Why Stories Matter

Seth Godin recently wrote a blog entry titled Which comes first (why stories matter) in which he talks about how the work we do every day tells a story, but if we haven't taken the time to develop a good story to wrap around our work first, before the work, then the work can be random and the story confused, bland, indifferent, or doesn't spread easily. I see a great correlation there with e-learning courses. Most courses start off with objectives . . .

What you will learn

• Recording Sales Transactions
• Submitting Sales Transactions
• Sales Transactions Resources

. . . then it goes right into the meat of the course . . .

"When recording your sales transactions . . .  it is important that all sales associates record and submit sales transactions within 24 hours. This is done by clicking on the Sales Transactions icon . . ."

Try dropping the objectives and start with a powerful story that engages the audience while sharing what they will learn. The story will stick and the association between the "storified" objectives and the content will be locked in . . .

"John Smith is a new hire that wasn't sure how to correctly record his daily sales transactions. One day, John got a call from the accounting department . . ."