Narrative Techniques for Learning

© Usable Learning 2013
Narrative Techniques
for Learning
Storytelling tools for more engaging
learning

© Usable Learning 2013 www.usablelearning.com
First, a few big ol’ caveats
O It’s about the learning – this is just a
tool in your toolbox
O Don’t let the story take over
O Don’t think you have to do ALL
these things
And one big shoutout:
.com

Why do we care about stories?
O Context
O Triggers
O Emotional Context
O Managing Cognitive Load

We decontextualize a lot
This is my issue with “themes”

Decontextualizing helps with
simplicity and clarity

Let’s try with a little more
context

Triggers in
the
environment?
1
2
3
4

Contextual Triggers

Emotional Context
Suppose you are healthcare professional taking a
webinar on strategies for dealing with irate patients.

The sales
commission is
going to be
10%!!
The sales
commission is
going to be
10%!!
The sales
commission is
going to be
10%!!

Managing Cognitive Load
Insurance Procedures
O Evaluation
O Incident
O Documentation
O Claim submission
O Subrogation
O Settlement
O Read the following
the following story
about Ryan and his
family…

Let’s see some scenarios
Interviewing Sales
Computer
Skills
How can we make these vivid and compelling?

And one more…
Restaurant
Safety

Our hero…
Eriq, a newly-hired
Chef/Manager
Eriq is an ambitious young
chef – he just got hired at La
Primavera, a fine dining
restaurant that’s been a local
fixture for years, but lately has
gotten a bit tired and
predictable.
The owner hired Eriq to
freshen up Primavera’s image.
If he can prove himself here,
he’s several steps closer to
being able to open his own
restaurant.

Add a goal
Eriq, a newly-hired
Chef/Manager
I want to put La Primavera
back on the culinary map!
I need to shake things up
to do it, but there’s the
annual food review
coming out in a few
months, and I want to be
on their BEST OF list.

Add an Antagonist
Eriq is in charge of the kitchen, but the front of house
manager is the owner’s sister, Joanne. She was very good
friends with the previous chef/manager, and argued bitterly
with the owner over the decision to replace the previous chef.

Add a weakness or flaw
Eriq, a newly-hired
Chef/Manager
I’m going to make this menu
sing – it’s going to be a
whole new world.
The owner is a little
worried because I don’t
have any experience also
being in charge of kitchen
management, but how
hard can that be? I’ve
been working in kitchens
for years and I know my
way around. And when he
tastes my new menu, he’ll
forget all his other worries.

Now you try
Interviewing Sales
Computer
Skills
Pick one, and come up with:
• A protagonist
• A goal for the protagonist
• An antagonist
• An opposing goal for the antagonist
• Add a weakness

Let’s look at structure
Act
I
Act
II
Act
III

The Hero’s Journey
O Departure
O The Call to Adventure
O Supernatural Aid
O The Crossing of the First Threshold
O The Belly of the Whale
O Initiation
O The Road of Trials
O The Meeting with the Goddess
O Woman as the Temptress
O Atonement with the Father
O Apotheosis
O The Ultimate Boon
O Return
O Refusal of the Return
O The Magic Flight
O Rescue from Without
O The Crossing of the Return Threshold
O Master of the Two Worlds
O Freedom to Live
This is toooo complicated...
Source: Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949)

Three Act Structure I
First Act
O Establishes the characters, and the
normal world
O Action is started with an inciting
incident, that:
O signals the end of the first act,
O ensures life will never be the same again
for the protagonist and
O raises a dramatic question that will be
answered in the climax of the story
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_act_structure

Three Act Structure II
Second Act
O ―Rising action", the hero attempts to resolve the
problem, but things just get worse.
O It gets worse, because the hero doesn’t yet have
the needed skills
O They must not only learn new skills but arrive at a
higher sense of awareness of who they are and
what they are capable of, which in turn changes
who they are (Character Development).
O This cannot be achieved alone and they are
usually aided and abetted by mentors and co-
protagonists.

