Digital performance support: An online glossary of terms, a troubleshooting guide, or a short software simulation might be all learners need to get up to speed. Break It Down Numerous studies (Miller, most notably) have shown that the human brain more easily digests information when it’s provided in manageable chunks. That’s because our working memory—the place where our brains process information—can only handle so much at once. Here are a few pointers for breaking down content in a way that makes it more manageable. Prioritize content: If the learner needs to be taught information to pass a quiz at the end of the course, maintain a focus on that most crucial content. Focus on the learning objectives: If the goal of the course is for learners to be able to assemble widgets, move the ancillary “ancient history of widgets” into a format that’s optional … you know, for those viewers who are really, really into widgets. Avoid content overload: A simple tabs or process interaction can be a great way to organize lots of related content in a way that’s inviting for learners to explore. Manage content: Break out individual lessons into mini-courses. Make It Compelling It’s tempting to lose sight of the goal and think of courses as content containers rather than change catalysts. Transforming your content into something that’s inspiring and actionable means you need to make it compelling. As Tom Kuhlmann points out in this classic Rapid E-Learning Blog post, you’ve got to “give the learner a reason to use the information.” So, how do you that? Use problem-solving: People learn the most from trying and failing, experimenting, and playing with the possibilities. Transform passive lectures into active learning by giving folks a problem to solve. Have lots of data to share? Pull out the most important facts and support them with an eye-catching graphic. Infographics are much better at conveying information than bullets. Keep your writing snappy. Ditch superlatives that distract learners and don’t add value. Swap out wordy phrases for more succinct ones. Even small changes—replacing “click the next arrow to proceed” with something snappier and more inviting, like “see what happens next,” can make your content easier to read and understand. Ready to Streamline Your Content? Longing for some clever ways to streamline content? Look no further than E-Learning Heroes for examples, ideas, and inspiration. Here are a few resources that you might find especially helpful. Intrigued by the idea of creating interactive job aids? Take a look at these great examples from our past E-Learning Challenge—Using Interactive Job Aids in E-Learning. Want to avoid overwhelming learners with content or confusing them with poorly organized content? Use these four strategies from Nicole Legault for organizing e-learning content. Not sure how to make your interactions more compelling? Check out these fabulous pointers from Nicole Legault. How do you deal with content overload? We’d love to hear your ideas and field your questions in the comments below. Enjoy this article? Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.7 Reasons Stakeholders Love Review 360
As a course creator, you want to make sure the e-learning you create hits the mark—that’s why getting feedback from subject matter experts (SMEs) and stakeholders is an essential part of the course development process. But without the right tools, providing feedback can be time-consuming and complicated for reviewers. In many cases, reviewers receive a copy of the course as a file—like a PDF or Word document—and add comments in the file before sending it back to the course creator via email. By the time they’re done, there are multiple versions of the file and a lot of back and forth. If they want to interact with the content, they have to install an app or sign into a Learning Management System (LMS)—adding another layer of complexity if they don’t already have an account. And each time there’s a new version of the course to review, they have to track down the updated file. With all those potential obstacles, it’s no wonder getting timely feedback from reviewers can be such a struggle! Luckily, there’s an Articulate 360 app that removes all those barriers and makes the project review process easier and faster for everyone involved. Review 360 was specifically designed to collect feedback on e-learning—which is what makes it so handy. Let’s explore a few of the top reasons reviewers love using it! 1. It gives them easy access to course content. Nowadays, there’s an app for everything. And while that’s great, it often means there’s yet another thing to download, install, and manage. Thankfully, Review 360 is web-based, which means reviewers can access courses and provide feedback directly in their web browser. There’s no app to download, install, or run past an IT department—all reviewers need is the link to a project to access the content. And they don’t even need to have an account to provide feedback. To leave a comment in Review 360, reviewers simply need to provide an email address. 2. They get to experience the course like a learner. Reviewing a course without interacting with it—like in the case of a Word document version of a project—leaves room for confusion and misunderstanding. If reviewers can’t click, tap, and swipe through the course, how can they get a feel for the course flow? And if there are multimedia elements included—like audio or video—how can reviewers preview them? Review 360 solves those issues by allowing reviewers to go through courses just as a learner would, so nothing gets missed. They can take quizzes, run through scenarios, and watch videos—giving them a clearer picture of the learning experience. 3. It clarifies their feedback by adding context. Instead of reviewing a project in an LMS and providing feedback in a document or via email, Review 360 lets stakeholders do everything in one spot. And what’s even better, screenshots accompany all comments, so course creators know exactly what reviewers were seeing at that exact moment in time. This means that instead of toggling between screens or spending time trying to explain which part of the course their feedback relates to, reviewers can focus on the course content. 4. It makes it easy to provide course creators with additional resources. Reviewers can also add attachments to any comments they make. This makes it easy to point course creators to other resources and files—like a replacement image—to save time and reduce confusion. 5. It removes extra steps from the review process. Thanks to built-in notifications, the course creator receives an alert when a reviewer leaves a comment. That way reviewers don’t have to worry about letting them know there’s feedback to check out. And because reviewers receive notifications when someone replies, it’s easy to know when others react to comments or provide updates. 6. They can easily loop in other team members. Sometimes reviewers need a second pair of eyes—or even a third—to take a look at something. Thanks to the ability to tag others in comments by @ mentioning them, it’s easy to loop folx into a conversation in Review 360. By tagging other reviewers or course creators in a comment, everyone can collaborate and brainstorm in one spot—and Review 360 documents their ideas for future reference. 7. They can view every version of a course in one spot. As you incorporate feedback into a project, you can publish new versions of the project to the same review link. This saves reviewers from having to track down a new URL each time there’s a new version to check out. Instead, they can bookmark a single Review 360 link and refer to it whenever there’s an update to the course. But the old versions and their comments aren’t deleted—Review 360 keeps track of the version history. Thanks to this feature, reviewers can compare prior versions of the course to the current version and see how the content has evolved. Wrap-Up Next time you have a project that needs reviewing, publish it to Review 360! Without downloading an app or logging into an LMS, reviewers get the full course experience and can focus their time and energy on providing feedback rather than tracking down links or sending countless emails. And as a course creator, you’ll benefit from quick and contextual feedback—freeing you up to focus on all the other things on your to-do list! What are your favorite things about Review 360? Share your thoughts in a comment below. And to learn even more about collecting and providing feedback on e-learning, check out these helpful articles: How Stakeholders Review Projects in Review 360 Still Publishing to Word for Your SME Reviews? Here’s How and Why to Transition to Review 360 Who Should Review Your E-Learning Course Before Launch? 5 Steps to an Easier E-Learning Course Review Process Want to try Review 360, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial. And subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates, e-learning examples, and expert advice directly in your inbox.Make Working with SMEs a Breeze with These 3 Downloads
One of my favorite things about being an e-learning designer is creating courses on a wide variety of topics. I’ve learned so much over the years! When I look back on it, it’s almost like I had to become an expert in every subject in order to create the most effective learning experience. And while some of my knowledge came from my own research, more often than not it was gleaned from the content provided by my project’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Subject Matter Experts play a critical role in course design. They have the knowledge, experience, and insight to help you create the most impactful training. Despite their importance to your projects, working with SMEs can also be challenging. From different perspectives around how content should be presented to old-fashioned beliefs around how people learn, many e-learning pros find themselves in a battle of wills with their SMEs when all they really want is a productive partnership. This problem can be especially vexing when creating custom e-learning in a powerful app like Storyline 360. With so many creative possibilities, there are countless ways to present content. So how do you help your SMEs visualize different treatments and bridge gaps in understanding, all while building positive relationships with your SMEs? Here are three documents I’ve found essential for communicating clearly and aligning expectations from the start. Document 1: Project Kickoff Questions Before meeting with your project’s SMEs, it pays to do a little prep work. If you already have some source content pulled together, study it to get a basic understanding of the material. And if you don’t have content, research the topic or the company to make the most of your time with your SMEs. As you study, prepare a list of questions to help guide the conversation and show the SME how much you value their time. Need to kick-start your thinking? Download and customize this Project Kickoff Questionnaire for your needs. Download With all of your prep work done, you’re ready to set up a meeting with your SME to discuss the project. Make sure to bring your list of questions, and then listen actively and take notes. This is your time to build trust with your SMEs and identify knowledge and performance gaps to determine the right solution. Document 2: Project Plan After you determine the right solution, it’s time to put the details in writing so you’re all on the same page. A project plan can be a great way to align expectations. In the project plan, you can include the project background, course information, deliverables, timelines, and any other important details. Once you’re done preparing the project plan, have the SME review it and confirm its accuracy before moving forward with design. Need help creating a project plan? I’ve got you covered! Download this free project plan template. Download Document 3: Storyboard Now that you and the SME are on the same page, it’s time to start designing the project. If you’re using a slide-based authoring app like Storyline 360, the best way to make sure you have a solid foundation for development is to create a storyboard. A storyboard is the blueprint for a course that outlines the content screen by screen. Storyboards help your SMEs visualize how the content will flow and allows them to make edits before you start development in your authoring app. Note: If you’re using a web-based authoring app like Rise 360, you can skip the storyboarding phase and go straight to development since it’s easy to use and quick to make changes. Need help getting started? Then download and customize this storyboard template with your content. Download What Next? After the storyboard is finalized, you can feel confident knowing you have a solid foundation to start building your course. Taking the time to develop project kickoff questions, create a clear project plan, and storyboard the content before you start developing it in your authoring app will set you, the SME, and the learners up for success. For more ideas on working with SMEs, check out this series on Everything You Need to Know About Working with SMEs. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.Congratulations, You’re a Subject Matter Expert. Now What?
Most of the time, the e-learning course development process is driven by instructional designers or e-learning developers working in partnership with subject matter experts (SMEs). But what if you’re an SME who’s been put in charge of driving an e-learning course and you need to partner with an e-learning designer or developer? What do you need to know to make the collaboration process go more smoothly? Here are four key tips to get you started: Focus on Learning Objectives It’s human nature to want to communicate in a way that’s as detailed as possible—especially when it’s your job to train someone. But taking that approach with e-learning will result in a bloated course that leaves learners feeling overwhelmed. Instead, focus on what learners need to know and do to learn a new skill or improve their job performance. By prioritizing essential information over ancillary or “nice to know” content, you’ll keep learners focused on the core objectives. But don’t worry! That nice-to-know content doesn’t need to go to waste. You can ask the developer to simply move it to a glossary or “additional resources” section in the course so it’s still available for folks who want a little more information. Keep it Real Most people retain concepts better when they can relate what you’re telling them to their own real-life experiences. For instance, using a realistic scenario can help learners visualize themselves applying new knowledge and skills they’re picking up in your course. When you’re partnering with a designer or developer, it can be helpful to share the kinds of real-world experiences your learners are likely to encounter on the job, so those experiences can inform the design of meaningful interactions that will engage and challenge learners and get them thinking. Review Storyboards Attentively In e-learning, creating and approving the storyboard is is a crucial step. The storyboard serves as a "blueprint" for the final course. The storyboard ensures the content is correct before the final, detailed version of the course is built. It's important for you to review the storyboard attentively and thoroughly; set aside time to focus in on the details. Doing so now will save you and your project team a lot of complicated rework later on. Once the course is built, changes become more difficult and time-consuming to address. Communicate Effectively The relationship between the SME (you) and designers and developers is critical. Here are a few tips that can help keep the lines of communication open throughout the project: Establish deadlines. Have a mutually agreed upon timeline for major milestones and the final deliverable deadline. Have ongoing discussions throughout the process, so you can check in on those milestones. And of course make sure to meet your own deadlines along the way! Provide actionable feedback. When you’re asked to review content and provide your comments, try to always give specific, constructive, and actionable feedback that keeps the project moving forward. Avoid vague feedback, nonspecific critiques, or comments that don’t offer a clear call to action. These are distracting to the designer and developer and can bog down the review process. Wrap-Up By following these four simple techniques, you can really increase your value and contributions as a SME and help ensure the smooth roll-out of the new training initiative. Interested in learning more about the course creation process? Take a look at these go-to e-books: E-Learning for Beginners The Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.4 Easy Ways to Win Over Reluctant SMEs
When it comes to creating effective online courses, subject matter experts (SMEs) are key to your success. They’re the people you turn to when you need key details to make your scenarios more relevant, an expert set of eyes for your storyboards and quizzes, or just a breakdown of how a specific process works. In short, they play one of the most crucial roles in any e-learning project. But when they’re reluctant to work with you or not fully engaged, they can also be your biggest challenge. Since they’re a critical part of your e-learning projects, now’s a good time to learn how to turn even the most difficult SME into an invested partner. Develop a Relationship with Your SMEs When you’re on a tight deadline, it’s easy to become laser-focused on trying to get the information you need as quickly as possible. But don’t forget to establish a relationship with your SMEs before you start grilling them for answers. People are more likely to show enthusiasm for something when they feel like they’re truly part of the process. Do your best to get your SMEs on board with what you’re trying to accomplish by making sure they understand how critical their role is to the project’s success. You don’t need to become best friends; a simple introductory meeting will do. Give them an idea of who you are, what you’re building, how excited you are to work with them, and how they could impact the resulting project. They’ll be more open to working with you if you establish a positive connection with them first. Be Respectful of Your SMEs’ Time If your SMEs aren’t giving you the information you need and you’re on a tight deadline, it’s easy to get frustrated. But before you hunt down your SMEs, demanding answers, take a minute to consider that they aren’t purposely ignoring you or withholding information. They’re just busy people with deadlines of their own. To