A solid majority of the training material we produce in the corporate world is based on some sort of regulation or technical specification and needs to be very straight forward and factual based on the subject matter, but not everything needs to be quite that serious. The way we train our customer service and sales force is often the way we develop our image to our customers. This is one area of web-based training where a little humor can go a long way.
As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, the goal of web-based training is for the learner to retain the information being taught and ultimately transfer that knowledge to on-the-job skills. Effective and appropriate use of humor can go a long way in getting your employees excited about your online training initiatives. Sales and customer service representatives are on the front lines of dealing with customers every day. Your web-based training for these employees must reflect your company culture. One of the best ways to teach these types of skills with an online course is through the use of consequence-based video simulations. This type of simulation-based training is an excellent opportunity to inject a little humor into your WBT.
In its simplest terms, consistent training gives the user the ability to do something right and wrong. One way to go the wrong way with impact is to take it to the extreme. By setting up your fake scenario to make the user laugh, they also realize that they don’t want to put themselves in a situation that makes them look silly. They have created a tool that will make your employees think about how they look in a similar situation and how they can avoid looking like the person who looked a little ridiculous in the training.
In order to use humor in your training, you must firstly have a suitable material and secondly fit your company culture. If you’re pushing to use humor in your training, make sure it’s tasteful and fits with your company policies.
Thanks to Josh Wagner
