First set learning goals, then create all your training media

Tip:

Most course creators jump straight into recording videos, designing slides, or writing scripts.

But the best creative academy teachers don’t start with the media—they start with a clear learning outcome, like a module or lesson micro-goal for the student.

Then they design all the supporting content with all the additional details, images, steps, and gotchas.

This one execution shift from the lead teacher saves tons of time and lets you create top-down content.

Notes:

• Starting with the lesson helps to ensure that every visual has a purpose. If you design first, it’s easy to create visuals that look great but don’t actually support the learning objective.
• Designing before the lesson is finalized often leads to unnecessary revisions as your content evolves. It’s much easier to add visuals to a specific, clear lesson than it is to rewrite a lesson around finished visuals.

Next Steps:

• Does your standard content creation checklist or process start off with clear content goals?
• As you create visuals, ask yourself: Does this support the lesson or am I creating the lesson in the slide?
• If you find yourself struggling or changing your video script, then maybe you need better initial content before the video.