Technologically Advanced

 

Any time spent learning...

 

Send Someone Soaring

 

“I can live for two months on a good compliment.”

Mark Twain 

brainyquote.com (https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain100358.html)

I was fresh out of college on my first real job. It was with a company specializing in computer-based training for corporate clients. The pressure was on and the whole team was putting in the effort to meet our deadlines. In the middle of all that, a colleague left a sticky note on my desk which read, “Our leaders are noticing you. Keep up the good work.” My best effort got even better.

A bit of encouragement goes a long way, and it doesn’t cost much. Send someone soaring with a sticky note.

 

Watch Out for Jargon and Business-speak

 

Wikimedia Commons, North American X-15 at the National Air and Space Museum, Dec 2017, by Mys 721tx, cropping and blurred background added, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_American_X-15_at_the_National_Air_and_Space_Museum,_Dec_2017_1.jpg

I visited the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, some time before all the remodeling and renovations. (That’s one of my favorite museum memories.) Our group ended up on the mezzanine alongside the North American X-15. We had an excellent guide that day. She gave us the historic dates and performance records broken by the plane in its time.

In the course of our conversation, I asked, “Since it’s a rocket plane, does it use liquid or solid fuel?” The guide dived in to give me a correct and accurate rundown of the fuel properties, including its chemical make-up. “Great,” I said. “Is that liquid or solid?” She laughed and said, “It’s liquid.”

Clear and concise communication, even elegant messaging, cuts through the overload. As professionals, we have to be conscious of overshooting the target.  How many meetings have you attended where someone got carried away?

I asked Gemini AI to create some important sounding but meaningless business-speak.  It did a great job creating a non-example:

“To effectively leverage our core competencies and achieve a holistic paradigm shift, we must proactively synergize our cross-functional deliverables to ensure maximum scalability across the entire ecosystem. By pivoting toward a client-centric, data-driven framework, we can facilitate a deep dive into our vertical integration strategies, thereby optimizing our value-added touchpoints without compromising our agile methodology. Ultimately, our mission is to disrupt the status quo through hyper-local innovation and strategic alignment, creating a seamless interface for stakeholder engagement that translates into actionable insights and best-in-class operational excellence.”

As writers and instructional designers, we are in the communication business. So, communicate!

 

Use Graphics to Remove Obstacles

 

Graphics do more than “make pretty.” In an eLearning situation, they need to carry their own weight, instructionally speaking. Infographics can convey something in seconds, if they’re designed right. In this example, graphics indicate that the link navigated to the correct page, reducing cognitive load on the learners. They can think about the content since they’re not sidetracked.

In Support of Being Nice

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But few people practice this. Until we become nicer people, there will be no peace in this world.

Kirk Douglas

A Triumph of the Spirit: a Tribute to Kirk Douglas, June 2002

YouTube.com From the “Sunday Morning” archives: Hollywood Legends 40:30

...and where did we put the emphasis?