How do you create a 7-step course that really engages your learners?

We're not going to surprise you with these words: engaging training cannot be improvised. Its creation requires a great deal of thought and a precise definition of the issues at stake. Taking these into account is essential, but not sufficient. You need to define the learning objectives, find the means and resources to achieve them and develop content that is genuinely enriching for the learners.

Appvizer has written this article to guide you in creating relevant and effective training. Get invaluable advice and discover the steps you need to follow to develop a learning programme that generates interest and motivation within your company.

See all software Learning Management System (LMS)

Why create training?

A trainer who creates their own course can choose how they want to teach their expertise. Within your company, this approach can enable you to approach lessons from a different angle to arouse the interest of your target audience. By favouring innovative methods and tools, for example, you can encourage and promote learning.

Not only will you be contributing to the development of your employees' skills, but you will also be defining the educational objectives you are aiming for and the means you will use to achieve them. Targeting the issues at stake in a training course can save you precious time.

With the help of a Learning Management System, you will be able to support your employees in developing their knowledge and know-how. This powerful tool lets you create learning modules with ease. Updating courses on your LMS platform is just as easy.

Fluid and easily accessible, your learning content will be continuously available. Learners will therefore be free to learn at their own pace, depending on the time they have available.

It's up to you to create modules that are interactive, relevant and scalable, using innovative methods that facilitate and encourage learning. All with the aim of improving employee productivity to help your business succeed.

7 steps to creating a training course

If you want to run a training course that meets your target objectives, don't launch into its creation blindly!

👉 Take care to follow a process whose stages are based on rigorous thought and a real understanding of learners' needs.

Step 1: Define the educational objectives of the course

The aim of a training course is to teach specific knowledge and skills. These need to be clearly defined to ensure the creation of relevant learning modules. With this in mind, you need to consider the interests of both the company and its employees.

In other words, the knowledge acquired must be beneficial to your business, but it must also contribute to the professional development of the learners. This is essential if you are to attract and motivate learners.

Step 2: Identify the learner profile

Your training course must succeed in imparting knowledge. To ensure this, adapt the content and methods to the profile of the learners. You will not develop the same modules to introduce a novice audience as you would to deepen the knowledge of experienced employees.

If the content is too in-depth, there is a risk that novices will become discouraged. An introductory course, on the other hand, is likely to cause the latter to lose interest.

☝️ Knowing and considering the skill levels of the employees taking your training is essential if you are to adapt the programme to their abilities. This is how you will develop the skills within your company, so as to precipitate opportunities and multiply its chances of success.

Step 3: Develop effective, relevant content

To create engaging, relevant and effective training, develop a structured plan.

Follow a logical progression to facilitate and consolidate the assimilation of the concepts taught.

By breaking down the content of your programme, ensure that all the modules meet the objectives defined in the first stage. To construct the sessions and ensure that they arouse the interest of the learners, vary the teaching methods and favour innovative concepts.

Step 4: Select appropriate teaching tools and methods

To ensure the relevance and effectiveness of your training, you need to choose tools and methods that correspond to the intended educational objectives as well as the learners' skill level.

💡 Common methods include:

• pair, group or individual work ;
• tests and questionnaires/quizzes
• training modules;
• theoretical input from the trainer.

Choose those that are most likely to facilitate learning by considering the type of concepts being taught and prioritising the essential elements. Always be sure to vary the methods used to give the training a dynamic feel and to meet all the expectations of the employees learning.

Step 5: Prepare documentation

You can enrich your training with different types of documents.

Use them to illustrate what you are saying or to supplement the lessons, but always ensure that these additions are relevant. You should also take care not to overwhelm learners with too many documents to consult.

Step 6: Test the course

Before moving on to the launch stage, you can ensure the relevance and effectiveness of your training by planning a test phase. Invite a small group of employees to follow your programme before giving you feedback on any areas for improvement.

☝️ The aim is to create a high-quality training course, so take the time to analyse the feedback from your guinea pigs and make any necessary adjustments.

Step 7: Launch the course

Once you've perfected your training, you can offer it to your employees straight away. To ensure that the project has a positive impact, remember to inform and prepare the learners. A good context and the right conditions are essential for a truly effective training programme.

With this in mind, take care to bring together the employees concerned to present the project, its objectives, and its benefits for the company and for their careers. You can also talk about the teaching methods used and the tools made available to them to assimilate the concepts covered.

6 best practices for creating engaging training

Whether online or face-to-face, your training must be engaging, whatever the sector of activity.

In other words, it must arouse the interest of learners and make them want to use their abilities to assimilate the knowledge taught.

👉 Here are a few practices applied by all competent training organisations.

Good practice 1: vary the media used

In the interests of practicality and innovation, you've probably opted for e-learning. With an infinite number of accessible tools, digital technology has become a highly effective way of imparting knowledge.

In the absence of a trainer, learners find themselves alone in front of their screen. Your objective is to capture and hold their attention, which is not always easy when the modules deal with highly technical concepts. To achieve this, incorporate all kinds of media into your training.

