You're probably familiar with this: You switch on Netflix and get trapped in a series for hours. Keyword: Binge Watching! Wouldn't it be great to achieve this effect in your continuing education? In this article, you'll learn which Netflix elements are particularly captivating and how to structure your e-learning according to this principle.
You certainly know the streaming service Netflix and may have even gotten stuck on one series or another yourself. You probably watched through them faster than you would have liked. Netflix is known for that and made a revenue of 29 billion US dollars last year for good reason (Source: Statista). But what actually lies behind it?
Binge Watching and the Secret of Netflix Series
According to Wikipedia, binge watching describes the process of a series marathon, where individuals watch several episodes of a television series in one go. So binge watching is really about particularly captivating content: As a viewer, you absolutely want to know what happens next. It often feels impossible to break free from the series spiral and finally hit pause. But with a glance at the clock, the bad conscience quickly sets in.
And that's exactly what Netflix has apparently perfected, by producing their series accordingly so that we have no choice but to stay tuned. You can leverage this structure for your e-learning, but with one crucial difference: The bad conscience is absent!
But what makes Netflix series so addictive? From the very beginning of a series' production, it is clear that it must be divided into individual episodes. After all, no one would watch a 20-hour movie. To keep us as viewers engaged, each episode or season needs some kind of cliffhanger at the end that makes you crave more. Only then do we slip into the vortex of hours of "binging".
A Netflix Series ...
is released at the beginning of the season with a trailer.
consists of many often short episodes.
provides a preview at the end of each episode of what happens next.
gives you the option to skip recaps and intros.
is often released as a complete season (if produced by Netflix).
Netflix Netflix Logo GIFfrom Netflix GIFs
In one way or another, the essential elements can be transferred to your continuing education:
How to Design Your Own E-Learnings in the Netflix Style
The differences between a relaxed Netflix evening and a training session are evident. Accordingly, it is clear that your e-learning will never be as captivating as another season of Breaking Bad or a series marathon with ten seasons of Friends. Yet you can utilize the principle behind it:
1. Episodes: Break Down Learning Content into Individual Episodes!
Many training coordinators try to cram all important information into ONE e-learning course. They often forget that extensive course content, while great, can also be overwhelming. After all, you wouldn't watch a series trying to appeal to action, thriller, and science fiction fans all at once. Why? Because it simply becomes too much.
Netflix offers various series in all possible genres. E-learning can be just as diverse!
Therefore, you should divide your learning content into different genres and series just like Netflix, and release the story (or your learning content) in small episodes. For example, regarding leadership training, you could split your courses into “How to: Conduct Employee Conversations,” “Basic Course on Data Analysis,” and “What to Consider When Creating Reports.”
This way, participants have the chance to listen attentively and learn something. Furthermore, they can pause your e-learning, just like their favorite series, without losing the thread.
2. Brevity: Reduce Your Content to the Essentials!
Just like individual episodes of a Netflix series, our learning content is also getting shorter. And there’s a good reason for that: Our attention span continues to decrease, meaning our input must also be shorter. Learning content needs to be concise. Only then can you ensure that participants truly stay engaged until the end.
Because: Learners often have no time. If learners interrupt the learning process, they won't quickly get back to the content. Try to make your learning content as brief as possible, so that participants aren't tempted to abandon the learning unit. Pay attention to the following elements:
Learning content must be relevant for the participants
Learning content must be easily accessible
Learning content must encourage participants to want to learn more (Keyword: Binge Watching)
And that brings us to the second point you should consider when designing your course:
3. Cliffhanger: Spark Curiosity and Create a Desire for More!
For your e-learning to be a complete success, your learning content needs to be so good that your learners naturally crave more! Here again, Netflix serves as a great example: An episode is almost over, and suddenly the button “watch next episode” appears in the bottom right, indicating the next episode. Almost effortlessly, you'll watch another episode of your current series.
Binge-watching is preprogrammed! Netflix automatically plays the next episode after the bar runs out.
You should ideally transfer this dynamic to your e-learning as well: It’s not about learners needing more learning content. It’s about them wanting to learn more on their own! Specifically, this means: Learners want to work through your training course directly and in one sitting.
4. Addiction Factor: Give Learners What They Want (or Need)!
You probably know the annoying term mandatory training as well. For many, alarms start ringing, and one or another thinks, “I've never learned anything meaningful from it.” And that doesn’t have to be the case! Of course, you won't convince everyone how beneficial your e-learning is for them. But you can spark their curiosity!
And what does that have to do with Netflix? We’ve already discussed the end credits of each episode, but Netflix goes further: Almost every new series is released with a 2-minute teaser. This way, you can see for yourself whether the series or film is something for you. Of course, Netflix doesn't appeal to everyone. But one thing is for sure: Those who are already curious will definitely tune in after a teaser.
And you can leverage this phenomenon in e-learning as well. Pay attention to the following things:
Clearly communicate the goal of your training
Provide insights into what your learners can expect in your course
Show concrete examples of your e-learning course
5. Spoilers: Offer a Preview of What Comes Next!
Finally, let’s address the biggest and most crucial difference between a Netflix series and your e-learning: Spoilers. Particularly with current series, people discuss the latest episode in social circles or at work. And it often happens that events are talked about when your conversation partner hasn’t seen the episode yet. If you already know how it ends before the episode's over, the suspense quickly fades.
In e-learning, it’s different: You naturally want to know what awaits you and why you are doing this. Therefore, it seems quite reasonable to spoil your participants on some aspects. Keep in mind: You can still create a narrative arc even with spoilers! Methods like storytelling can help you with that.