Three Act Structure III
Third Act
O Rising action for the primary challenge
O Dark Moment – the hero doubts
him/herself, and all appears lost
O Climax – the final challenge
O Return/Ending – emotional justice is
restored

Add a weakness
Eriq, a newly-hired
Chef/Manager
• Act I
• Normal world
• Inciting incident
• Act II
• Things get worse
• Needs skills
• Needs to develop
character
• Act III
• The big challenge
• A dark moment
• Climax
• Follow up
C
h
a
r
a
c
t
e
r
A
r
c

Eriq’s Path
• Act I
• Normal world
• Act II
• Needs skills
character
• Act III
• A dark moment
• Climax
• Follow up
Eriq is cocky, and convinced he’s
way ahead of everything.
Joanne warns him that there’s likely to be a
health inspection, but he blows her off.
The inspection happens, and it does not go well
(learning activity – act like the health inspector).

Eriq’s Path
• Act I
• Normal world
• Act II
• Needs skills
character
• Act III
• A dark moment
• Climax
• Follow up
Eriq gets embarrassed but rallies
quickly.
He addresses the health concerns found in
the inspection, but doesn’t proactively
address anything.
Another surprise inspection finds new
problems, and the restaurant could be shut down.
The key restaurant critic witnesses the debacle.

Eriq’s Path
• Act I
• Normal world
• Act II
• Needs skills
character
• Act III
• A dark moment
• Climax
• Follow up
Eriq is warned by the owner that he isn’t
cutting it, and considers firing him.
Eriq admits to Joanne that she was probably
right, and that he’s not cut out for this.
The follow up from the health inspector is
happening – Joanne helps him with preventative
health and safety, and they manage to keep the
restaurant open.
After steady development, they finally get a new
review, and are added to best restaurant list.

Now you try
Interviewing Sales Computer Skills
Map out your three acts: • Act I
• Normal world
• Act II
• Needs skills
character
• Act III
• A dark moment
• Climax
• Follow up

A few other tips…

Show, Don’t Tell
Tell Show
―At 3AM, I was hiding in
the bathroom for
something like the forty-
seventh consecutive night
and– just as during all
those nights before—I was
sobbing. Sobbing so hard
that a great lake of tears
and snot was spreading
before me on the
bathroom tiles…
- Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love
I’m at rock
bottom.
Action IS character.
- Jenny Crusie, Popcorn Dialogues

Use Dialogue
O An angry customer
comes into the
store, unhappy
about her phone…
O A middle-age
woman stormed in
to the store ―I
CANNOT believe
the shoddiness of
this product! When I
pay THIS MUCH for
a device, I expect it
to last longer than
three days…‖

Consequence-based Feedback
O ―Incorrect, a better
choice would be to
establish a
perimeter before
proceeding into the
secure area.‖
O BLAM!
―You just triggered a
secondary
device, killing yourself
and several
bystanders…‖

Create Urgency
When individuals perform in the
real world, they’re motivated.
…Yet in the learning
experience …those motivations
aren’t likely to be there.
How do we make it closer to
the real context, to maximize
transfer?
Exaggerate the circumstances.
http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=2931
Clark Quinn, Learnlets Blog

Dial it up
Also from Clark Quinn’s Learnlets Blog:
O ―You’re not working on a patient, you’re working to save
the ambassador’s daughter
O You’re not just making a deal, you’re making the deal
that the business is going to need to keep from going
into receivership
O You’re not just designing a networking solution, you’re
designing one to support the communications for the
rebels overthrowing the oppressive regime‖
http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=2931

Avoid Clichés
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbhrz1-4hN4

Use humor…carefully
Humor is
memorable… …and subjective
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/xlm/20/4/953/

TVtropes.org
O Unlikely hero
O Wisecracking best friend
O Best friend who dies to
prove the hero has feelings
O All explosions make huge
fireballs
O 5-man band

Look for inspiration
What’s the story?

Even Non-fiction can have structure
Nancy Duarte:
Resonate

The Best Story: Their Own
http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/kathy-sierra-building-the-minimum-badass-user-business-of-software-a-masterclass-
in-thinking-about-software-product-development/

Questions/Suggestions?
Thanks!
- Julie@usablelearning.com
- Twitter: usablelearning
- Slides & References: bit.ly/ls_story

Narrative Techniques for Learning

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