The humour in e-learning

Approximate reading time: 2m 19s

How to use humour effectively in your e-learning?

Any more experienced eLearning professional will assure you that when you want to incorporate funnier moments into your course, there are a few unwritten rules to stick to. After all, one student may find a joke funny and another may find it offensive. For this reason, in this article, we have decided to give you some helpful tips on how to effectively use humor in your eLearning without stepping over the line between entertaining and educational.

Research your audience to understand their culture, experience and character.

People from different walks of life and people with different backgrounds and life experiences find different things funny. Therefore, in order to understand what their definition of the word "humor" is, you need to research the issue before you even start the training. Of course, you can't take every single character into account, but you can still find out where the majority of the group's understandings and sympathies lie and align yourself with them. For this purpose, you can interview several trainees, and if you have the time and inclination, you can even form a focus group.

Don't let humor overshadow the essential part of the training.

The problem with using humour is that it can easily lag behind the essential part of the training, and it is even possible to reach a point where it has no value. So be careful - add in the humorous moments so that they reinforce the main body of the content rather than crowd it out.

Use funny stories and give examples to highlight the subject matter.

Jokes, witty quotes, and fun interactive scenarios aren't the only ways to bring humor into your eLearning. To accomplish the same goal, you can tell stories or give real-life examples that will both highlight the subject and entertain listeners. Plus, the stories and examples will help them engage with the content even more. However, we are aware that this task is not always very easy - especially if it comes to longer and more complex training sessions. If you find yourself in such a situation, you can turn to Google for help and search for relevant anecdotes or thoughts that can be easily integrated into your e-course.

Your tone should be upbeat and motivating.

When using humour in your e-learning courses, remember that it should always be positive and inspiring. Avoid using jokes that are silly, disparaging, or carry even a minimal note of negativity. Every joke you make should have an upbeat tone so that your students feel motivated and show their best.
For example, you can start your e-learning by including a small dose of humour - a short joke to lift the mood or introduce a funny character. And before an exam, you can use a cartoon or thought to inspire confidence in your learners.

Carefully choose the venue in which you will use jokes.

E-learning that consists mainly of jokes will not provide the necessary knowledge to the trainees. Therefore, you need to use humour wisely and in the right places - in some situations, it can reduce stress and tension (such as before an exam, for example) or make the training topic more relatable to learners - by using examples or stories. You need to be very careful about what emotions you are trying to create - so you can integrate them in the right place, at the right time.

These tips will help you add humour to your e-learning. But remember, as with all good things, it should be used in moderation. In addition, we would say that it should be relevant, positive and always with the audience in mind, as its main job is to attract attention, not offend and create a negative atmosphere.

Source: http://elearningindustry.com/top-5-tips-effectively-use-humor-in-elearning.