I’ve seen the results of many e-Learning development projects using rapid development tools, and I see that many organizations are making the same design mistakes they’ve always made — only now more rapidly. We are creating our e-Learning content more rapidly, but are we designing that content so that learners are pulled in and engaged in the first few seconds? We spend an enormous amount of time looking at e-Learning technologies, tools, and processes but often forget about compelling design. How do we get the learner’s attention, and maintain it throughout an online module? How do we “hook” learners, and get them excited about taking an e-Learning module?
I recently read a book by Dr. Carmen Taran of Rexi Media called Better Beginnings, in which she discusses how to get the attention of an audience in the first 30 seconds of a presentation. I was interested to see if designers could apply or adopt some of the techniques in developing e-Learning programs. Dr Taran kindly agreed to record an interview with me. We used Adobe Acrobat Connect, so she could present visual examples of her techniques. I have included her graphics, with permission, in this article.
Where’s the hook?
Paul Clothier: Researchers, academics, and corporate trainers have been voicing their opinions about the effectiveness of e-Learning programs for the past decade. Many of these opinions are not favorable. What do you think is missing in e-Learning programs?
Carmen Taran: Edge and emotion. I saw an ad last week that showed the picture of a CEO standing next to big bold numbers which displayed his real social security number. The ad mentioned that he was so confident in his company’s power to protect clients’ privacy that he had no remorse sharing his real SSN with the world. Do you feel the edge and emotion? How often does an e-Learning program create that? Every field seems to be adding some sort of edge to stand out: yoga has added aerial yoga, shoes have added Masai Technology, Geico has added repressed cave men, Saturday Night Live has added Sarah Palin. What edge does most e-Learning have to draw attention? There are hundreds of ads in a newspaper, for instance, and readers typically put on their “ad-blindness” filters when they read. Yet a few will still catch us off guard, despite ourselves. And how do they do that... ? With edge and emotion.
This must happen right from the very beginning. We often have only a few seconds to catch someone’s attention. If you happened to see the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing, you know the impact of a great start. I mention this example for inspirational purposes; I know that none of us even comes close to that kind of budget to generate an outstanding start. However, you can generate a strong emotion, whether you have $300 or $300 billion. Think of the importance of the first line of your e-Learning program, the first click, the first picture. Would you agree that the beginning of most e-Learning programs is forgettable and emotionally arthritic? Unfortunately, this prompts a question in the learner’s mind: “If the first few screens do not draw me in, why should I invest in the next 50?”
Paul Clothier: So, why do you think that many e-Learning programs fail to grab us right from the start?
Carmen Taran: Too often designers do not have “chemistry” with the content. You have to feel something for what you arrange in pixels. Creating content that has edge and emotion is a bit like falling in love. Have you ever been attracted to someone because they shared some of the same characteristics you have? It’s similar when you approach an e-Learning project. At least some of the content needs to be part of you. Too frequently, I see designers who create technical content, but would rather design something on soft skills. Or vice versa. If you feel your content, you are more able to identify juicy details that draw attention quickly and squeeze them right onto the first screen. The difference between one designer’s great beginning and another’s bad start is just that: chemistry.
Great beginnings
Paul Clothier: I think the problem is that e-Learning designers are also not formally taught how to create a great beginning.
Carmen Taran: Yes, when you don’t have formal training in attention-getting techniques, the beginning of the e-Learning program sounds something like:
Welcome to the ABC online training. At the end of this course, you will be able to [ insert bullet points here ]. The intended audience for this course is management and other employees who benefit from market research tracking information. It should take you approximately one hour to complete this course. Click Next to continue.”
Does that sound familiar? What if the first screen said something like:
“Recent usage of the ABC system has helped our competition double its profits in the last four months. Given your skills and advanced market knowledge, we can do better. This program will help you learn to use the ABC system so that by the end of the year we can beat the competition and you can triple your commission.”
Ohhh, yes…Bring it on.
Paul Clothier: So you think we should start e-Learning modules less formally and dive right into the meaty benefits — get them salivating?
