Have you ever noticed your feelings?

How often have you stepped into others’ shoes and experienced their emotions?

How well do you understand what you feel and why you feel so?

There is no separation between our “emotional” brain and our “thinking” brain. They are inextricably intertwined and impact one another. Emotions constantly affect our thinking, and thinking is required for learning. That leads us to a question: What would it look like to leverage emotions for learning?

Emotional connectivity is a bit more nuanced in employees’ online training. Employees don’t fall in love with the main character in your compliance story. It’s more about tying the concepts to their everyday lives and seeing how they relate to their work-related struggles. 

Here are ways trainers can leverage emotions to make your game-based training stick.

1- Real-World Challenges (Engagement)

One of the perks of serious games is being able to take on real-world challenges without dealing with real-world consequences. Learners still get to experience the negative or positive repercussions but in a safe online training environment. Practical problems also allow them to take risks and learn from them, to live through those mistakes (even if they are virtual), and adjust their approach. Try to avoid a multitude of “what ifs” and stick with realistic obstacles that build experiential knowledge.

2- Memorable Characters (Nostalgia)

Most of us remember the quirky characters long after we’ve finished an epic adventure game. The same holds true for training gamification design. Develop personas that are true to life and packed with personality. But don’t go overboard and include their full backstory. The goal is to grab employees’ attention and make them feel for the characters, not to distract them from the desired outcomes. You should also use cut-out character images from your asset library to put a face to the name.

3- Story Arc (Anticipation) 

Game-based learning requires a strong storyline to draw trainees in. This includes a brief intro to set the scene, followed by an obstacle or struggle, and then the resolution to cap things off. But the structure is just one element. How are you going to make learners feel like they’re part of the action? Will you provide a bit of context about the main character’s job duties and skill gaps? What about their stress levels and work-related challenges they’ve faced in the past? They need to know the basis of the story without irrelevant details that cause cognitive overload.

4- Relevant Multimedia (Admiration) 

Video clips, images, sound effects, and background music are just a few key elements to incorporate into your training gamification design. All these components add to the ambiance and create an emotional connection with the audience. 

However, there must be a balance. Too many video clips hinder mobile accessibility and can lead to cognitive overwhelm, while background audio might become a distraction if it drowns out the dialogue or evokes the wrong emotion. Also, some learners might prefer to participate in silence so they can focus on the task at hand.

5- Feedback (Satisfaction) 

Where did they go wrong? Should they have chosen one path instead of another? Did the game reveal hidden strengths they can hone autonomously? There’s always room for improvement. For this reason, your game-based learning strategy must include personalized feedback. 

There’s no room for ambiguity in training games. Clearly outline their errors and how they relate to job performance. It’s their opportunity to identify pain points in a supportive setting, away from the crowded workplace where mistakes might lead to embarrassment and loss of business.

Conclusion

Emotions may take a different form in online training, but it’s still a crucial piece of the puzzle. 

Corporate learners need to know what’s in it for them and emotionally invest in the experience to truly benefit from online training. These tips can help you develop training that helps them relate to the characters, feel for their plight, move from theory to practice, as well as live through the negative and positive consequences of their actions so they don’t make the same mistake twice. They’re more likely to dive into the training course if it yields practical benefits and immediate results.