avoid missed deadlines, make sure your SMEs have the support they need from their managers. The best way to do this is to involve your SMEs and their managers in your project plans as early as possible. Clearly outline what you need from them and ask them when they can deliver it. If they’re overloaded with work, perhaps their managers can work with you to free up some of their time. During the review process, show respect for your SMEs’ time by making it easy for them to share their feedback. First, try to be as specific as possible about what you need. For instance, if you only want them to provide feedback on how a specific interaction works, tell them that up front. Then, give them access to an app like Review 360 that streamlines the review process and helps your SMEs provide their feedback in an intuitive way. When you give your SMEs a clear understanding of what you need and empower them with tools that meet their needs and respect their time, you’ll find that most SMEs are more than willing to help out. Speak in a Language Your SMEs Understand Picture this: you’re an SME who’s been asked to help develop an online course covering human resources procedures. During your first meeting with your e-learning developers, they start grilling you about “real learning” and throwing around terms and acronyms you've never heard before. If you have little or no experience with instructional design, you might start to feel confused or—even worse—overwhelmed. And you probably won’t be in a big hurry to get back in a meeting with them. To avoid alienating your SMEs, skip the “e-learning lingo.” This way, they’ll walk away from your meetings feeling pumped up about the course, not deflated or unsure about how they can contribute. Show Appreciation for Your SMEs Has a coworker or client ever expressed gratitude after completing a project you worked on together by sending you a personal email or sharing the sentiment in a group setting? If you’ve experienced this, then you know how a simple recognition and a small thanks go a long way toward making you feel valued. A great way to get your SMEs’ attention and support is to send a glowing email to their managers and copy them on it. It doesn’t take much to show a little appreciation for your SMEs, but it’ll go a long way when it comes to their willingness to participate in the project. You’ll be glad you did the next time you’re requesting extra time or information from them. Wrap-Up At the end of the day, it’s all about relationships. When you put a little effort into developing a good rapport with your subject matter experts, you’ll likely find it easier to get the content and feedback you need from them. And once you’ve won over a reluctant SME, give them more support by preparing them with the tips they’ll need to be successful in their role. In the end, you’ll both reap the rewards of a successful e-learning course. Have your own experience winning over a reluctant SME? Share your tips in the comments! If you’re looking for more best practices, take a look at the Everything You Need to Know About Working with SMEs series, or just check out a few of our favorites below! What’s a Subject Matter Expert (SME)? Tips for Working with Subject Matter Experts to Create E-Learning Make Working with SMEs a Breeze with These 3 Downloads Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any comments, please share them below.Tips For Working With Subject Matter Experts to Create E-Learning
Subject matter experts (SMEs) play one of the most important roles in your project’s success, so you need to build a partnership that’s collaborative and productive. But getting what you need from an SME isn’t always easy. Often that’s because SMEs are so far removed from the learning process that they have a hard time understanding what information the learner really needs to develop new skills and perform their job. And because they’re busy people, your projects can stall or come to a complete halt if the SMEs aren’t fully engaged. So how do you work with busy SMEs to get—and keep!—your project moving in the right direction? Here are four quick tips that can help. Be Prepared I can’t reiterate this one enough: do your homework. Collect as much information as you can before you meet with the SME, and take time to digest it. Make notes. Have a list of specific questions. You want to leave your meeting with answers to those questions and a clear plan for course development. When you show up prepared, not only do you save yourself some time, you send the message that you value your SME’s time. And that helps start the relationship on the right foot. Not sure what questions to ask? Check out this comprehensive list of needs analysis questions for some ideas. Be Clear Communication can make or break your projects. We’ve all been in that situation where one person leaves a meeting having heard one thing and another person comes away with an entirely different set of ideas. As such, it’s always good to repeat what you discussed with your SME in writing before you begin work on the course. Making sure you and your SME are on the same page takes just a few minutes—and those few minutes up front can prevent weeks of frustration and irrelevant content later. Be in Sync Once you have an informal agreement with your SME, document it with a formal, written course development agreement. In your agreement, make sure you define deliverables, timelines, project scope and