This blog post was inspired by a recent project I worked on for a large consulting company, where I did the instructional design work. The project focused on creating meaningful messages that resonate with clients, with a key emphasis on empathy—understanding clients’ challenges and emotions by stepping into their shoes. Throughout this work, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between consultants showing empathy for their clients and instructional designers empathizing with their learners. Just as consultants must understand their clients’ needs, we, as instructional designers, must understand our learners’ emotional journeys.
The Story of a Burnt-Out Employee
Meet Fabio, a mid-level manager at a large corporation. He’s smart, dedicated, and driven. But lately, Fabio feels overwhelmed. Between back-to-back meetings, mounting emails, and the pressure of tight deadlines, he’s on the brink of burnout. Then his boss assigns him a new mandatory training program to complete. He sighs, frustrated by the timing. How can he possibly make room for more learning when he barely has time to breathe?
Fabio’s story is all too common. Employees like him are constantly balancing work, personal life, and professional development. When faced with yet another learning program, their emotional response may range from frustration to anxiety and even apathy. For Fabio, this training isn’t just about gaining new skills; it’s an emotional journey. And that journey deserves empathy.
The Emotional Journey of a Learner and Designing for Empathy
When designing learning experiences, we often focus on cognitive outcomes—what learners will know or be able to do by the end of training. But we must also consider the emotional side of learning. Below is a combined emotional journey map along with my suggestions for actionable instructional design strategies to address each stage. This helps ensure learning experiences meet cognitive goals and resonate emotionally with learners like Fabio.
Stage 1: Overwhelmed and Resistant
Emotional Experience:
Before the training even begins, learners may feel overwhelmed by their existing workload. Fabio, for example, experiences a mix of frustration and resistance. The thought of adding one more task to his to-do list only increases his stress.
Designing for Empathy:
- Acknowledging that every learner is unique and offering flexible options to accommodate their diverse needs and busy schedules
- Recognizing that learners bring their emotions, stresses, and struggles to the learning environment
- Creating a flexible learning experience with realistic timeframes and on-demand modules that learners can fit into their day when it works best for them
Stage 2: Curious and Skeptical
Emotional Experience:
As Fabio opens the training module, he might feel a tinge of curiosity, wondering what the course will cover. But skepticism often follows: “Will this really be worth my time? How will this help me in my day-to-day work?” At this stage, Fabio is emotionally cautious, not fully convinced.
Designing for Empathy:
- Creating relevant and meaningful content
- Addressing the learner’s skepticism by clearly communicating the value of the training right from the start
- Explaining how the course will directly benefit learners’ work or reduce their pain points
- Using real-world scenarios or examples that resonate with learners’ day-to-day challenges to engage them emotionally and reduce skepticism
Stage 3: Fatigued or Motivated
Emotional Experience:
As Fabio progresses through the training, his emotional state could go one of two ways. If the content feels relevant and engaging, he may experience a boost of motivation. However, if the training is dry or disconnected from his real-world challenges, fatigue and frustration may set in. Fabio’s emotional response depends on how well the course aligns with his needs and context.
Designing for Empathy:
- Keeping engagement high by building in short reflection activities that allow learners to pause and connect the content with their personal experiences
- Incorporating elements like interactive case studies, relatable characters, or even small peer interaction opportunities to help combat fatigue and keep motivation levels high
- Using supportive messaging to remind learners why the content matters and how it benefits them
Stage 4: Relieved and Accomplished
Emotional Experience:
By the time Fabio finishes the training, he may feel a sense of relief—just happy to check it off his list. But ideally, he should feel a sense of accomplishment, recognizing how the learning will positively impact his work. The emotional outcome at this stage can influence Fabio’s willingness to engage in future learning experiences.
Designing for Empathy:
- Highlighting learners’ achievements by acknowledging their progress throughout the course
- Including small celebrations of milestones, like certificates of completion or visual progress trackers, to boost the learner’s sense of accomplishment
- Providing a summary that connects the learning outcomes back to their real-world applications and solidifies the value of the training
Stage 5: Reflection and Application
Emotional Experience:
After the course, Fabio’s emotional journey continues. If the training didn’t resonate with him, he may feel that his time was wasted, leading to disengagement in future programs. However, if the training was impactful, he might reflect on it positively and apply what he learned.
Designing for Empathy:
- Encouraging reflection and recapping the key takeaways
- Including follow-up activities or job aids that help learners apply what they’ve learned in their real-world environments
- Providing opportunities for reflection, such as journaling exercises, discussion forums, or follow-up surveys that allow learners to reflect on how the training has impacted their work
By stepping into our learners’ shoes, we can design learning experiences that resonate emotionally. When we consider the emotional journey of our learners and incorporate empathy into our design process, we create more impactful training that meets not only cognitive but also emotional needs. After all, learning is not just a cognitive process—it’s an emotional one too.
Are you looking to create learning experiences that resonate emotionally with your learners? At Smartfirm, we specialize in designing impactful, learner-centered programs. By addressing both the cognitive and emotional needs of learners, we ensure they not only acquire new skills but also feel supported and motivated throughout their journey. Contact us today to share your learning challenge, and let us help you create a memorable, emotionally resonant program that truly connects with your learners.
