Sticky Messages Developing Learning Content that ... - Aurion Learning

E-learning Insights

insights

STICKY MESSAGES: DEVELOPING LEARNING CONTENT THAT STICKS by Glynn Jung It ain’t what you do……it’s the way that you do it. So goes

3. Concrete: Avoid abstractions. The Velcro Theory of

the old song and in my mind this includes getting your

Memory is that the more ‘hooks’ in your idea, the

message across so that it sticks in people’s minds.

better. Find common ground at a shared level of

Broadcasters, coaches, teachers and trainers, business

understanding (really tough that one) and set common

leaders, politicians, line managers … everyone can benefit

goals in tangible terms.

from simple improvements to the way they communicate so that what they say is “sticky”.

4. Credible: Not just authoritative sources but convincing details. Use INTERNAL CREDIBILITY – make statistics

The recent visit to London of Dan Heath prompted me to

accessible, put them in a human context and use

pick up a remarkable book by Dan and his brother Chip:

testable credentials. ‘Try before you buy’ rather than

yes, the names give it away they are American – it doesn’t

wear people down with force of argument.

make them bad people. Oh and no, this isn’t about NLP or Emotional Intelligence… it’s the result of years research

5. Emotional: Make people care. Use the power of association and appeal to best self-interest. But don’t

and interviews into why we remember some things so

assume that others care at the same level as you.

easily and forget others so quickly. The book is ‘Made to

6. Stories: Get people to take action with stories.

Stick’ and it’s been on my desk for four years now.

Inspirational stories give people the energy to act –

Here’s the main thrust of this brilliant and entertaining

learn how to spot inspirational stories and how to use

book.

them.

By ‘sticky’ they mean: understandable, memorable and And the villain is …the curse of knowledge. The more you

effective in changing thought or behaviour.

know about something the less likely it is that you can get

The keys to stickiness are listed below:

the core message across in a way that sticks. This has big

1. Simple: To be simple, determine the single most

implications in the use of experts for training.

important thing. Link it to what’s already in the

Experts can take a long time to get to the key, compelling

recipients’ memory.

bit of information. Journalists call this ‘Burying the message’.

2. Unexpected: Like a bus conductor or railway guard making an intercom announcement, grab our attention so we’re actively involved rather than hearing passively. Then hold our attention…maybe create a mystery, use the theory of curiosity.

get

IN TOUCH

Belfast - Tel +44 (0)28 9064 3211

|

Dublin - Tel +353 (0)1 431 1389

|

Scotland - Tel +44 (0)141 301 1077

email: [email protected] www.aurionlearning.com

E-learning Insights

So what does this mean for the world of learning? Well let’s just look at a couple of the Heath Brothers’ research findings… starting with the ‘Gap Theory’. George Loewenstein, a behavioural economist, says that curiosity arises when we feel a gap in our knowledge. Loewenstein argues that gaps cause pain. When we want to know something but don’t, it’s like having an itch we need to scratch. To take away the pain, we need to fill the knowledge gap. We sit patiently through bad movies, even though they may be painful to watch, because it’s too painful not to know how they end. One important implication of the ‘Gap Theory’ is that we need to open gaps before we close them. Our tendency is to tell students the facts. First, though, they must realize they need them. One trick for convincing students they need our message, according to Loewenstein, is to first highlight some specific knowledge they are missing. You can pose a question or puzzle that confronts them with a gap in their knowledge: One recent book had a curiosity gap as its title: “Why Do Men Have Nipples?” A science teacher in Colorado asked his students: “Have you ever noticed that, in the winter, your car tyres look a little flat? So where did the air go?” The book Freakonomics makes brilliant use of curiosity gaps: “Why do so many drug dealers live with their moms?” I’ll leave it there for the moment but at the very least it’s worthwhile visiting the Heath Brothers website www.heathbrothers.com/ … maybe sign up to their free

get

IN TOUCH

Belfast - Tel +44 (0)28 9064 3211

|

Dublin - Tel +353 (0)1 431 1389

|

Scotland - Tel +44 (0)141 301 1077

email: [email protected] www.aurionlearning.com