A lot of employees, maybe even most employees, dread annual training. Whether in person or online, most people think training is going to be long, boring, and uneventful. But that doesn’t have to be the case – advancements in the hardware and software tools available to online course developers have come a long way. Rich media, powerful graphics, and engaging interactive exercises are just a few elements that can spice up your company’s online training experience.

Let’s take a closer look at five ways you can make your online training more interactive, engaging, and appealing to your staff.

Add Interactive Exercises

Quizzing, the traditional way to add interactivity to online training, is just one option. These types of exercises allow learners to test their understanding of the information and allow instructors to identify areas that need further clarification.

Whatever form of interactive exercise you choose to include, don’t forget to add feedback for correct and incorrect answers. Instant gratification is just as important to online training as it is in other areas of life.

Gamify Your Course

Find ways to have learners play games as part of their training experience. Games bring life to training and will engage the learners and make them think about the content in different ways. Teaching through games makes more of an impact than just reading words on the screen and listening to the information.

Use an Enthusiastic Narrator

No one wants to listen to a dull, monotone voice read a bunch of words. Instead, find an enthusiastic voice that demands attention and conveys excitement for the course materials.

The last thing you want is for boring voiceover to lull your learners to sleep. Don’t underestimate the importance of the voice talent you choose – the narrator provides credibility to the material and keeps the learners’ attention focused on the information being presented.

Get Creative with Visuals

It’s been proven that visuals improve the learner engagement and knowledge retention. Stock photography will do the trick in some cases, however, generic photos aren’t always enough. Especially now, with the popularity of image-based sites like Instagram and Pinterest, images are more important than ever. In some cases, visuals make it easier for learners to navigate your training – there’s less to read and there’s no language barrier.

Visual images can include the standards, like photography, infographics, and screen shots, but can also take the form of GIFs, illustrations, and characters. If learners can look at an image and understand the concept being taught without reading any text or hearing any audio, you’ve on the right track with your graphics.

Incorporate Video

With online video consumption continuing to grow, it’s no surprise that learners react well to, and even expect to see, video in their online training programs. Because video combines text, images, and sounds to create an immersive learning environment, adding video to online training courses is a logical path to increasing engagement.

Video works great for demos, testimonials, short interviews, and location tours.

With all the technology available today, people are used to getting what they want, when they want it. Learners seeking online training are no different – they want it available on demand and they won’t come back for more if your training materials don’t engage them and keep them focused.

5 Tips to Make Your Next Online Training Course More Engaging