Write it relevant

First, let’s think about language delivery in e-learning. All too often, a script or voice-over narration is written in dull, formal language weighed down by industry jargon. How relevant is this form of language delivery to your learners?

When thinking about e-learning content and delivery, considering your audience is vital, and reflecting learners wherever possible is key. When learners see themselves reflected in the material, it opens a space for engagement and facilitates information recall.

Consider using a conversational tone when surveying even the most challenging content. And remember to tailor the learning language to the audience. Language that’s approachable and accessible can make even the most technical topics engaging, synthesizing a more meaningful experience for the learner.

And remember to tailor learning language according to a learner’s potential familiarity with the material. So, for example, the internal team may be more familiar with industry-specific terminology, but your customers and clients may not.

Inclusion matters

How does your learning and development team approach the language of gender?

Language has the potential to be exclusionary, perpetuating harmful bias and inequality. This is especially the case when we consider gender in the STEM industries. When you canvas your digital learning suite, do you find language so steeped in heteronormativity that it borders on bias? It’s worth taking a look back at your e-learning offering and even surveying learners to find out what they think.

So, how do you address this potential pitfall in future learning solutions? You begin by employing gender inclusive, or gender neutral, language. When developing a script, case studies, or gaming scenarios consider replacement language like in the examples below.

From pronouns to collective nouns, there’s plenty of opportunity to incorporate inclusive language in your e-learning platform.

Make it memorable

Now more than ever, learning in co-oxygenated spaces is being redeployed in the digital sphere. When there’s no yummy catering, no meandering Q&A session, no weird sartorial choices to make a learning session memorable, how do you make a cognitive impression via digital learning? The answer begins with language.

Tell a dang good story. Whether you’re walking your learner through a new energy plant in Brazil or extolling the virtues of 5G, make it memorable by wielding the ancient power of storytelling. Unraveling a compelling narrative ignites parts of the brain that hitches chemical reactions and cognitive responses making for a deeper, more emotive learning experience.

Language for radical impact

Language, in the right hands, has the power to radically impact our behavior. Used to shape learning, language becomes the vehicle by which change is delivered. Now digitized and automated, and sometimes buttressed by artificial intelligence, the language of learning is birthed in human minds, hearts, and hands. But learning is just passive, sometimes even oppressive, without relevance, inclusivity, and the primeval craft of storytelling.