Eight show-biz secrets to effective learning

May 4, 2:34 PMWorkplace Training and Development ExaminerLenn Millbower

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Places Please for Effective Instruction

There are eight show-biz secrets that make learning effective. Trainers, teachers, presenters and communicators who take these steps will discover that their message sticks. The theory that defines these action steps is drawn from the show-biz secrets of the entertainment industry. Those show-biz secrets, when combined with the cutting edge learning techniques create Learnertainment(r).

It is important to deliver learning in an engaging fashion. Today, society is entertainment-driven. Entertainment is everywhere. We see it in TV ads, in news programming, in “reality” television, in TV based education, and in businesses ranging from restaurants to retail stores to theme parks.

The 2000 US Census reported that we spend more on entertainment (5.1% of our income) than we do on all but necessity items like food (8), transportation (19) healthcare (5.3) and shelter (32.6). Where spending on entertainment is at a high, the rate of personal savings is at a low, under 3 percent. And the percentage of income spent on food is misleading, because 5.7 percent of that category is dining out costs, and a significant success factor in the food service industry is the entertainment value (atmosphere, theme, and food presentation) a restaurant provides.

Clearly, entertainment trumps all but necessities. That fact leaves trainers, teachers, presenters and communicators with two choices: (1) be a necessity that must be paid attention to or else, or (2) deliver content that is so engaging that the learners stay focused and attentive.

Most learning events are not perceived by the learner as critical to their needs. The smart approach then is to present the content in a learnertaining fashion. So places please. In the next article we will examine the first of the eight Learnertainment(r) show-biz action steps.