What’s the worst training you’ve ever been on?

The answer will be different for everyone, but most of us have at least one experience that stands out for all the wrong reasons. Maybe you didn’t learn anything. Maybe you felt like your time was wasted. Maybe you walked away more frustrated than informed.

Think about it. Did it look anything like this?

• It was boring

• Someone talked at you for an hour straight

• The slides were text-heavy and served no purpose

• There were no activities or engagement

• The content wasn’t relevant to you

And let's not forget those annual mandatory training modules that have to be completed, but are never updated...

When training feels like this, it’s not just disappointing...it’s ineffective. And ineffective training doesn’t just fail the learner, it fails your business too!

Learning preferences: More than “Styles”

For years, people talked about “learning styles” - visual, auditory, kinaesthetic - as if each person fit neatly into one box. The truth is, that idea is outdated and far too simplistic. Real learners are complex. They need variety. They need content that speaks to them in different ways at different times.

That’s what makes digital training design so challenging, but effective. You can’t just cater to one style. You have to build experiences that work for everyone.

Personally, I’m a visual learner. If someone talks at me for too long without anything to look at, I switch off. I need purposeful visuals to back up the message and help me stay engaged. But here’s the catch: visuals only work if they’ve been designed with the same care and thought as the rest of the session.

If the slides are cluttered, the fonts are inconsistent, the images are warped or poorly chosen...sorry, I’m out.

This can work both ways. If the slides you're displaying are too much, they detract from the content and what's being taught. They can go too far, be too distracting or serve no purpose other than showing off. It's about finding a balance.

Bad visuals don’t just fail to help, they actively distract. And when design is sloppy, it undermines the credibility of the content itself.

That’s why learning design isn’t just about what you say. It’s about how you present it, how you structure it and how you make it stick.

Experts need designers

If you’ve got experts in your business, you already have the knowledge (and passion) that matters most. That expertise should never be outsourced or replaced with something generic off the shelf. But expertise alone isn’t enough. Knowing your subject doesn’t automatically mean you know how to design learning that sticks.

I've been on courses delivered by absolute experts in a topic. But lack of structure, activities or design means they stick in my mind for the wrong reasons.

That’s where custom eLearning development and bespoke induction courses come in. It’s about taking what your experts know and shaping it into experiences that people actually remember.

• Activities that bring the content to life.

• Slide decks that support the message instead of distracting from it.

• Videos that make complex ideas simple.

• Workshops that spark discussion and energy.

Learning experts don’t replace your subject matter experts, they partner with them. Together, they create training that’s not only accurate, but engaging, memorable, and worth the time invested.

And this is where we come in

At Emblem Training Solutions, we’re learning design experts. We build complete learning experiences: digital training design, custom eLearning development, bespoke induction courses, face-to-face training materials, workshops, and guidance on improving delivery overall. Our role is to make sure that training isn’t just delivered, but designed in a way that sticks.

Because here’s the truth: every time someone switches off in training, it’s not because they don’t care. It’s because the design has lost them. If you want your training to stick, the design has to do as much work as the content.

Get in touch for a free consultation and to learn more about our current offers for short course builds!