10 Minutes Trump 50 Minutes During Learning Sessions
How to chunk content so that the learners will remember it?
You were in school.
The teacher was explaining things for 50 minutes and at the end 10 minutes were reserved for questions and answers.
How much does our human brain remember in this case? Well, not so much. This method has NOTHING to do with learning.
How to structure the content?
Why 10 minutes content segments are better than 50 minutes ones?
⏰ Chunk content: How do you remember a phone number or zip code or anything? You divide it into smaller parts or associate it with short stories, right? This is how your brain works. So why shall we use a different method when teaching people something? The content retention is higher when the content is not long.
⏰ 10 Minute rule: When chunking the content of a training or workshop, remember the ten-minute rule. After about 10 minutes of content, stop talking and have your learners do something with the information.
⏰ Attention: By dividing the content into smaller parts, your learners will pay more attention to what they learn, understand it better, and remember it longer.
But what can you do to chunk your training?
🎲 Need-to-know versus nice-to-know: It is challenging to choose what is the need-to-know material for your training. Teach only the need-to-know concepts. Ask yourself: “What is it that my learners need to know, the lack of which would adversely affect their jobs?” or “What would happen if my students don’t remember this?”. Put the rest in a handout, resource list, or wall chart. Only the need-to-know content shall be on the slides.
🎲 Space your slides (if you use any): Rather than showing a series of slides, consider showing one or two slides that capture the essence of the content. Present the rest of the material using a different method, such as a story, case study, or handout. Make the slides the exception rather than the rule.
🎲 Time your talk: Practice before, time your segments, and be aware of how much you talk. One principle in the Training of the room method is that the trainer talks less than the participants. Can you do this?
One-phrase summary:
The brain remembers shorter content pieces better than longer ones.
Make the slides the exception rather than the rule.
Talk as a trainer less than the learners. Can you do this?
Resources:
Book: “Using brain science to make training stick” by Sharon Bowman
I am inviting you to register your spot to the new on-demand training:
Facilitation - neuroscience behind - a 3h online session where I would explain some neuroscience principles I use in most of my workshops in order to create brain-based workshops that are universally applied independent of culture, industry, etc.
That sounds like as if such a training never gets boring. Thank you.