Training Minutia

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post on Organizing a training project.  Primarily this is for elearning, but you could use it for blended and classroom training.

Story Board is like a magic term in training.  If you can do that you can get in the door.  The truth is, though, is that there are a million ways to do it.  Since training is a creative endeavor, I find it incredibly difficult to turn in a story board with the pictures already on it.  It takes too much time and I really want the clients input before I get too far into my project.

My solution:  a story board that doesn’t have pics.  Yep, no pics at all!  I use my story board as my control document.  It allows me to get everything organized and I can start it when I start my task analysis.

Here are the basics.

1. I use Word to do this and have included a template.  You could do it in Excel, but I like the flexibility of a Word table.
2. The first page is a template of the look and feel of the training.  I either use a color palette derived from the client’s logo or if I can, I just pick a fun color scheme.  That works well for informational elearning because, information is hard to make interactive.   We’ll follow up on that in another post.
3. They can get long, so the 2nd page is a table of contents.
4. The Table!  This is where the work gets done.  Open the template now. When you finish reading it, save it and come back to finish reading the post.
5. You should have separate tables for each section so that you can navigate with the  table of contents.  I add a few sections before I even start.
6. After I have had my first appointment with a client i really start to write my dialogue (script column).  As I write, I realize I have questions about the validity of my statement.  I like to highlight those in yellow.  It’s bright and gets your attention.  Since I use several different colors in the process the next thing I include is a key.  If I don’t I forget what each means!  My highlight key: yellow-have client validate, red-need essential information, green-I’ve added the audio…I use other highlights as needed.  I may or may not add a note for each highlight.

Hopefully, you have two screens to work from.  I keep my storyboard open on my non-dominate screen so I can add adjustments as I go along.

How to use it:

Step 1.   Determine a project title, look and feel.  Start the storyboard

Step 2.  Meet with your client and take notes in the script area.  When the interview is over revise your notes and start organizing the data.

Step 3.  As you have those great ideas on how to present the information, make note of it in the notes section or graphic section.  I use the notes section for interactions at this point.

Step 4.  As you go along, you can name the slides or create an outline using the slide names.

Step 5.  When you have the basic bones down, make an appointment with your client and make changes and corrections as you work with your SME.

Step 6. Edit the dialogue and make sure you have all the screens named appropriately.

Step 7. Start with the first slide and start developing graphics and interactions to go with your dialogue.

Step 8.  Record audio.  I like to do it separately from the slides.  It’s just too much to think about to record directly to the slide.  You can import the audio–use the audio numbers to name your tracks.

Step 9. Add audio to slides, make sure everything works and send to your client for review.

Step 10. Once you get the project back, add the finishing touches and you have a fabulous project!