How long is too long? Creating punchy eLearning that gets to the point — fast.
One of the most common questions our clients ask us is, ‘how long do you think this module will be?’. It’s a tough one to answer accurately and largely comes down to a thorough understanding of the ways people interact with digital content. At Croomo, we typically counter with ‘what’s the shortest we can possibly make your module?’ — because punchy content that only says what it absolutely needs to is good content.
Let’s rephrase this question into something that does have answers. How do you efficiently communicate your message? Always keep your content relevant and concise.
Consider your own habits when you consume information. Do you read an entire newspaper from front to back? Do you read every page or skim the headlines until you find something interesting, then delve deeper? Typically, you will look for information that’s going to benefit you or that appeals to your interests.
This kind of efficiency can be reflected in your training. Trim out any unnecessary content and present a streamlined flow of information in a logical order.
To figure out which information is relevant, ask some key questions. What does the learner need to know? What are the skills they need to be competent at this task or process? Use these questions to define your learning objectives. Once you have these objectives, treat them as a central point of truth. If content doesn’t relate to one of your objectives, it needs to go.
Tell your learners what to expect. This is a great way to keep them engaged. If you set appropriate expectations about how long the training will be and the content to be covered, your learners are far more likely to complete the module. When learners know the content is relevant to them, they can see the value and will engage with the material.
Writing content that is concise doesn’t necessarily mean removing material. If you can rephrase a point in a simple way, you keep the message, but communicate it more efficiently. You should also consider how you lay out the information on the page. Would you be more likely to read a large, dense paragraph or short, concise sentences? This might lead to an extra page or two, but it will feel quicker to consume in bite-sized chunks.
If you can follow these points, the length of your eLearning module becomes less important. Your learners will be more inclined to complete concise, relevant training. If the training ends up coming in at a short run time, so much the better.
