I write a daily email helping Learning & Development professionals ditch meaningless work and earn more money
Please wash your hands
We’ve all seen those posters, especially since the pandemic — step-by-step instructions showing us how to perform something we’ve been doing since we were kids…
Wet hands with water... turn off the tap... apply soap... lather hands by rubbing thetogether... repeat steps for backs of hands and wrists… etc etc etc...
And I get it. Of course, it’s important to wash one's hands after visiting the bathroom (especially when you see the state of the public toilets in Britain).
But a sixteen-step process to complete a task I can do with my eyes closed may be overkill.
In fact, the poster I’m referring to had been the victim of some minor adjustments at the hands of an amateur graffiti artist, who had defaced it with an array of sarcastic comments.
How I feel when I see a checklist will determine whether I use it.
Maybe this says more about me than it does about the poster designer?
But in this scenario, I felt patronised. And so, I ignored the process (although I did wash my hands using the tried and tested technique that has kept me disease-free for four decades).
So, what would have worked better if the sixteen-step process wasn’t suitable?
Well, I think what’s important is context. People aren’t hanging out in a public toilet because they enjoy it. They want to get in, and get out.
So, maybe a short, impactful statement might work better?
We also need to consider what emotion we’re trying to provoke. The sixteen-step process made me and the graffiti artist feel patronised. So, how about a sign which plays on my fears instead? Like “did you know an average toilet bowl contains 3.2 million bacteria per square inch? Wash your hands!”.
Or maybe something to make me smile? E.g., “what happens in the bathroom, stays in the bathroom. Now wash your hands".
Considering how users feel when interacting with performance support materials is critical in ensuring they use them.
Challenge: Consider the last time you used a checklist. How did using it make you feel?
Hit reply and let me know.
Yours,
- Ant
Ant Pugh
I write a daily email helping Learning & Development professionals ditch meaningless work and earn more money
The first-ever "LRN DEV REV Book Club" begins in less than 24 hours! Available to all members, we'll be working our way through a series of industry-related books on a bi-weekly, chapter-by-chapter basis, discussing key topics, sharing insights and unpacking confusing concepts. Our first book is The Trusted Learning Advisor by Dr. Keith Keating. It's a book I've been excited to read ever since it was published, and we've even secured a live Q&A with Dr. Keith as part of the program. If you've...
Measuring the impact of training is tricky: How do you measure awareness? How do you measure customer service? How do you measure employee engagement? How do you measure the ability of the executive team to think strategically? And how do you measure all these things in a way that the business cares about? (hint: they do not care that 83% of our learners completed the eLearning module). But let's be clear... this is not just an L&D problem — it's a business problem. "Business" people are...
Not because I'm a particularly slow reader. But because it spent a decade gathering dust on my bookshelf. But that was the book that changed everything. The straw that broke the camel's back. That book that lighted a fire under my ass and prompted me to question what the hell I was doing. And what was I doing? Pumping out hours of aesthetically pleasing, functionally robust, woefully ineffective eLearning - that's what! The moment I finished that book, the trajectory of my career swerved in a...