Instructional Storytelling Series: Introduction

Instructional stories lack the ability to make an impact unless enough people are aware of them and are moved to take action. One way to give your instructional story some power is to allow it to evolve along a multitude of distribution methods.

Most people see the LMS as requirement. They only go there because someone told them they had to as part of keeping their job or getting a satisfactory review. If we can engage them outside of the LMS, we have a stronger presence and opportunity to get them involved.

What does that mean and how do we do that?

Good question. To demonstrate how this can be done, I use a marketing example in my overview sessions. In the example, a fictional character, Heather, is “Beat Girl.” She is a 19-year old musician who has decided to build her career in DJ-ing rather than pursue a more traditional role as a pianist. Using social media, short novels, videos, episodic shows, game apps, real appearances at real events, and a variety of other means, millions followed her story and became part of it.

But most people don’t get it.

This article series is designed to help you “get” it. Each new article offers a single tool or class of tools and provides examples for how you can “tell” your story in some fun new ways.

First, check out the Beat Girl example for inspiration. Then, sign up to follow this Instructional Storytelling series for a unique perspective and some new ideas. You’ll also receive updates on the upcoming book that describes a comprehensive design process for instructional stories.

If you have some ideas to share, please send me a note so I can share your ideas here.

Our first article takes a look at one of my new favorite tools, PowToon.


Interested in learning how you can use the power of story to design your training experience? Sign up to receive the latest articles and exclusive updates for an upcoming book on the topic.