1. Without a Compelling Story to Tell,
Your eLearning is Just eLearning!
Ed Duffy

2. Riding a Bicycle
1. How do you ride a
bicycle?
2. What’s the
process?
3. What’s the
experience?

3. Riding a Bicycle
The story of riding a
bicycle is both a
process and an
experience.

4. Riding a Bicycle
The story of riding a
bicycle is more
compelling than
the process of
riding a bicycle.

5. The Power of Storytelling
1. People love stories.
2. Stories entertain,
engage, and instruct.

6. Types of Stories
Comedies, Tragedies,
Mysteries, Musicals
Histories, Narratives,
Reality Shows, How
To’s
Documentaries, News
Stories, Testimonials

7. What Makes a Good Story?
1. A human element,
a local, or a
relational element.
2. They connect with
the target audience
3. Focus on us, the
community, or
timeframe

8. The Experts Say …
“Stories enhance attention, create
anticipation, and increase
retention. They provide a familiar
set of ‘hooks’ that allow us to
process the information that we
hang on them.”
Source: The Experience Economy

9. The Experts Say …
“Stories are who we are.”
Source: The Power of Story

10. Storytelling: Pharma client
Tactic: Integrated the
realism of their average
day into the learning
Impact: Increased
relevance, engagement,
fun, and competition

16. Storytelling: Airline Client
Tactic: Challenge employees
with scenarios that involve
shades of grey
Impact: Created dynamic
realism in showing the
outcomes of daily decision-
making

22. Storytelling: Non-Profit Client
Tactic: Invited families
to connect their story to
the foster adoption
stories portrayed in the
course
Impact: Made the
content come to life in
real-life application

26. Recap
Stories powerfully
bring content to life
and into context.
They illustrate,
animate, and invite
personal relevance.