When I was a kid, I remember avoiding school like the plague. I skipped over 100 days of school in grade 5. Too many challenges with my family at home left me unable to focus on studying at all.
The good news is that thanks to these experiences, I became keenly aware of the interconnected nature of learning and emotion at a young age. I learned through experience that emotion, motivation, attention, and memory are inextricably intertwined. As I’ve gotten older and into my graduate studies, I focused on this topic. Now, it is central to my work and how I approach the design of learning experiences, which often include what I call Engager videos.
“There is a particular region in the human brain where systems concerned with emotion/feeling, attention, and working memory interact so intimately that they constitute the source for the energy of both external action (movement) and internal action (thought animation, reasoning)” — António Damásio, Descartes’s Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain
Explainer Videos vs Engager Videos
We’ve all heard of explainer videos by now. Love ’em or hate ’em, they work. In fact, they’re so successful that they’ve spawned an entire industry of software (Toonly, Vyond, Doodly etc.) and media channels. In our types of learning videos taxonomy, they sit between Inspirational and Informational in the triangle due to their ability to gain interest and share information in a memorable way.
The explainer format is so common I won’t bother getting too deeply into it here (explainers will get their own article). You can go watch an explainer video about it. Instead, I am introducing the Explainer video so that I can properly differentiate it from its friend, which I am calling the Engager video.
Explainer videos can be thought of as short microlearning videos that are often animated or combine footage, motion graphics and narration to draw interest and introduce or elaborate on a topic. They are typically under 2 minutes in length and focus on explaining one concept clearly.
I decided on the term Engager because I could not find an existing term and description that captured how I felt these types of videos should be categorized in a learning context. Since I have been categorizing types of videos based on their purpose for learning, this felt like it made sense. Just like the explainer video is named for what it does, the Engager is similarly labelled in a self-evident and descriptive way.
The primary purpose of Engager videos is to engage the learner. They are an intentionally affective, or socio-emotional tool.
They focus on motivating, gaining attention, or building empathy. They often have a call to action. This category includes testimonial videos (eg leader explains “why” this matters, sharing lived experiences etc.), and narrated promotional pieces including animation or a combination of footage and motion graphics.
Why use Engagers: Learning is a process of change, and change occurs through series of individual decisions in a social context. As the old adage goes, we make decisions based on emotion and justify them with logic. Adult learners want to know “what’s in it for me”, we need to have a reason to take the course, to opt-in to the webinar, to participate in the meeting, and to buy-in to the new change initiative. Change is hard. Learning is hard. Tap into the reasons people care and show them how the learning experience will benefit them.
For all these reasons, Engagers can be a powerful tool for supporting learning in your organization. They send positive signals and triggers to motivate learning and frame the learning experience in a relevant and helpful way.
Why not use Engagers: The typical arguments against the use of Engager videos in adult learning are that they’re too risky, that they could be seen as manipulative, or that they’re unnecessary fluff. These arguments can all be true if the Engager video is used ineffectively or designed poorly.
Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to help you make an effective Engager video
DO ✅
- Use sparingly and strategically. If you overdo evocative videos at your organization, they will lose their impact.
- Keep it short and simple. Like an explainer video, focus only on one main point or call to action. Design a maximum of 3 key messages so it is clear and poignant.
- Know your audience very well. For your key messaging and style to resonate, you need to specifically tailor the video to your audience. Speak in their language, with spokespeople and information they care about and relate to.
- Keep testimonials and interviews unscripted and authentic. Your people will be repelled by your message if it comes across as ungenuine. Like a good speech, you can prepare some main points you want to hit, but don’t robotically read off a teleprompter.
- Test and refine the messaging so that you are able to use the video to reach your objective and create empathy, trust, interest or excitement.
DON’T ❌
- Do not use sappy or generic stock music and imagery. If your video feels similar to a bad experience your people have had in the past, they will associate your new initiative with the same negativity.
- Do not create feelings of sadness, fear, anger or helplessness. These types of emotions can actually prevent learning and remembering information, or block the desire to engage with your learning content.
- Do not overpromise. Your job is not to trick people into engaging with your learning experience, but to frame the experience in terms of why it matters and how it will realistically benefit their life, work, or relationships. Follow through on your promises and deliver what you say you will.
- Do not do the same thing every time. Advertisers know this well. If you use the same style and template for your Engager videos every time, people will stop noticing since they will no longer stand out.
