A word from our sponsors

Imagine if pesky words got in the way of our most famous advertising slogans.

How successful would Pringles be without that immaculately-chosen set of words designed to hit the minds of millions of people at once? If instead it was…

Once you pop the lid from a tube of Pringles, you'll probably find it quite difficult to stop eating them.

Or try this rewrite of Kit Kat's famous slogan…

Next time you have a morning, lunchtime or afternoon break, please consider eating a Kit Kat.

Would Ronseal's tagline ever have found its way into everyday use if it was…

If you read what's displayed on a tin of Ronseal (e.g. Wood Preserver, Patio & Block Paving Seal or Quick Drying Varnish), you'll see exactly what it does.

Boring? Wordy? Perhaps it took a couple of reads to get the full message.

Yet e-learning designers and scriptwriters around the world will probably shudder in recognition.

"You can't just say 'pop'. Otherwise people wouldn't know what it is. And 'can't stop' is misleading because many people will find it quite easy to stop. In fact, we know that 13% of people don't like Pringles at all, so we must cater for them."

We're all aware of the power of advertising, but in e-learning we're afraid of a fuss-free, direct message. We see teaching and advertising as entirely separate. Advertising communicates one very direct message, while it's considered OK for learning to waffle - the argument being there's so much to cover. And that's when we get text-heavy, graphic-light screens.

It's almost as if teaching isn't really teaching unless people are bored rigid. In truth, waffle might cover a lot of ground but it's pointless if the words are clogging up your learner's brain.

No, it's better to think of e-learning (if we go for the standard 'series of slides' approach) as one advertising message after another. What are you trying to communicate on a screen? And what's the most direct way of saying it? One paragraph per screen is enough. And no, a paragraph doesn't include fifteen sentences.

We're exposed to advertisements every day. We know the best ones have the clearest message. Let's start bringing that clarity to e-learning.

Here's a great example of how conventional e-learning can really work:

Source:http://www.slideshare.net/redmagma/elearning-sucks.

No tricks, no fussiness, hardly any interaction - there's not even a consistent design. Just direct message after direct message. Notice how many of the slides resemble magazine adverts.

It's all because brevity works.

In fact, it's the difference between trying to get something to sink in, and having no choice but to listen.

Comments

Add New

Less is more Lars Hyland (Brightwave) 2009-10-07 17:46:59 Great post, Kai! It takes real skill and creativity to hone a message in this way. It also takes some courage on behalf of corporate training and communication departments to insist on focusing on the key messages and delivering these well. Quality beats quantity every time. Reply

More for less James Cory-Wright 2009-10-08 09:29:51 And of course, companies should welcome e-learning done the copywriting way because it means they'll be getting great advertising on the cheap! Reply

Sir toots 2009-10-09 09:19:01 Interesting. What do you think about learning by not doing as a concept? After all most parents want to stop their kids doing stuff. Less for more. Stay in bed! Reply

SVP, Learning Carole Bower 2009-10-09 09:50:47 Nice post and I'm in agreement about the need for brevity. Too much detail is perhaps encouraged in our industry by the practice of pricing e-learning based on number of screens (no of e-learning hours) so where is the incentive to be more concise in how we deliver learning? It takes a learning designer longer to consolidate three pages of learning text into one (with meaningful (supporting) images than it does to recreate the same three pages with a few decorative images. Reply

Less takes longer Alison Mitchell-Innes 2009-10-09 10:57:57 Pascal, writing to his friend, apologised 'I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.' A quotation to live (and work) by. Reply

Stephanie Dedhar 2009-10-12 10:26:24 Great post Kai, I couldn't agree more - although I think that the words you use are just as important as the number of words. The message needs to be concise and direct, but also easy to understand - plain English, not business jargon. Your advertising examples are a great way to make the point and something that I touched on in an article I wrote earlier this year (http://www.saffroninteractive.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/advance_ article_25_stephanie_dedhar_online.pdf). I also agree with Lars - it can be a challenge to persuade an organisation that isn't used to this approach of its benefits, but my experience is that the end users really respond well to it so it's definitely worth putting in the hard work! Reply

Write comment
Name:
Email:
Title:
Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by !JoomlaComment 4.0 beta2