Introduction
Are you tired of your online courses feeling dry and un-engaging? Do you want to see your students truly connect with the material and achieve their goals?
In this episode, we’re talking about storytelling and the required place it has in our digital courses, even if you don’t think of yourself as a writer or storyteller.
We’ll be talking about how to weave captivating narratives into our content to not only educate but also inspire and motivate your students.
And if you already have a course, I’ll give you some ideas to incorporate stories without re-recording a single lesson in today’s Sixty-Second Solution.
After all, the last thing we want for our course is to be an info dump, when it can be a transformative experience.
Why Storytelling Matters
Have you ever sat captivated while a teacher lectured only to go to the next lecture and be bored out of your mind? Thinking back, what led to that captivation? What was so boring?
We want to be that captivating teacher inside our digital courses, not the boring one who had us counting the holes in the ceiling tiles.
After all, we’ve poured our heart and soul into creating valuable course content, packed it with expert knowledge and actionable strategies. But that will only matter if our students are truly absorbing it and are feeling inspired to take action.
Let’s face it: information overload is a real thing. Students are bombarded with data from all directions. To cut through the noise and truly connect with your audience, you need to go beyond simply presenting facts and figures. You need to tell a story.
When we fail to connect with students on an emotional level, we miss a crucial opportunity to inspire action and foster a deeper understanding of the material.
And when students aren’t truly engaged, they’re less likely to apply the knowledge, leading to lower course completion rates and diminished learning outcomes.
If disengagement, missed connections, and low course effectiveness rates are not on your list of to do’s, let’s talk about how to avoid all of these things with stories.
Tip 1: Unleash the Power of Personal Anecdotes
One of the most potent storytelling techniques is to weave in personal anecdotes. Share your own struggles, triumphs, and “aha!” moments related to the course topic.
If you’re teaching a course on overcoming procrastination, share a personal story about a time you struggled with procrastination and the strategies you used to overcome it. This adds a layer of authenticity and relatability to your teaching.
As you start to look for anecdotes just remember to not dive into the TMI zone. The key with a really well-placed anecdote is that our students can imagine themselves in our shoes. They can see themselves experiencing the same thing, even if they never have.
One of my favorite speakers in the entrepreneurial space is Colin Boyd. He has mastered anecdotes that have you stepping right into the story. And he does this by NOT giving a lot of lead in and back story, but instead, drops you right into the moment.
Think about it like this. If you want to tell a joke, you wouldn’t go up to someone and say, “I’m going to tell you a joke. It is going to be about an apple and an orange. Would you like to hear the joke?” You would just lead with the joke.
The same is true when you are adding anecdotes to course lessons. We want to drop right into the story, the anecdote that everyone can relate to.
By incorporating anecdotes, we are building trust and rapport. In this day of AI generated content, AI generated voices, and even avatars that might be teaching courses, we need to know that our instructor is real and has our back, so to speak. Sharing personal stories helps students see you as a real person, not just an instructor.
Stories will also make the learning more memorable. Think about that lecture you sat in where you were enthralled. I bet you can remember the topic, even if not all of the details, whereas with that boring lecture tha had you counting ceiling tile holes you can’t remember the topic at all. Personal anecdotes create vivid mental images, making it easier for our students to recall and apply the information, which is what we want and boosts the course effectiveness rate.
Finally, personal stories illustrate concepts in a practical, relatable way, helping students understand how the information applies to their own lives. It gives them a real world perspective that they might otherwise have trouble coming up with on their own since they are new to the information.
Your stories don’t have to be elaborate or even bestseller quality. They just need to be there. And if you have already recorded your course, stick around for the Sixty-Second Solution at the end of the episode where I’ll share one way to add stories without re-recording your course.
Tip 2: Create Compelling Character Arcs
If we are committed to sharing anecdotes to really give students a real life feel for the content and implementation, we want to make sure we do it effectively, even if we aren’t natural storytellers.
We need a character and story arc or flow and development that captures attention.
Imagine you’re teaching a course on social media marketing. Instead of simply listing strategies, create a fictional character who is struggling to grow their online presence. Guide them through the learning process, showcasing the challenges they face and the triumphs they achieve.
