How often do you feel confused when reading instructional content? Do you feel the writer is trying to convince you how smart they are? Are you impressed by their use of big words? Or frustrated because there is too much detail? How often is the answer to these questions yes? Want to be clear without […]

The Americans developed the B-17 bomber during World War 2 which helped win the war.  The B-17 was the first aircraft to get a checklist. This came about when, on the first B-17 flight, 3 men were seriously injured, and a few days later died, when the aircraft stalled shortly after take-off.  After further investigation, […]

Think Like a Cartoonist to Grab Attention If you tell them about cars, they think of pumpkins If you talk to them about dinner, they think of steering wheels In short, they force-fit thoughts that may have a connection to each other. But what’s a cartoonist got to do with the opening lines of your […]

My client was puzzled. He had new software for his HR team The supplier had provided a manual (and charged for it) Despite this, managers bombarded the HR staff with phone calls and made many mistakes We finally concluded that the problem was the legalese used rather than everyday language. Here’s some tips to use […]

We’re writing a learning narrative for a Modlette. Sometimes we feel distracted We focus on writing for the learner We pick our words with care We pay attention to punctuation We try to avoid poor grammar and spelling But do we forget the basics of writing well for our audience. In his book The Sense […]

Last week I wrote about four types of bland words: Chewy and tasteless Stale Doughy Low in nutrition If you didn’t read last week’s article which leads into this one, here’s the link Bland words This week I’ll show you how to add flavour to your words. To spice up your content, remove chewy words […]

You work late at night to finish your Modlette. But in the morning when you read your written passages the writing sounds bland. You can’t send it for approval like this. What happened? Have weak phrases sneaked into your writing? Will your learners be bored and switch off? Weak phrases are very sneaky and can […]

Uh oh. June feels stuck. She has a contract to write some text for training Modlettes.  She really wants to impress a new client. But she’s very afraid her text will be boring that she can’t get started.  She’s afraid her text will be like a bland chicken dish without salt, without chillies, and without […]

What if you were in a classroom and the trainer answered every participants’ comment by saying “Right” or “Incorrect”? If this went on throughout the session imagine how confused the participants would be. So, why is this one of the most common types of feedback to user responses in eLearning? How can we overcome this? […]

Ever got lost in the bush? Ever stared at a map, wondering where the hell you were? Or you were arguing with your walking companion about whether to turn right or left? Getting lost in training content makes learners feel bad, too. But there’s one big difference.  When you were lost in the bush you […]