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Persona-Powered Learning: Turning Audience Insi...

Mike Taylor
February 25, 2025

Persona-Powered Learning: Turning Audience Insights into Engagement Engines

Tired of training content that falls flat? The secret lies in understanding your learners and writing specifically for them. Join us to discover how to transform dry training into compelling content that grabs attention and drives engagement.

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

* Decode your learners’ hidden motivations and learning preferences
* Craft personas that become your content creation compass
* Apply the SURE principles to write learning materials that truly resonate

Key Takeaways:

* Decode your learners’ hidden motivations and learning preferences
* Craft personas that become your content creation compass
* Apply the SURE principles to write learning materials that truly resonate

Learn more things that L&D pros can adopt from the marketing field at https://trainlikeamarketer.com

Mike Taylor

February 25, 2025
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  1. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 PROFESSIONAL (THE WORK) PERSONAL (THE INDIVIDUAL) ORGANIZATION-LED (TOP

    DOWN) EMPLOYEE-LED (BOTTOM-UP) Human Experience 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trend Report Experience should be bottom-up and personal
  2. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 PROFESSIONAL (THE WORK) PERSONAL (THE INDIVIDUAL) ORGANIZATION-LED (TOP

    DOWN) EMPLOYEE-LED (BOTTOM-UP) Human Experience 2019 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trend Report Employee Engagement Human Experience Work/Life Balance Employee Experience Am I making a difference? When experience is bottom-up and personal, it becomes focused on “human experience”
  3. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 Learner Personas • Representation of your typical learner

    • Fictitious character • Supports human-centered design • 3-5 personas are ideal
  4. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 Learner Personas • Become more aware of your

    audience • Meet learners’ needs based on their preferences • Share the right content, at the right time, and at the right place • Increase engagement and productivity
  5. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 14 GATHER INFORMATION ANALYZE INFORMATION CREATE LEARNER PERSONAS

    • Interviews (learners, managers, other stakeholders) • Observations • Use of data Learner Persona Creation • Common threads • Similarities • Trends • Excel and PowerPoint • Brainstorming in design thinking sessions • Confirm with learners
  6. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 Name: Apima Barsar Age: 26 Location: London Tenure:

    1 year Role: Administrative Assistant Education: B.S. Goal: Manage a team Tech-savviness: high Interests: running and reading Best time to learn: early in the morning Access training through: any digital format Other: English is her second language SEE HEAR DO THINK/FEEL She is overwhelmed by the large volume of work. She just doesn’t have time to learn new skills at work. She needs a more flexible schedule. Her child is her priority right now. She hears from others that feel equally overwhelmed and miss flexibility on how they can access training, especially when they need it. Daily focuses on tasks and keeping operations running smoothly. Apima is a valued member of her team. She is taking classes online because it provides flexibility for her family-focused life. Overwhelmed by trying to keep up with multiple request and competing timelines. Frustrated by the training she has gotten because she doesn’t understand how it relates to her role or future roles. Example Pain Points • Her manager isn’t available as much as she would like • She doesn’t know where to go to learn new skills to help her reach her goal • Too many different sources and it’s hard to distinguish what’s worth her time • Not enough open communication within her core team • Too much gossip Needs • More guidance from her manager • Dedicated time to learn • People to stop talking and act, follow-through on accountabilities
  7. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 Name: Location: Tenure: Role: Education: Goals/Aspirations: Tech-savviness: Interests:

    Best time to learn: Access training through: Other: SEE HEAR DO THINK/FEEL • What does their work environment look like? • Who are their peers, coworkers, and friends? • What would they see when it comes to the work environment, and learning specifically? • What do they hear in their work environment about others’ pain points in general • And what do they hear when it comes to learning and learning solutions specifically? • What are their common tasks? • What would they do while using a learning solution? (where do they go, are they focused on the learning or do they multitask, etc.) • What are they thinking and feeling when they are faced with challenges at work? • What are they thinking and feeling when they take learning? • What is their attitude towards learning provided? Pain Points • What are some of the pain points in their daily work life right now? • Why is this a pain point? • What can’t they do because of this pain point? • Who or what stands in their way to perform the best they can in their role? Needs • What do they need in order to solve their pain points? • Who or what can help them perform at the level they want to be at? • Is it something they can provide, or is it something the organization has to provide? • What do they need to reach their goal?
  8. Compelling titles spark curiosity and convince learners the content is

    worth their time. Personas reveal what resonates with your audience.
  9. What You Can Do About It Start with great titles

    1 Use the SURE principles 2 3
  10. S Simple U Useful R Resonate E Easy to skim

    Our brains crave simple, clear information, making readability key in L&D.
  11. Readability is a good proxy for learnability Look for ways

    to reduce the amount & complexity of your text
  12. Flesch Reading Ease Score Use simple words | Avoid 3

    syllable words Typical insurance policy =12
  13. S Simple U Useful Ditch generic content and write for

    learners' problems. (Just like marketers target customer needs) R Resonate E Easy to skim Personas reveal this!
  14. S Simple U Useful R Resonate E Easy to skim

    Emotional learning content creates a lasting impact by connecting with hearts and minds, not just facts.
  15. S Simple U Useful R Resonate E Easy to skim

    Busy learners skim, so create skimmable content with clear headings, short chunks, and visuals to boost learning.
  16. What You Can Do About It Start with great titles

    1 Use the SURE principles 2 Close with a call to action (CTA) 3
  17. Call to Action (CTA) Clear direction on what to do

    and how it benefits them Transforms passive consumption into active participation
  18. trainlikeamarketer.com #Core4 Finish That Sentence I learned… I’m beginning to

    think that… I wonder if… I rediscovered… I was surprised that… I’m going to try… Slides & related resources