When we have a character in your stories who develops with the use of our content, pretty quickly our students get invested. The character arc creates suspense and even anticipation for what will happen next. Character arcs keep students hooked, eager to see how the character overcomes challenges and achieves their goals.
Imagine a student who knows that what you are teaching is really important, but they aren’t convinced that what they are learning will work, what it will look like, or that it will not take hours upon hours to implement correctly. They are skeptical.
One of my mentors launched a program this past Spring on Modcasting and throughout his webinar as he taught the key concepts involved in a modcast, he wove in stories about clients who had started a modcast from the ground up and what each aspect of the modcast did for their business, their messaging, and even their confidence.
Not only did it hook the webinar attendees’ attention and enthusiasm, those stories and character arcs provided a framework for learning. The character’s journey mirrors the learning journey of the students and shows a clear path to success.
Not to mention that it is just flat out more engaging to have these arcs in our training. By following the character’s progress, students become more invested in the learning process.
Tip 3: Paint Pictures with Your Words
By now you are probably getting the point that we don’t want to just tell our students what to do, we need to show them with anecdotes, character arcs, and pictures.
Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to draw pictures. I wouldn’t ask you to do something that I can’t and won’t. No one needs to see my stick drawings. I can guarantee that they will not further the learning experience.
Instead, what I’m talking about with pictures is to use vivid imagery, metaphors, and analogies to bring your content to life.
For example, instead of simply explaining the concept of “mindset,” use a metaphor like “shifting gears” to illustrate how to change your perspective and approach challenges with a more positive attitude. Or for a parenting course aimed at helping a child to self-regulate you might talk about going from volcanic eruptions on a daily basis to gentle waves rolling onto the beach. Parents can imagine that explosive outburst becoming a little roll in the energy instead for their child and home.
When we use imagery, analogies, and metaphors, it helps our students to make sense of what we are saying because now they can visualize the concepts and with visualization they are much more likely to remember the concepts, understand them, and even implement them.
We will also see an increase in engagement as students get immersed in the stories that have vivid imagery. Remember when I talked about Colin Boyd earlier in this episode? One thing he does is begins his story with vivid details that immediately draw the listener in to what he is sharing.
Comprehension goes up, memory goes up, implementation is much more likely. There are really no down sides, but I can imagine some listening to this might be wondering if this approach is too “fluffy”.
Remember that storytelling is a powerful tool for enhancing learning, not detracting from it. When we focus on using narrative techniques that are relevant, authentic, and aligned with your course objectives and avoid overly dramatic or sentimental storytelling that can distract from the core message there won’t be any “fluff”.
Action Item
Now it’s your turn to put these storytelling techniques into action! Choose one of your existing courses or a course you’re currently developing. This week, identify one specific lesson where you can incorporate a personal anecdote, create a compelling character arc, or use vivid imagery and language. And if you are worried about having to re-record something to make this happen, I’ve got a solution for you in just a moment.
Go ahead and experiment with different approaches and see how they impact student engagement and learning outcomes. Don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun with it!
Sixty-Second Solution
Now what if you have a course that is already recorded and you want to add more stories to your content without the hassle of re-recording your entire course or even a whole module. You can always add on additional videos for a module that are key examples that students can watch. Then when you are ready for a course refresh and re-record you can incorporate the stories into the teaching as you go.
But there is no need to go re-recording frantically to add stories to something that you’ve already finished. Treat the stories, for now, as an addendum.
Where to Go Next?
When we incorporate storytelling into our course teachings, we can transform what might have been dry lectures into a learning experience that captivates our students. It’s not just about the information we share, but how we share it. So, start weaving your own unique narratives into your courses and watch your students connect, learn, and grow.
If you are curious about the concepts of storytelling and have heard about the StoryBrand approach, check out episodes 142 – 147 (142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147) which will walk you through the StoryBrand approach. While this is different from telling a story inside your course, the concepts are the same and will help you create character arcs and vivid language more easily.
As we wrap up, be sure to subscribe to the Digital Course Creator Podcast wherever you are listening to this episode.
Until next time, happy creating!
