How To Explain These Humorous Learning Videos To Your HRD

So, you’ve decided to upgrade the content in your learning programme and are considering getting professional help (the outsourced kind) to make sure that content is top-quality… good plan!

94% of L&D professionals reported having to change their L&D strategy in 2020, and that included a significant shift towards online, video-based learning. The right content is mission-critical to an effective learning programme in 2021. And an effective learning programme delivers real business benefits that are critical to your business’s success — improving retention, reducing complaints and driving productivity. For example, companies with comprehensive training programmes have been shown to have 218% higher income per employee than those that don’t.

And picking Video Arts as that partner? That might be the best decision you’ve made all year (of course, we’re not biased or anything). You clearly understand the value of humour to learning and engagement. However, there’s still the issue of getting buy-in from your HRD (who might not share your views) to make it happen.

Well, no worries — this actually isn’t a hard sell. In fact, there’s a lot of information and data out there that will make this conversation really easy. Here’s everything you need to convince your HRD that spicing up your love life (whoops, wrong article) learning programme with better content is a worthy investment.

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1. “Humour helps with learning.” — sincerely, science

When it comes to humour and learning, science has your back.

Numerous studies show that humour helps improve the amount that people learn — up to 15% more when it’s included in lessons in even the smallest amounts. And, even when the topic is something people are anxious about or disinterested in.

However, the proof of how humour improves learning goes well beyond the data from studies in classrooms… there’s actual neuroscientific research that explains why humour helps us learn more from a biological perspective. For example, neuroscience shows us that humour produces dopamine, which cognitive studies have shown to improve long-term memory and goal-oriented behaviour.

Translated into English, that means humour makes us happy, which makes us want to pay attention. And in turn, we’re more likely to remember what we learned because we weren’t asleep at our desk.

In L&D terms, however, that means an increase in engagement and retention of information. By making learning fun, employees are more likely to retain the information in your L&D programme and are more likely to use that programme again.

2. We’re humour and storytelling mixologists

Using humour in a professional L&D setting is a delicate balance — one that can actually work against you if the recipe isn’t executed correctly.

For example, if your use of humour isn’t appropriate for your employees, you’ll not only bore them, you might just outright annoy them. Or if it’s poorly timed, no one is going to think it’s funny (there’s a reason people pay to see comedians after all… they’re masters of delivery).

Furthermore, using too much humour distracts from what you’re actually trying to get them to learn. So using the right amount of humour is key to keeping it engaging, but professional at the same time.

We’ve spent nearly the last five decades (yes, we’re that old) figuring out what kind of humour to use and in what quantities for professional audiences across the UK. And, we’ve learned how to incorporate that humour into a great story. And storytelling has also been shown to increase retention — by up to 20x.

Combine that with our dashing good looks and the smarts of our subject matter experts, and you have a recipe for learning success. What’s more, in addition to our off the shelf courses, we can work with you to create bespoke content that matches your exact learning needs.

3. Engaged learning matters right now (more than ever)

The world is changing quickly, and this has only exaggerated the importance of an effective learning programme. Learning keeps you nimble, focused on the future, and able to adapt while the business landscape around you is so volatile.

For example, Bersin & Associates have shown that companies with a strong learning culture are:

1. 58% more likely to be able to meet talent needs as the market changes.
2. 32% more likely to be first to market with an innovative solution.
3. 34% more likely to respond faster, and better address customer needs.

In the current shifting landscape, video modules are a powerful tool for closing distances and creating an effective learning programme online. As we’ve said, 94% of all L&D professionals reported a change in their L&D strategy in response to the increase in remote work. But those with a mature digital learning platform were twice as likely to report the impact of the pandemic easy to cope with relative to those who did not.

Even outside of the confines of remote working, video is the preferred method of learning for over 75% of all employees, and our brains process video far quicker than text. Simply put, a strong learning culture (driven by engaged learners) is the key to adapting to today’s changing business landscape. And better content is how you drive learner engagement!

Pro tip: Keep in mind the value of soft skills to any training programme (leadership, adaptability, teamwork), especially in the current climate. Check out some of our free short-form video collections to see how we approach the subjects.

4. It’s not an all or nothing choice, why reinvent the wheel?

Creating high-quality content is hard. Making sure that you have quality content is so central to engagement, and the success of your learning programme, why would you mess around with amateur solutions? You have limited time, limited content creation experience, and need a solution that will deliver quality outcomes — guaranteed.

The basics about what makes a “good leadership conversation”, or how to effectively deliver customer service don’t change. But no two people learn in exactly the same way. With the shift online, it’s critical that you duplicate the flexibility of in-person training, and provide multiple types of learning through your LMS/LXP. Our unique content provides a tried and tested approach to digital learning that should be part of that strategy.

Pro tip: You can embed our videos in courses that you’ve built yourself, adding personalisation and making it look like you’ve gone out of your way to hire actors (relatively famous actions, we might add) for your company training videos — all while saving you the cost of producing that video yourself.

No one else uses the famous actors/humour combo. It’s a great way to compliment an existing offering and can really sell the programme internally — getting people to log in for the first time to simply see what the fuss is all about, or helping your HRD/CEO see the value of the investment. The quality, engagement and practicality of the content will then keep users coming back time and again.

Effective L&D is all about engagement

Learner engagement is both a metric and a mindset. It’s something people feel, yes. But it’s also something you can tangibly measure — and tie directly back to L&D outcomes.

And when it comes to increasing learner engagement, we’ve never found a tool more effective than humour.

Simply put, people like to be entertained. It gives them a biological incentive to pay attention to anything they’re observing. And in the case of learning, it actually helps them retain and recall the information you want/need them to when you need them to do so.

At Video Arts, we’ve made it our jobs (literally — work is hard to come by as actors, so we made up new ones) to make learning more fun and engaging. Whether you need help creating one-of-a-kind bespoke content to reach your L&D outcomes or simply need help finding the right off the shelf content, get in touch. We’d be happy to help!

P.S.
If you haven’t seen it already, check out our free eBook — So, You Need a More Effective Learning Platform? — for an in-depth guide on how to improve your learning programme and create an effective learning culture today.