constraints, reviewers, and measurements of success. Putting the details on paper (real or virtual) is a huge step toward aligning everyone’s expectations. If you’ve never used an e-learning project agreement or created a project plan, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered! Check out this course development agreement and this basic project plan. Be Appreciative A big part of a good working relationship is respecting each other’s contributions and expertise. But it’s not valuable if you only think it—tell your SME! Obviously, the easiest way to let your SME know you value her is with an email. But even better? Send one to her manager too, praising your SME’s input. Little gestures like this can pay big dividends later on. More Resources Want to know more about how to work with SMEs to create amazing e-learning? Learn more about engaging productively with SMEs by downloading our free e-book, The Essential Guide to Working with Subject Matter Experts. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.3 Ways to Embrace Constructive Failure in Your E-Learning
I was chatting with an e-learning designer about her struggles to get her boss to let her design something other than click-and-read e-learning. She summarized her challenge like this: “I work in a highly regulated, high-accountability environment. We design e-learning that makes it as easy as possible for people to pass the quiz. So how can I convince my boss to let me do something more creative or performance-oriented when passing the quiz is all anyone cares about—and failure is never an option?” Sound familiar? When it comes to learning topics with a strong performance component—things like proper hand-washing technique or customer service skills, for instance—merely forcing learners to pass a quiz isn’t enough. What learners need are opportunities to fail. Why fail? Because failure is both an unavoidable and powerful part of the learning process. When I say “failure,” I'm not talking about destructive failure that erodes someone’s self-confidence or leads to career stagnation. I’m talking about the kind of failure that opens up opportunities for further instruction and lays the foundation for learning. So how do you talk to your boss about the positive aspects of failure when you’re in an environment that characterizes all failure as inherently bad? Here’s some food for thought. Position Constructive Failure as a Good Way to Manage Risk People shy away from taking risks because failure is a possible outcome. But avoiding risk entirely isn’t realistic, nor does it foster the kinds of behaviors that spur individual or organizational growth. A more sustainable approach is to manage risk—a task where e-learning shines. That’s because e-learning designed with performance in mind encourages folks to explore and take risks in a predictable environment where there is less accountability. It gives people a safe place to practice applying their skills in a way that’s minimally destructive and less public, while giving an opportunity to intervene with some constructive support in the form of contextual feedback that tells people what they did well and where they need to improve. In short, e-learning that embraces a bit of “safe” failure gives your organization a smart way to help learners identify their mistakes and correct them in training, before they surface on the job. Talk About Learning As a Process Some organizations act as though learning is an event—something to be controlled in order to achieve the successful outcome of a passing score. But passing a quiz may only be a measure of someone’s ability to take a test, not necessarily of their ability to perform a critical task. If your organization is obsessed with quiz scores, start talking about learning as a dynamic process made more complex by the fact that it’s both highly iterative and highly individual. In other words, learning and growth happen when we give people safe environments to practice—which generally consists of an attempt, (potentially) failure, feedback, and then trying again. Address Your Own Failure Fears No one enjoys the prospect of failure—even “constructive” failure—including e-learning designers! But to really embrace learning as a process you need to face and overcome your own fear of e-learning failure. Here are some practical tips for doing just that. Set expectations and provide clear, achievable objectives. Afraid that learners aren’t motivated to take your course? People are more engaged and motivated when you demonstrate the relevance of training. Show them why they should care about the course right from the start. Explain what it is they’ll learn and how this new knowledge or skill will make them a better version of themselves. Present the objectives in a way that speaks to learners and make sure each one can be achieved within the technical confines of e-learning. Write focused, relevant, and compelling content. One common design fear is that learners will simply tune out because the content you’re sharing is dull. But just because the content is boring doesn’t mean you can’t do things to make it more engaging. For starters, focus on keeping your content concise, relevant, and compelling. Transform passive reading into interactive exercises or illustrate the significance behind dull policies and procedures with a real-life story. For more great ideas for avoiding boring training, check out this article 3 Ways to Avoid Designing