There have been a few highlights of quarantine and social distancing, one being frequent walks through our neighborhood. During my treks, I like to listen to a podcast. I have recently spent time catching up with Marty Smith’s America, and the episode I listened to this morning offered commentary ranking the greatest songs by county music legend George Strait. As the discussion progressed Marty referenced his experiences writing and editing a book and offered a gem of wisdom for those of us in creative professions or roles. Show me, don’t tell me.
My publisher continually beat on me: “show me, don’t tell me.” Put me there, immerse me in the details you are offering me. Show me, don’t tell me.”
Marty Smith (Marty Smith’s America “King of Country”, 24:44)
You may wonder, “what does Marty’s experience as a sports reporter have to do with my work designing and developing training?”
I’ll use a common training topic as an example. As a portion of OSHA compliance, many workplaces offer training on ergonomics. You could simply tell your staff their computer stations and workspaces should be adjusted to prevent injury. Unfortunately, this message is vague and meaningless without more detail, especially if your audience has never heard about ergonomics before. It will be more effective to show them what this work station looks like:
- In an instructor-led environment, let each person practice the new skill as the presenter or subject matter expert provides guidance and feedback.
With the study of ergonomics, each person could adjust a computer, desk, and chair in a workspace to make it suitable for him or her. (Remember, when you’re studying ergonomics what each person needs may vary.) - In printed communication, consider a detailed and well-designed infographic. Be sure to check any sites relating to compliance for ideas on print and visual resources (just be sure to cite your source).
With this specific subject, I would check the OSHA site and would also consult my organizations Workers’ Compensation or Risk Management staff. You could also reference professional organizations such as the American Chiropractic Association or American Orthopedic Association. - In computer based training, you could design an interactive image, where a user needs to click on each area of the screen to learn more.
The OSHA website has a great example on ergonomic computer work stations here (look for the image of a young woman, with her hair styled to a ponytail, located on the right side of the screen). A similar interaction could be easily produced using Articulate Storyline, or almost any other training software. I would take this a step farther by also including another image, quiz slide, or other interaction where the learner would have to identify areas of a workstation set up inappropriately that may need to be re-adjusted (ie- the user identifies what is wrong with the picture).
It is a fine line when you’re creating training- how do you provide enough information without burdening the learner? The detail and information you provide can take your topic or idea from directive to true training and instruction. You can start by simply remembering Marty’s publisher’s five word statement- show me, don’t tell me
