How to Make Training Feel Relevant to Employees

A lot of time and money goes into corporate training—but not nearly enough comes out of it. In fact, companies spent $130 billion on training last year, yet only 25% of programs measurably improved business performance. Having run countless training workshops, I’ve seen firsthand what makes the difference. Some teams walk away energized and equipped. Others… not so much. If you’re involved in organizing training—whether for a small team or a large department—here’s how to make sure it actually works: ✅ Do your research. Talk to your team. What skills would genuinely help them day-to-day? A few interviews or a quick survey can reveal exactly where to focus. ✅ Start with a solid brief. Give your trainer as much context as possible: goals, audience, skill levels, examples of past work, what’s worked—and what hasn’t. ✅ Don’t shortchange the time. A 90-minute session might inspire, but it won’t transform. For deeper learning and hands-on practice, give it time—ideally 2+ hours or spaced chunks over a few days. ✅ Share real examples. Generic content doesn’t stick. When the trainer sees your actual slides, templates, and challenges, they can tailor the session to hit home. ✅ Choose the right group size. Smaller groups mean better interaction and more personalized support. If you want engagement, resist the temptation to pack the (virtual) room. ✅ Make it matter. Set expectations. Send reminders. And if it’s virtual, cameras on goes a long way toward focus and connection. ✅ Schedule follow-up support. Reinforcement matters. Book a post-session Q&A, office hours, or refresher so people actually use what they’ve learned. ✅ Follow up. Send a quick survey afterward to measure impact and shape the next session. One-off training rarely moves the needle—but a well-planned series can. Helping teams level up their presentation skills is what I do—structure, storytelling, design, and beyond. If that’s on your radar, I’d love to help. DM me to get the conversation started.

As a leader of learning and development teams and now in my consulting role, I've noticed a shift in how we present the impact of our work. We used to rely heavily on facts, charts, and pages of detailed statistics to showcase our reach. But I've found #storytelling to be a much more compelling way to demonstrate real human #impact. This was driven home for me in a recent Amazon commercial that features three women gazing at a snowy hill where people are sledding. Not a single word is spoken, yet we understand these friends are reminiscing about childhood memories made in a similar setting. The story of lasting connection and friendship shines through beautifully without overt explanation. I think this is a key lesson for those of us in L&D roles. We spend so much time tracking participation rates, completion metrics and quiz scores. But what really matters is how our work impacts real people and teams. Storytelling puts faces and #emotions to the numbers. By spotlighting individual learner journeys, we can showcase personal growth and #performance improvements. Instead of stating "95% of employees completed our new manager training last quarter," we can share, "Let me tell you about how Amy implemented what she learned about feedback conversations to dramatically improve her team's engagement scores." Storytelling aligns people to purpose by helping them see themselves and their colleagues reflected in the narratives. It builds connection as people realize we all experience similar pain points, growth opportunities, and wins. So as you look for ways to expand the reach and impact of L&D in your organization, I encourage you to tell more stories. Share how real humans have advanced in their careers thanks to new skills, built relationships using your training content or overcome challenges after adopting new tools. The facts and stats remain important, but the stories will truly capture hearts and minds. Have an example to share? Add it in the comments below and let's learn together!

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.

🔴 If learners can’t apply it, they won’t remember it. Too many training programs focus on information instead of application. But knowledge without action doesn’t drive results. Instead, design learning that sticks by making it real-world relevant. Here’s how: 1️⃣ Start with real challenges. Ask: “What problems do learners face on the job?” Then, build training that helps them solve those problems. 2️⃣ Make practice look like reality. Ditch abstract exercises. Use: ✅ Case studies based on real work situations ✅ Branching scenarios with authentic decision-making ✅ Hands-on activities that mirror actual tasks 3️⃣ Encourage immediate application. Don’t just teach—get learners doing. ✅ Give action steps at the end of each lesson. ✅ Have learners apply skills to a real project. ✅ Use reflection prompts like: “How will you use this tomorrow?” 4️⃣ Measure success by performance, not completion. A completed course means nothing if behavior doesn’t change. Learning should solve real problems. If it doesn’t translate to the real world, it’s just noise. 🤔 How do you ensure your training leads to real-world application? ----------------------- 👋 Hi! I'm Elizabeth! ♻️ Share this post if you found it helpful. 👆 Follow me for more tips! 🤝 Reach out if you need a high-quality learning solution designed to engage learners and drive real change. #InstructionalDesign #RealWorldLearning #LearningThatWorks #LearningAndDevelopment