Using Stories to Simplify Complex Concepts in Training

The first manager training program I built failed miserably. I was fresh out of grad school and so excited to share all of the frameworks, theories, and concepts I'd learned. It mattered to me, so I assumed it would matter to others. Wow, was I wrong... Many training programs I see do they same. They falsely assume if it's personal to us, it will be personal to our audience and therefore successful. Yet we don't connect the dots between "cool" concepts and concrete actions, steps, and stories. Because of this, we fail in being truly helpful to our employees. We may leave them with an interesting anecdote...but without clear application. While concepts, theories, and frameworks can be helpful in moderation, their impact increases when introduced via or alongside critical incidents. Critical incidents are real-life examples, moments, case studies, or stories. Think of it as learning by example. Critical incidents make concepts feel more real and concrete and bring the material closer to use personally. This is one reason why the COVID pandemic started to feel more real and impactful once Tom Hanks was diagnosed, or the NBA season was canceled. More people started to pay attention because they now had proof, that the impact was closer to them. ✅ Instead of a checklist of items you’ll cover, start from a series of critical incidents, and impact how those will be different after the program or class is over.  ✅ Build your program from stories and real-life needs. ✅ Survey participants for their critical incidents and build case studies around them to use and practice during classes. This method helps employees apply concepts and frameworks and allows them to test their progress and skill-building against real-life examples that matter to them. Then, the material becomes personal (aka more effective and sticky) for all.

I have seen it a hundred times... A new hire, full of potential, ready to make their mark. Then, that potential gets squandered by a lack of focused training. I was working with a tech company with an incredibly talented new hire named Michael. He was exceptional with data analysis but fell flat when presenting his findings to stakeholders. His reports were dense with technical data all over the PowerPoint slides and charts, and they were so small that they were nearly unreadable. The leadership kept hurrying Michael through his presentations, seemingly uninterested in his work. Michael, clearly frustrated, confided in me, "Jay, I'm putting in all this work, but the leadership isn't using it." The culprit? A training gap. The leadership felt Michael was "not getting the job" and he was sent to training on how to use the internal systems. As an expert in his field, Michael was frustrated with having to redo remedial courses and felt like the leadership should be taking them instead. In reality, no one had equipped Michael with the skills to translate complex data into clear, actionable stories. So, we shifted his training to focus on presentation skills: 📕 Storytelling: Teaching Michael how to weave a narrative around the data, highlighting key trends and insights. 👁️🗨️ Visual Communication: Equipping him with design principles to create clear and concise charts and graphs. 🎯 Audience Awareness: Tailoring his presentations to his stakeholders' specific needs and knowledge level. The impact was immediate, and Michael's next presentation surprised the leadership team. The stakeholders were engaged, asking questions, and appreciative of the insights. Michael admitted, "I was seriously close to quitting, and if I had to do one more of those systems training, I would have!" This emphasizes the importance of offering the right training. Conducting proper needs analysis and getting to the heart of the issue saved this company from losing a talented employee. Learning is not just about teaching skills; it's about empowering individuals with the right skills to produce the needed business outcomes. Have you ever been required to attend a training that felt like a waste of time? What was that experience like for you? If you think your organization can use some help in bridging the gap between learning and performance, let's talk. #training #dataanalysis #professionaldevelopment #learninganddevelopment #communication #maketrainingmatter

One of my favorite tools in training sessions? Movie clips. Using scenes from popular films bring concepts to life—making abstract ideas about behavior, leadership, and personality types instantly relatable and memorable. A well-chosen clip not only entertains but gives us a powerful lens through which we can view and understand different behaviors and personality types. By sparking emotional responses, movies make it easier for participants to recall and apply what they’ve learned. In each session, I handpick scenes that clearly illustrate specific behaviors relevant to the training topic, from all sorts of genres and eras. After watching, we discuss: What did you observe? What were the characters’ motivations? How does this reflect situations you’ve experienced at work? This approach not only reinforces learning but makes it stick. People often say they walk away with insights they can immediately apply—thanks to those familiar characters and stories. Training doesn’t have to be purely theoretical. Sometimes, a little Hollywood magic goes a long way in building more effective, insightful leaders and teams.