When I first entered the world of training, I taught overflow classes for a friend who was an veteran trainer. It was a perfect way to ease into the training field: The materials were already created, so I could focus on learning how to be a trainer and facilitator. However, this meant I skipped the curriculum development and design phase.
As my experience and confidence grew, I began having ideas for my own classes; the challenge was I had no experience building a class from scratch. I had ideas, glimpses of what I wanted my classes to be—but I really didn’t know where to start.
Here’s what I learned about creating the cornerstone of any course: the course description.
Clients and class participants expect three things from your course description: (1) a title, (2) a short narrative about the course, and (3) learning outcomes. (You’ll notice I wrote outcomes, not objectives—more to come on that.)
- Title
The title should be short, catchy, and informative.
Short: Keep your title to ten words or fewer.
Catchy: Consider strategies like (1) alliteration (repeating the same beginning letter or sound), like “Design and Deliver Dynamite Virtual Training” or (2) beginning with a gerund (an -ing verb that conveys action).
Informative: Your title must be concrete enough for readers to know what you’re talking about. Avoid buzzwords and clichés that don’t convey tangible ideas.
2. Short narrative
This portion should capture the readers’ attention and give them the flavor of the class—what it’s about and why it matters. It’s part information, part cliffhanger. The challenge is to write the narrative so readers are intrigued and left wanting more.
Use plain language strategies as you write and edit. Specifically, (1) use common words, not erudite verbiage (see what I did there? 😊), (2) limit yourself to three paragraphs or fewer, with each paragraph having no more than six sentences, and (3) keep sentences to 25 words or fewer. In a nutshell, strive to express, not to impress.
3. Learning outcomes
This section, traditionally called “learning objectives,” is usually in bulleted format, beginning with a stem sentence reading “Participants will: …”. This section should give specific details about what you intend to deliver and do in the class.
I got the idea to pivot to the term “learning outcomes” after attending a presentation by Guila Muir. In her book, Instructional Design that Soars, she explains why providing learning outcomes is more helpful to both the instructor and the participants:
Learning outcomes are your promises or guarantees of what the participants will be able to do by the end of your class. (p. 25)
This takes your planning to a higher level. Instead of “Participants will…”, your stem sentence should begin, “By the end of this class, you’ll be able to…”. Ask yourself: What concrete skills am I promising participants who take this class?
Tip: Later, before class ends, make sure participants can actually do the things you promised!
Creating a course description, as I’ve described it here, provides the skeleton of your class, the scaffolding on which to build. Pitching a new class accompanied by a written course description shows it’s not just the germ of a vague idea; your course has form and substance. Almost every new class I’ve pitched to a client has been accepted because I could show—in a snapshot—its structure and what would change (in a positive direction) as a result of attending my class.
(Need some examples? Page down to Featured Courses on my Services page.)
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