Build Your Course for an Audience of One

By: Justin Ferriman • January 5, 2018
Filed Under:

Creating a course with various lessons, quizzes, and other elements for hundreds (maybe thousands) of people is a daunting task.

There are an endless number of instructional design templates and theories that you can follow for building your course. Some are simple and other are a bit more complex. Every one of them is useful when applied properly.

But as you go through these different frameworks it can sometimes be beneficial to think about this from a different perspective. One strategy I used when I was building the learning programs for Fortune 500 companies was to structure the entire course as if it were for only one person instead of the thousands that would take the content.

When you think about building your course content for one person you will find that the language you use starts to change. It becomes more personal and more accessible. You explain things more concisely. You are also more likely to make less assumptions – specifically about what the learner may already know.

Incorporating the “Human” Factor

One of the biggest complaints about e-learning is that it can feel pretty stale. It lacks the “human” factor. It’s why many course have started to incorporate gamification elements and social communities. But not every course is conducive to these strategies. In these cases you need to focus on content delivery and structure.

As you write the content for your course, pretend that the one person you are teaching is sitting next to you. How would you show a friend this material? What kind of examples would you show to a family member to help them grasp the concept? You will be surprised at how your content is shaped when you approach it with an “audience of one” mentality.

For maximum impact you can use this approach in conjunction with one of the formal learning methodology. It will help to keep your course personable, yet structured in an optimal way.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter