Have you ever felt overwhelmed after an online session?
I had been sitting in front of my computer for an hour.
I was listening to our online course instructor tell us everything he knew on the topic. Like a Formula 1 driver, he was racing through slides, graphs, and frameworks. He came to a screeching halt. And the class was over.
My brain was about to explode.
I hadn’t moved a muscle in 60 minutes but I felt exhausted. The worrying thing was, I could barely remember what we had covered in the class.
I was suffering from cognitive overload.
I was trying to process more information than my working memory could handle. We suffer from cognitive overload every day as information becomes more accessible and abundant.
Overwhelm is quickly becoming a hallmark of online courses.
The problem is that as virtual facilitators and instructors, we may be contributing to cognitive overload without even realizing it.
That’s where facilitation comes in.
Whether you are leading a course, delivering a presentation, or hosting a meeting, there are facilitation strategies to help you reduce cognitive overload for your group members.
3 Ways to Avoid Cognitive Overload by MasterClass
A short article with a down-to-earth explanation of cognitive load theory.
They break down the causes of cognitive overload:
- Distractions —> social media and texts
- Split-attention effect —> confusing learning materials
- Expertise reversal effect —> assuming prior information that learners don’t have
And offer 3 ways to manage cognitive overload:
✔️Ask questions
✔️Eliminate personal distractions
✔️Focus on one task at a time
Read the full article 👉here.
Minimize Cognitive Load to Maximize Usability
My research on cognitive overload took me down some fascinating rabbit holes, including what we can learn from User Experience experts. That’s how I came across this article from the Neilson Norman Group.
It helped me understand the parallels between seamless website interface design and learning. My biggest takeaway from the article
👉There is no way to eliminate cognitive load entirely. And that’s not the goal.
👉We need “intrinsic cognitive load” to absorb new information and to learn.
👉You want to eliminate “extraneous cognitive load” – the processing that takes up mental resources but doesn’t help users understand the content.
Here are 3 tips they offer:
✔️Avoid visual clutter
✔️Build on existing mental models
✔️Offload tasks
Read the full article 👉here.
10 Ways You Can Make Content Delivery Less Overwhelming (and way more interactive)
I realized that all of the virtual sessions I lead are experiential, interactive, with lots of breakout groups and live group discussions.
But what if your focus is on delivering content?
How can you deliver a lot of content in a way that doesn’t lead to cognitive overload for your group members? That was what I explored with a course creator I coached.
Together we came up with 10 quick tips to employ in all range of sessions.
👉Give a warm welcome
👉Use prompt questions
👉Narrate responses
👉 Share your aims
👉 Invite engagement
👉 Share the agenda
👉 Use the chat
👉 Survey your group
👉 Ask for an action
👉 Check out
How do you make content delivery less overwhelming?
If you like tips like this, you’ll love my newsletter The Quest!
Each week I deliver free actionable insights so you can lead exceptional live online experiences. 💪
Join the Quest here -> https://www.gwynwansbrough.com/newsletter
