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Writing better elearning scripts.

Writing better elearning scripts. by Cammy Bean VP of Learning Design, Kineo US Published at Learning Solutions 2014. It was a dark and stormy night. Across town a subject matter expert handed off a 62 slide deck to an instructional designer. Suddenly, a shot rang out….

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Writing better elearning scripts.

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  1. Writing better elearning scripts. • by Cammy Bean • VP of Learning Design, Kineo US • Published at Learning Solutions 2014

  2. It was a dark and stormy night.

  3. Across town a subject matter expert handed off a 62 slide deck to an instructional designer.

  4. Suddenly, a shot rang out…

  5. In a dark alley, a woman screamed as she stumbled on this elearning module.

  6. The people wept in despair.

  7. How can we write better programs to stop this horror?

  8. Sharpen your quills as we share some top tips for writing better elearning scripts.

  9. 1. Keep it light.

  10. Aim for short and snappy. Less of… “This e-learning module is designed to explain the principles and practical requirements of the 11 step process …” More of… “Need to get your head around our process? You’re in the right place.”

  11. Make it a little fun.

  12. (Comic books are fun.)

  13. A writer without interest or sympathy for the foibles of his fellow man is not conceivable as a writer. Joseph Conrad

  14. 2. Make it human.

  15. Talk to me, baby. Less of… “Negotiating effectively is an important skill that we all use on a daily basis” More of… “When was the last time you negotiated something? Maybe it was more recently than you think….”

  16. It’s all about you. Make it personal.

  17. Have a conversation with people.

  18. Connect the content back to people.

  19. Object to learning objectives. Real people don’t talk like this. • As a result of attending this session you will be able to: • Identify three case studies of Fortune 1000 companies who are successfully using social learning models • Define the three models of social learning and how these map to specific strategies and tools • Evaluate the pro's and con's of different social interventions as solutions to specific kinds of learning challenges • Describe their own personal experience in using social media as a practitioner

  20. You can still tell them where they’re going.

  21. So how can we make this better? List the characteristics of humans that we need to be aware of when designing ships.

  22. What about this one? Define the three main potential risks of not having an ITAM program in place.

  23. Is there hope for this one? Define the three models of social learning and how these map to specific strategies and tools.

  24. Read it out loud. Would you want to listen?

  25. Inject humanity. Let real people talk.

  26. If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write. Somerset Maugham

  27. 3. Tell great stories.

  28. Hook them with a gripping tale.

  29. Put all the content in context—try a guided story instead of an info dump.

  30. Win them with gossip.

  31. Grab their attention with tales of risk and intrigue.

  32. Anecdotes don’t make good stories. Generally I dig down underneath them so far that the story that finally comes out is not what people thought their anecdotes were about. Alice Munro

  33. So how do you find the right stories? Ask the right questions. What are the three key takeaways? Where do people get this wrong? What do you want people to DO? What mistakes do people make? Where can people get more information and help? What stories can you tell me about this content?

  34. Ask your experts to think out loud. Get them narrate their work and walk you through the process.

  35. Have them tell you a story. The story about their slide deck. (It’s often what’s NOT written on the slide that really matters!)

  36. Use the words they say, not the words they write. It helps if you type really fast or can record the conversation!

  37. 4. Give it spirit.

  38. Activate your writing.

  39. May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children. Rainer Maria Rilke

  40. 5. Make it flow.

  41. Stitch your ideas together, connect the dots, make sure the story flows from one piece to the next.

  42. Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short. Henry David Thoreau

  43. 6. Cut it.

  44. Cut the blather and focus on the doing.

  45. Skip the fancy words and the jargon.

  46. Keep it simple.

  47. Link to policies. Don’t replicate them.

  48. Cut the information, focus on the doing.

  49. No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader’s intelligence or whose attitude is patronizing. E.B. White

  50. 7. Don’t patronize. Oops. Do you feel patronized now?

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