Just because the subject matter expert knows it doesn’t mean the learner needs to know it.
That sounds obvious.
Yet look at how many training courses are stuffed with information because somebody, somewhere, decided it was important.
The SME knows the subject.
The learner needs to do the job.
Those are not the same thing.
So instead of starting with:
What do they need to know?
Try starting with:
What do they need to be able to decide and do reliably when they are back at work?
Then:
What skills and judgement do they need to make those decisions and take those actions?
Then:
What is the minimum knowledge they need before they can start practising those skills?
That last question can be uncomfortable.
It forces you to separate information that is genuinely necessary from information that is merely useful, interesting, reassuring to the SME, or has always been in the slide deck.
And every bit of information you remove creates time.
Time to practise.
Time to work through realistic problems.
Time to get feedback.
Time to learn from the other people in the room.
Time to think about how they will use these new skills back at work.
You can then use the workshop to start building the skills and judgement people will need, rather than spending most of it telling them things.
And, ideally, that practice continues afterwards in the workplace.
Look at one of your existing courses.
How much of what you are teaching do people genuinely need to know before they can start practising what they need to do?