Images, videos, infographics, animations, podcasts and interactive quizzes are particularly effective in arousing interest. Don't neglect these visual elements, which make the content more attractive. They can also help you to make it easier to understand and remember.

💡 While quizzes encourage learners to memorise the concepts taught, explanatory videos simplify technical subjects. The same applies to online exercises.

Best practice 2: Offer an immersive learning experience

Role-playing, case studies, simulations... inject some dynamism into your training by inviting learners to get involved in their learning. Using the knowledge and skills taught in real-life situations highlights the value of the training and facilitates assimilation.

Examples of realistic situations are also useful for understanding the concepts. This form of learning, which encourages action, is particularly fun.

Best practice 3: Encourage interaction

The more you encourage interaction, the more you encourage knowledge retention. Here again, the aim is to encourage active learning in order to arouse interest and motivation.

Interaction, which is essential for bringing e-learning to life, is based on surveys, questions and answers, exchanges of information, practical activities and video discussions.

To encourage collaboration between learner employees, create forums, blogs, workgroups or an online community. These tools enable the people involved to exchange information and share their experiences and feelings.

Good practice 4: Encourage independent learning

Professional training should not be perceived as a constraint. To keep your employees motivated and interested, offer them a high degree of flexibility. This means guaranteeing free and continuous access to online sessions. In this way, everyone can organise their schedule and progress according to their needs and constraints.

💡 To make it easier for learners to organise their learning, make sure you offer short modules while still allowing them to go back over concepts they haven't understood. With a programme that is adaptable and accessible 24/7, you offer ideal learning conditions.

Best practice 5: Supporting learners

Sessions that are accessible online, enriched with relevant documents and perfectly structured do not exempt you from accompanying the participants. Personalised follow-up is essential to maintain motivation and encourage progress.

By providing constructive feedback, encouragement and suggestions for improvement, you can encourage learners to continue their efforts.

☝️ Be careful, though, as the feedback must be in line with the objectives and challenges of the course!

Best practice 6: Ensure pedagogical support

Coaching must be complemented by ongoing support.

As well as motivation and commitment, this involves creating a climate of trust and reassuring the employees being trained.

As a trainer, you need to remain available and offer an attentive ear. From a technical point of view, your efficiency must be guaranteed. Be able to solve problems and answer questions throughout the training course.

What tools can you use to help you create your training course?

Creating engaging training requires the use of tools that are :

• effective;
• easy to implement; and
• scalable.

If they meet all these criteria, they will save you time while guaranteeing a high-quality, professional result.

E-learning platforms

An e-learning platform is an essential tool for delivering online training courses, and will be your best ally.

This software is a complete training management system. Used by trainers, managers, employees and HR teams, it brings together all the data relating to training courses and learners. LMSs also help you to design online courses, and incorporate a variety of teaching methods to adapt to all company configurations.

🛠️ Example of a Learning Management System:

360Learning is a comprehensive and powerful solution that is ideally suited to helping SMEs and large companies create truly engaging online training courses. With the help of AI technology, it takes just seven minutes to design a module. What's more, you'll have numerous models to draw on, depending on the use case. 360Learning also includes features to optimise training administration and learner collaboration, to guarantee the best experience for everyone, training team and employees alike.

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Tools for creating visuals

As we mentioned earlier, visual content enriches modules and adds a certain dynamism. If you don't want to spend hours creating and publishing visual content on your website, use a specific tool that will allow you to create all kinds of media.

Online software such as Canva guides you through the creation of infographics, slideshows, mind maps and so on. With just a few clicks, you can access image banks, icons and image-editing functions.

In short, thanks to these online tools, you can create all the visuals that will bring your training course to life.

Editorial tools

To create a course that meets your objectives, use an authoring tool.

For example, a solution such as Google Docs will help you create the materials that learners can download. Rely on online software like this to create attractive, intuitive worksheets without wasting time.

The wide range of functions available will also enable you to create attractive templates in terms of design.

Tools for creating quizzes and surveys

By now you know how important interaction is in creating engaging training.

Questionnaires, forms and surveys are effective ways of arousing interest and encouraging active learning. With specific tools, you can go far beyond the simple quiz.

New features allow you to multiply the options and extend the ways in which people can participate. Not only do you benefit from an effective guide for creating your interactive content, but you also develop highly attractive and innovative versions.

💡 In particular, use these online tools to prepare Q&A sessions, collect data on learners or gather feedback from them at the end of the course.

See all software Learning Management System (LMS)

Creating a training course: in a nutshell

Creating a training course within your company is a doubly advantageous approach. You are extending the capabilities of your teams to develop your company's expertise and productivity, while promoting the professional development of participating employees.

If you take care to define your objectives carefully, consider the expectations and needs of the learners and follow a step-by-step procedure, you can succeed in developing a quality learning programme. This requires the use of appropriate tools, including an e-learning platform.

At the end of your first training course, don't forget to take stock of your approach. As a trainer, this analysis will enable you to identify areas for improvement so that you can create and launch your next programme with real expertise.