eLearning asks much of learners
Do they want to give up their precious time?
What’s in it for them?
Does the learning solve any pain points?
How can doing this Modlette be any more important than other things I have to do?
You’ve got them to open the Modlette, how are you going to keep them there?
So many questions . . . .
A good opening line invites learners into your Modlette, it encourages them to read on, promising there’s more to come.
What’s a good opening line?
The only purpose of an opening sentence is to get learners to read the second sentence. That’s all. You do not need to summarise what’s in the learning. You don’t even need to hint what’s in the learning.
You only need to invite learners to continue to the next sentence. You’ve done all this in the course objectives. Now you need to get on with it and hold their interest until the objectives are met.
Getting people to read your first sentence and continue to the next is much easier to achieve if your first sentence is short.
A short sentence is quick to read; it doesn’t require much effort, and your learner almost automatically glides to the next sentence.
Let me show you two ways of writing opening sentences that make learners read on.
- The Direct Question
The first option for a good opening line is a direct question. Asking learners directly whether they recognise a certain issue instantly helps you address the learners for whom the training has been written.
If this type of opening sentence was a door, it would have an announcement taped on the door suggesting that anyone facing a certain challenge would have access. If you recognise the challenge, you’ll surely want to open the door and look into the room to see what solution to your problem you can use.
For instance:
- Have you ever felt intimidated by an angry Customer?
- Is report writing a painful struggle?
- Can you learn how to become a leader?
- How can you get your best sales?
- Do you feel nervous about phoning Customers for overdue money?
These specific questions work best if the question is already playing on your learner’s mind.
These direct questions instantly filter the right learners for your training. If they don’t recognise the question, or if they want to shake their head to say no, they’ll click away.
2. The Curiosity Arouser
The alternative to the question is to write a super-short sentence that instantly arouses curiosity.
If this type of opening was a door, then it would have a sign saying secret. Who wouldn’t want to open the door to find out what the secret is?
- We’ve all been there
- It’s an easy mistake
- It’s your money
- Let’s be honest . . .
These short sentences bring up questions: Where have we all been? What’s an easy mistake? What’s my money? What is the training being honest about?
These statements raise silent questions in the learner’s mind, and that’s powerful because learners become curious to know the answers to these silent questions, that’s why they read on.
In the Modlettes platform when you click on CREATE A MODLETTE the template that comes up asks you to type in your Modlette title and type a description. This last action is where you type in your opening line.