The idea of writing from the heart used to feel alien to me. It isn’t really about training as we know it.  We write to train people, not a memoir nor a love letter, so why would I write from my heart? Sometimes our writing for learning is wearing a business suit, and not our […]

Writing for learning needs to be free flowing, it needs to exercise the mind and have just enough repetition of the good (important) bits to be committed to long term memory. I’m going to share with you over the next few Modletters some of the lessons of 10 years of writing for eLearning. Ideas breed […]

You can sell your ideas without pushing them down learners’ throats. Here are some sales techniques that top sales companies use very successfully.  I have converted them to learning situations. Sales Technique #1.  Make learners feel special. This weekend I leafed through the early Christmas offers but I started to find examples of how companies […]

Let’s be honest . . . A lot of training content is somewhat blah! It sounds boring.  It lacks a human voice. It feels like anyone in any department could have written it. How can you add a touch of personality? Start by nurturing a sense of play. When trainers are having fun, they’ll connect […]

Adult eLearning readers skim read passages of written dialogue.  So how can we simplify our writing so we can keep impatient readers captivated? FUZZY THINKING HIDES IN LONG SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS So, to avoid fuzzy writing try this practice: Compose relatively short sentences Write one-sentence paragraphs. It’s not easy . . . Each sentence should […]

I imagined that the doctor really enjoyed this. His face had lit up when he discovered the lump on my shoulder blade the previous week. “We’ll cut it out” he said. The days leading up to the surgery were stressful.  Was it cancer? The day came, I couldn’t see what they were doing, only imagined […]

When writers talk about creative writing, they only refer to fiction How weird! As if non-fiction like writing for learning can’t be creative . . . That’s crazy. Of course, writing for eLearning can be creative.  Any creative writing technique can be used to improve any kind of writing. Here are some thoughts to start […]

Have you heard the one about . . .? We all appreciate a good yarn and the anticipation it brings. Preferably clean but always with some humour. When someone says the opening line, nobody throws their hands up and says I don’t want to hear it. In the training field we call them scenarios and […]

Does a lot of e-Learning seem a bit boring? As if designers are just reproducing text book stuff and not putting their heart into it. Of course, we’ve all been there. Instructional design is demanding, it requires thought and passion. Sometimes our training is just a tip. But when all we do is sharing tips, […]

What is our brief as trainers? Why do we bother? How can we be successful and work with engaged and enthusiastic learners? Let’s change the question. Do you want to convince your learners to do something or do it better? So, let’s talk about selling ideas. Using persuasive writing to achieve your purposes. We all […]