The Power of Storytelling in eLearning

Before diving into this article, stop and thinkfor a moment about the last time you saw a film or documentary that impactedyou in some way. Then, think about what made it so. Perhaps it was the sceneryor location. Or maybe the characters seemed relatable, compelling, orprovocative. It might be that you just needed a simple distraction or escapefrom the day-to-day. Regardless of your choice, and regardless of why you made that choice, the mostlikely reason is actually quite obvious when you get right down to it—theimpact came from the story. (In case you’re wondering, myresponse is Muscle Shoals, the “incredible true story of a small townwith a big sound.” Aside from the amusement of trying to comprehend KeithRichards and the awe-inspiring acts that made music in this small Alabama town,it is the story that evoked such emotion and resonated with me.)

As instructional designers and eLearningdevelopers, we often get caught up in the intricacies of our work—learningobjectives, evaluation methods, style guides, and so on. And yes, all of thesedetails are central to what we do, but what would happen if we took a deepbreath, stepped away from the storyboard, and crafted a fascinating narrativeto guide our learners? One that our learners felt and experienced on anemotional level; that elicited a response to go, or change, or do; and aboveall, that resulted in the meaningful change we’re really seeking—now that’sa powerful tale!

Why are stories so important to learning?

Let’s framethe discussion about the importance of stories to learning by thinking about acommon situation faced by many eLearning developers—compliance training—and howtwo companies might develop their respective solutions.

In revampingits onboarding training, Acme Corporation decides there’s no time like thepresent to redevelop their required annual compliance training. The instructionaldesign team outlines the content—company history, regulations, penalties, statistics,procedures, forms, and checklists. After a few brainstorming sessions, they’vegathered pages and pages of content and feel really good about where things areheading.

Meanwhile,Widgets Inc. is also hard at work making updates to their compliance training. Thedifference is, they’ve decided to tap into the power of storytelling. They,too, gather relevant content, but their course design is not solely focused ondelivery of facts and figures. Rather, they build a story with a clear beginning,middle, and end. They intersperse elements such as conflict, tension, contrast,and dialogue. They even segment their audience and craft stories that are mostrelevant to each sub-group. Ultimately, their approach can help learners thinkdifferently, feel differently, and, perhaps most importantly, act differently when faced with apotentially challenging situation in the future.

So, what’sthe bottom line? Is Widgets Inc. “right” because they used a story and AcmeCorporation “wrong” because they didn’t? Like many decisions we face asinstructional designers and eLearning developers, the answer isn’t so rigidlydichotomous. In fact, stories can be a useful tool to help us convey content in the appropriate context, which can go a long way in explainingall those shades of gray in the spectrum between white and black. Here’s why:

• Humans crave connections with other humans. And as learningprofessionals, we are charged with building the experiences that support thoseconnections.

• Emotions help form connections. If we can develop compellingstories that engage our audiences, then we increase the likelihood thatlearners will remember critical content and perform correctly when the timecomes.

• Learners are always asking, “WIIFM”(What’s In It For Me?). This one is key. Regardless of your approach, if youdon’t make it abundantly clear what’s in it for them, then you’ve already lost your learners.

Wait a minute … I’m no storyteller

Believe it or not, you canbe a storyteller! And the best news is, it really doesn’t take much more than abit of inspiration and good old-fashioned creativity to get started.

The easiest way to start building storytelling into your learningis to introduce characters and scenarios that require your learners to makedecisions and see the consequences of their choices. By providing learners witha safe space to experience consequences, and giving them genuine,consequence-based feedback, they will be better equipped to make decisions inthe real world. The most simplistic story design has a beginning (to introducethe lesson), middle (to give the learner a problem and allow him to discoverthe solution), and end (to recap and provide a conclusion).

Beyond simple scenarios, you can introduce two characters—aprotagonist, who is striving to meet a goal, and an antagonist, who has adifferent goal. Though it may seem somewhat restrictive, the classic three-act structure can guide the characters through the story. Using realisticdialogue and creating a sense of urgency or tension are keys to craftingcompelling narratives. An obvious example here comes straight from recentheadlines. Your nurses aren’t just working the night shift; they’re the ones onduty when a patient comes to the ER reporting a high fever and muscle aches—“I’ve just returned from visiting my familyin West Africa,” he shares. Now, the focus is most certainly on properinfection-control procedures.

The hero’s journey, common in myths and fairy tales, is a more involved structure whereour main character accepts a call to adventure and, with the help of asupernatural force, he journeys from the known to the unknown facing seeminglyinsurmountable challenges at every step. Just when it seems all hope is lost,the hero emerges a victor and returns from the journey to impart his wisdom to mankind.Though this structure might well be too complex for our purposes, we can hopethat our learners walk away from our courses with a similar level of confidenceand keen insights about their own realities.

Three keys to the power of storytelling

Above all, the power of storytelling is realized when you:

• Make it personal. Again,it’s all about the learner as he constantly asks, “What’s in it for me?” Neverlose sight of this goal!

• Make it relevant. We allwish for more hours in the day to get more accomplished, and no one wants to feelhis or her time has been wasted. If a particular situation or scenario isn’trelevant to your learners, then refrain from underscoring the irrelevance withneedless stories. Instead, concentrate on writing compelling content and buildingengaging learning experiences that are appropriate for your learners.

• Makeit about the learning. Storytelling is just one tool in yourever-expanding toolbox—it isn’t the tool. Focus on what yourlearners need to know, what they need to do, and how you can best support theirjourneys from point A to point B.