{"id":151,"date":"2019-01-31T01:19:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T01:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.easyauthoring.com\/blog\/?p=151"},"modified":"2021-11-16T09:46:33","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T04:16:33","slug":"learning-design-tip-5-use-stories-and-humour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easyauthoring.com\/blog\/learning-design-tip-5-use-stories-and-humour\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning Design Tip #5 \u2013 Use stories and humour"},"content":{"rendered":"

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a Jedi and a learning designer walk into a bar \u2026<\/p>\n

Nothing captures attention like a good story. Storytelling is our native language, our way of connecting the dots, of learning ideas, of communicating and engaging. Stories and humour tap into our emotions and the feel-good endorphins that go with them, creating a positive affective learning environment, strengthening understanding and boosting memory.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At easyA<\/strong>, we love a good story and a bit of a laugh. There are five important guides to how we use them in learning design:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Purpose focus<\/strong> \u2013 stories and humour need to be driven by the learning and performance objectives, not distracting from them. It can be too easy to throw in a story or funny line that may help with how people are feeling (which is important, we\u2019ll come to that), but doesn\u2019t add to the learning process.<\/li>\n
  2. Know your audience<\/strong> \u2013 humour and stories are highly subjective. What you find funny may be cringy for others or at worst, offensive. You\u2019re not designing for you, you\u2019re designing for your client. Work by their standards and their culture (and their legal team!).<\/li>\n
  3. Keep it relevant<\/strong> \u2013 basic adult learning principles dictate that your stories and humour need to be relevant, giving immediate application and connection to real-life experience. They need to tap into and reflect your audience experience, context and language.<\/li>\n
  4. Keep it subtle<\/strong> \u2013 we\u2019re not aiming for LOL, just a lightness of tone, a subtle quirkiness, a playful curiosity to make you smile and know that there was a human designing this learning, with other humans in mind as they did so. Skip the dad-jokes and sight-gags.<\/li>\n
  5. Touch the heart<\/strong> \u2013 similar to the previous idea, we\u2019re not aiming for gut-wrenching, tear-jerker, values-confronting levels of emotional depth. Just well-chosen, relevant stories to illustrate key points and build emotional engagement with elements of anticipation and surprise.
    \nWhen it comes to the use of stories and humour in the design process, don\u2019t just try.
    \nDo, or do not (well, just do actually), there is no try.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Interested in a deep dive?<\/strong><\/p>\n