Carmen Taran: No need to give up formality in order to get someone interested. There are plenty of techniques that will get users curious and that you can still state in a corporate-like fashion. You don’t have to turn your program into an Entertainment Weekly show. The Harvard Business Review has lots of readers, and yet it maintains its formal ways. However, even this publication is now realizing that people don’t respond to formal content easily or frequently unless there is some emotion behind it. This is why they started adding stories, in the form of case studies.
Paul Clothier: I read your book on Better Beginnings. How could some of the techniques included in the book apply to creating better beginnings in e-Learning?
Carmen Taran: Well, let’s take building anticipation — that would be one. Corporate learners are already accustomed to seeing the first intro screen with a dull title, dry legal disclaimers, and the taboo ISD-based objectives. (Editor’s Note: ISD = Instructional Systems Design.) What if we provided a screen with an unusual graphic, and saved the bulleted text for later? That would buy you at least 30 more seconds of curiosity. Look at the examples in Figures 1 and 2. Which one would entice you to follow along for a little while?
Anticipation killers ... and what to do about them
Paul Clothier: I see what you mean. So what do you think typically kills anticipation at the beginning of an online course?
Carmen Taran: Too much “sameness.” We’ve gotten so used to placing text and graphics in templates that too many e-Learning programs now look alike. I read recently about software that imports a picture of your face and generates a more “attractive” one, using an algorithm based on facial features (e.g. distance between lips and chin, forehead and eyes, or between eyes). Global sameness drives such software, a universal “standard” for beauty. The results disappointed people who tried this software, they saw it as sterile and un-natural. Irregular beauty is sometimes more attractive. Equate that to e-Learning, and the use of templates and stock photography. They help to speed development time, but you end up with hundreds of things that look the same. That kills anticipation. Are you tired of the typical screen that has a generic shot on the left with three business-people smiling, faking interest in a computer screen, uncomfortably placed next to a bunch of text? When was the last time you included a real picture in your e-Learning (your own server, your own building, your own manager, who was not a photo model but a real person)?
Paul Clothier: Yes, but wouldn’t that make the development time longer and the project more expensive?
Carmen Taran: No. Sometimes, it’s faster to go down to the production floor and take a picture than it is to browse through 1,000 in an online generic database.
Paul Clothier: I know from what you’ve written that you are a great advocate of engaging people right away with intriguing questions. How can we utilize that in e-Learning?
Carmen Taran: Yes, if you want attention (whether you present online, face-to-face, or create on-demand programs), ask a question. E-Learning programs that start with a pre-test are much more interesting and provide a heightened satisfaction rate, because they involve the user immediately (and save time for those who test out). A fully developed pre-test is not always necessary. You can draw attention by simply asking rhetorical questions in the first screen. Imagine starting this way:
“How do we meet growing global demand? What new kinds of fuels and power sources should we develop? And how do we protect our environment at the same time? This program will offer answers to these questions that preoccupy us all…”
Each time you ask a question, even if it is rhetorical, it conditions the brain to answer. I was smiling at a recent question asked in a car commercial: “Are the hairs on the back of your neck begging for exercise?” Even if I answered “No” in my mind, the question got my attention.
Paul Clothier: I notice that you always advocate the usage of specific information, and do everything you can to avoid corporate clichés. E-Learning programs are often filled with a lot of faded language…
Carmen Taran: Yes, in fact one of the workshops we deliver at Rexi Media is called “Words for Humans.” More business practitioners need to learn how to avoid calorie-free language, and instead use words that are real, authentic, down-to-earth. I recently decided to buy a bottle of juice — from the four similar kinds next to it — because the label read: “This ambrosial smoothie begs of thoughts of far away beaches and lush tropical islands. What might not come to mind is the treasure-trove of antioxidants — nature’s elite force against free radicals (the molecules that trash your cells like rock stars trash hotel rooms). But enough of that self-repair stuff. Just think palm trees and scantily-clad natives.” It’s edge and emotion again. Much better than the typical, generic description of a juice that advertises a refreshing, rejuvenating drink.
Paul Clothier: You also talk about the idea of having conflict …
Carmen Taran: Any time you create some conflict, some cognitive tension for your users, you have their attention. Throw them off a bit. Imagine an e-Learning program that starts something like “Follow your heart, says your brain,” and then continues with information about an issue that just makes sense, whether looked at rationally or emotionally.