Boring Compliance Training. Put more trust in learners. Our own fear of design failure often manifests itself in the form of e-learning courses full of features like locked-down navigation, narrated on-screen text, or a 100 percent passing score, all in place to keep people from “cheating” or “skipping ahead” or to make sure they “get all of the information.” Why so much distrust of learners? Sometimes it’s part of your organization’s culture, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless to nudge the conversation in a new and more trusting direction. Some ideas for putting a little more trust in learners include: Giving learners the option to test out of topics—or to skip the quiz altogether if it’s not a mission-critical training topic. Swapping out passive lecture and reading for more challenging decision-making scenarios. If you’re creating a course that doesn’t have a lot of performance expectations tied to it, demonstrating respect for their time and intelligence by keeping content short and easy to digest. Finally, be clear on when people are being scored vs. when they’re practicing. Afraid your learners are confused about your expectations? Nothing erodes the circle of e-learning trust faster than an e-learning bait and switch. Take pains to clearly communicate which activities are for practice and which are for a grade. For some more targeted pointers on designing compelling interactions, check out this handy (and free) eBook. Ready to Learn More? Failure is only a true fail when you don’t learn and grow from it. So if you’re continuously building your e-learning skills, look no further than E-Learning Heroes for help. Start by sinking your teeth into these related articles: 9 Ways to Encourage the Adult E-Learner by Tom Kuhlmann 4 Instructional Design Tips to Create Awesome E-Learning Scenarios by Nicole Legault 10 Tips for Becoming a Better Designer by Yours Truly And if you’re looking for some more ideas or guidance from fellow designers, you'll find a lively network of helpful peers to learn from in our Building Better Courses forum. How are you helping your organization embrace constructive failure? Share your experiences in the comments below. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and come back to E-learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.10 Communication Tips for Handling Tough Conversations
Whether you’re delivering the bad news to a stakeholder that you can’t finish a critical project on time, or you’re explaining to a Subject Matter Expert (SME) why you can’t use their content without rewriting it, having tough conversations comes with the turf for e-learning designers. But just because a conversation is challenging or uncomfortable doesn’t mean it can’t be productive. Let’s take a closer look at some ways you can prepare yourself for tough talks with a few tips and techniques for smoothing out the rough edges. Before the Talk We’ve all had the experience of being in a tough spot, and I’ll bet you can still recall how uncomfortable it was or how it felt like it took forever to play out. These experiences can be traumatic—especially if you were taken by surprise—and they can lead you to assume that all future talks with that person, or on that same topic, will be equally agonizing. But that’s not necessarily the case. When a conversation looms, do you find yourself always bracing for the worst? Before you panic or get stressed out, consider that your anxiety and dread might just be creating extra work and distracting you from what you really need to do: get the job done. So here are some more constructive, proactive things to try instead: Make a plan. When you’re anticipating conflict, it might seem like a good idea to script out some potential responses. But the reality is that it’s really hard to predict how tough conversations are going to unfold. You’re probably better off planning some key themes you’d like to hit on along with some clear, simple responses you can use to keep the conversation moving forward. Collect your thoughts. Part of the challenge of tough conversations is that you need some time to steel yourself and plan what you want to say and how you want to say it. If, for instance, you’re heading into a tough talk with someone who’s notoriously difficult or unreasonable, give yourself a few minutes to take some deep breaths and think about how you’ll frame the conversation to avoid escalation right from the start. Focus on the issue. As you’re thinking about what you want to say, keep in mind that every conversation has two ingredients: the issue and the people discussing the issue. It can be hard to separate the two, but strong communicators know that showing some empathy and playing it soft on the person and hard on the issue makes it easier for people to open up to you and to listen to what you have to say. Develop some options for solutions. The need for a tough talk often arises when a project goes off the rails. To get things back on track you'll need to think through a few options for solutions, along with the upsides and downsides of each. Having these in your back pocket will help you feel more prepared and be seen as a good collaborator. During the Talk You’re organized and prepared for a tough talk, but let’s be honest: you probably still have some lingering doubts or anxiety, right? That’s totally understandable. No one likes the idea of being caught off guard or put in the hot seat—and we all