Can we talk about the brain for a moment? Since the creation of fMRI in the 1990’s we have gained tremendous insight about our brain and how it works. Educators have learned how to better teach their students, businesses have learned how to better reach consumers, and physicians have learned how to better understand diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
So why is this important to you, as a business leader? Educational neuroscience has shown that short video tutorials are one of the most effective ways to teach or demonstrate a task!
We refer to it as Microlearning...
Here are just a few of the benefits for your brain (and your company’s!) when it comes to short video tutorials.
Chunking – This is a term educators use to divide larger concepts into “bite size” increments. For example, your phone number and social security number are divided into segments and therefore easier to memorize. However, most driver’s license numbers are not, so it is more challenging for most people to recall. Our brain likes small pieces that it can store quickly and efficiently.
Accessibility – The era of the day long PowerPoint presentations are over. Organizations that utilize videos to convey information allow their stakeholders to do it on their time, when they are ready, and where they are most comfortable. All of these contribute to paying attention and therefore better retention.
Emotion – They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How many is a video worth? A short documentary, testimonial, or inspirational message to your customers allows you to connect with them on an emotional level that a static website or photo simply cannot achieve. Feelings are like super glue for memory.
Scaffolding – Another term from the education realm, this is the idea that larger or difficult concepts increase in depth and become more difficult over time. Think of video games. The first level isn’t the most difficult. If so, most would quit. The brain is wired to build confidence and also “expertise” over small increments. Microlearning is a cornerstone of this concept.
Need an example? Here's one we recently produced for the dental/medical field...
Next week, we will discuss some of the specifics on how your organization can put Microlearning to work.