Here is how John Rennie, editor-in-chief of the Scientific American, started a recent column: “Once upon a time an ethicist had a brilliant idea for a prison. Today we all live in it.”
To take another example, if you’re observing the commotion around the current financial crisis, it is those communication pieces that decode complexity and messy information that attract attention right away. For instance, from the thousands of articles that have been published lately, there is one called “Trickle-up Economics,” by Robert Reich, that still sticks in my mind. It shows a picture of a faucet upside down, with a water drop falling “up;” the article explains how middle-class America has tried to increase its buying power. At first, when we did not have enough buying power, we asked more women to work. When that was not sufficient, we all started working more hours. When that was not sufficient, we started borrowing. And this, it turns out, is not going to be a good solution. One solution for this mess is to increase the earnings and purchasing power of the middle- and lower-middle-class Americans.
Whether the premise and solutions proposed by the article are valid is a different story. However, the clear approach to a complex problem grabs attention, especially with a witty title and picture. Content that creates a positive sense of dissatisfaction, and offers users the joy of “getting it,” is much more appealing and edgy.
Make it pleasing to look at
Paul Clothier: Let’s talk about aesthetics in interfaces and design — I know you’ve done a lot of research on that...
Carmen Taran: Yes, I believe that an aesthetically pleasing interface for an e-Learning program generates more emotion than a dull, bland one. Aesthetical interfaces, as defined through a harmonious blend of text, graphics, lines, shapes, colors, and textures, attract attention and offer a pleasant learning space. Providing an aesthetical entry to your course is like inviting your users into an actual room. (See Figures 3 and 4.) Would you rather spend time in a disorganized, outdated room, or in a clean, organized, modern, stylish one, perhaps a bit atypical? Too many e-Learning programs look like a disorganized bedroom. It would be great if we could strive to remodel and upgrade.
And the emotion of color is of course crucial.
Paul Clothier: How do you mean?
Carmen Taran: Aesthetics are directly linked to color. Color draws our attention. It would be great if designers could attend formal training on the psychology of color, and use those insights to generate emotion. For instance, look at red. Red has guts. It stimulates and draws attention, but not in the sense that, “Look, there is a cautionary remark.” When used with deeper psychological intent, red creates edge; it can make your heart beat faster and your breathing harder. It announces energy, excitement, power, and passion. Do the images in Figure 5 cause you to feel anything? There is psychology in color use, and it helps to study it to see what kind of reactions you can provoke in your users. Light pink, for instance, is a tranquilizer color. I hear that sports teams paint the locker rooms of their opponents in light pink to deflate their energy.
Where to start?
Paul Clothier: So do you always work on designing a great beginning for your content first, before you work on anything else?
Carmen Taran: No. It’s often the case that I will have created an entire program, I don’t have a great beginning yet, but I know that there is a great piece of content, hidden somewhere. Sometimes, the reason we don’t include something notable in the beginning is because we don’t take time to find that type of information. Sometimes, an element that would have caught attention and worked really well in the beginning is hiding in the middle.
For instance, I was reading a piece about a talented violinist who had to overcome an unfortunate train accident to continue with her international shows and music albums. The article starts by using a typical writing technique, chronologically stating when the violinist started playing the instrument and moving on to describing her early accomplishments. One day, while on her way to a teaching session, her bags caught in the train’s door and she was dragged under the train. Somewhere in the middle of the article, there is this shocking part of the violinist’s story: “Being under the train was certainly the most heightened moment where I had to decide whether to give up or keep going.”
How often do you read something like that? Imagine someone’s interest if you come across a phrase like this in the beginning. Would you be shocked and curious to read more?
Paul Clothier: So how could you summarize your advice to eLearning developers and designers who want to make their programs more compelling?
Carmen Taran: Keep in mind that the beginning of your e-Learning program (the title, the first screen, the tone of the text, the graphic you use) is a promise to your audience. It raises an intellectual question: is this an opportunity to learn something new, or confirm what I knew before? It also raises an emotional question: will I be engaged, surprised, titillated, energized, curious, skeptical, but willing to be persuaded? Take that first screen seriously, and make an unforgettable promise to your audience.