fear saying or doing “the wrong thing.” While I can’t arm you with the right words to say at every turn, I can help you adopt the right mindset. And to do that, I’ve created this handy table of conversational dos and don’ts to keep in mind. DO DON’T Take the initiative and lead the talk when appropriate Interrupt or try to exclude others from speaking Use positive, collaborative words and phrasing Get caught up in assigning or deflecting blame Offer up some informed solutions Complain about issues that you know little about and that you’re not prepared to help resolve Acknowledge the issues and the other person’s perspective and look for overlap between your perspectives Dismiss a fair compromise because you can’t get everything you want or need Use some clever redirection as needed to keep everyone on task Allow the conversation to veer off topic or revisit the past Disarm them with a little light (appropriate) humor Take yourself too seriously. People don’t like to listen to someone who comes across as too calculating, arrogant, or intimidating I know it’s hard to keep these in mind when you’re in the midst of a tough talk, but I find it helps to remember that no matter our communication styles or work priorities, my SMEs and I have a shared desire to do what’s best for the organization and its learners. It’s also helpful to remind yourself that just because a person or a situation is hard doesn’t mean it’s bad or you’re not good at your job. Growth happens when we’re pushed out of our comfort zones—and tough conversations are one way, for better or worse, for that growth to happen. More Learning Congratulations on uncovering the tip of this topic’s iceberg! You’ll find that E-Learning Heroes is home to loads of great tips and resources for working with SMEs. Check out just a few of them, below: The Essential Guide to Working with Subject Matter Experts Ebook Here’s How Subject Matter Experts Help Build Great Courses 5 Steps to Win Subject Matter Experts’ Hearts 4 Easy Ways to Win Over Reluctant SMEs 2 Ways You Can Boost Your Instructional Design Cred Working with a difficult SME? Struggling to have productive conversations? Share your story in our Building Better Courses forum, where fellow e-learning pros can weigh in with their suggestions. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.How to Empower Your SMEs to Create Awesome Training
Many organizations rely on their subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop in-house training because they know the content inside and out. Yet, they are rarely versed in instructional design (ID). So how do you make sure their training is both effective and engaging? Here are some tips. Provide Basic Instructional Design Training to SMEs Understanding the basics of instructional design is important for training designers. ID is the art of crafting a learning experience in a way that will be the most engaging and meaningful for the learner. There’s a lot involved in ID, such as separating need-to-know from nice-to-know information, writing effectively, and choosing appropriate quiz types for the specific audience. You can’t expect your SMEs to become ID professionals overnight, or even in a week. But you can help them grasp the basic concepts if you give them a bit of time to read through the following articles: An Introduction to Instructional Design Instructional Design Basics for E-Learning Development Getting Started with E-Learning The Do’s and Don’ts of Separating Need-to-Know from Nice-to-Know Information How to Do a Task Analysis Like a Pro Establish Design Guidelines You can also help your SMEs by providing design standards or guidelines. Your SMEs are probably not graphic designers, so give them a helping hand to make sure everything looks and feels right. Give SMEs access to templates, logos, fonts, photos, and everything else that’s available at the company. Why reinvent the wheel or spend time looking for a photo you already own? Check with your marketing or design teams. Create a sample course that looks great and use it as a guide or template. Make the sample course easily accessible. Create a simple document with screenshots and high-level guidelines for the look and feel. This document can include fonts and colors to use, and screenshots of how certain slides or activities should look. Consider creating a custom player skin with appropriate colors and logo, and share the .XML file with all SMEs developing training to ensure consistency. This works in Articulate Storyline 1 and 2, as well as in Articulate Studio ’13. (Read more: Sharing Player Templates and Color Schemes in Storyline.) Here are a few more helpful articles: 3 Ideas for Balancing Branding Guidelines with E-Learning Design How to Choose a Design for My E-Learning Course Have a Solid Review Process A thorough review process is critical if you want to create solid solid e-learning content. It catches spelling mistakes, inaccuracies, navigation and design mistakes, and more. Don’t skip this step; making sure you have a documented process in place will greatly improve your final output. 3 Tips for a Great E-Learning Review Process Top 3 Tips for E-Learning QA Testing The Top 4 Reasons to Test Your E-Learning Courses Discussion: What’s Your Review Process Like? Do you have additional tips or comments about having SMEs develop training? If you do, leave a comment; we love to hear from you! Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.
