What is Persuasive Learning?
Consider two insights:
1. If you convince people to do something, but don’t give them the skills to do it, they will fail.
2. If you give people the skills to do something, but don’t convince them it’s worth doing, you will fail.
That’s why persuasive learning is key to your next initiative.
It combines compelling headlines, respectful advocacy, engaging interactions, and clear explanations. It acknowledges employee’s values and addresses their objections.
And working with some great design and learning strategy partners, I’ve done it successfully, for major initiatives for substantial clients. See the examples below.
Medtronic
Persuasion Challenge: We convinced tens of thousands of employees on five continents to care about the esoteric concept of free cash flow.
Tools: introductory pdfs, posters, digital signage, physical launch kits for each county, emails to managers, banner ads on company websites.
Learning challenge: To instill a clear, actionable understanding of free cash flow in employees with widely different levels of education.
Tools: explanatory posters, videos, commitment posters for local offices, tip sheets dedicated to each function (e.g., manufacturing), pdfs elaborating on key concepts (such as the role of technology in free cash flow), quizzes.
Results: Over half of Medtronic 86,000+ employees submitted a viable idea to improve free cash flow.
Roche Diagnostics
Persuasion challenge: To convince salespeople who viewed a trip to Indianapolis as a powerful incentive to potential customers to give up some of those trips and implement multi-modal training.
Tools: podcasts from executives, pdfs, videos, dimensional mailers.
Learning challenge: to give salespeople the knowledge and the strategies to successfully sell multi-modal learning to their prospective clients.
Tools: 13 interactive modules covering all aspects of the sale, guided exercises accompanied with online discussion boards.
Results: The new multi-modal approach was successfully and seamlessly adopted throughout the salesforce.
Video, Intro Copy: We’re changing the conversation around training. Grounded in customer needs, and refined by ongoing feedback, our new multi-modal approach promises to set Roche apart. The approach rests on a solid foundation. We made sure it was built on our strengths, aligned with our pillars, focused on our customers, and responsive to our field teams. We conducted 120 in-depth interviews with key customers, Roche stakeholders, and a number of competitors. We also followed up with key sales and support personnel in the field. And we continue to refine and improve our approach. Changing the Conversation is shaped by countless conversations. And that’s as it should be.
Video, Closing Copy: We aren’t just changing the conversation. We’re changing the game.
