I’m a Reservist (National Guard) here in Arkansas. Soldiers receive considerable training, and it’s not all “in the woods”. Much of it is classroom-based, and delivered via multimedia presentations.

And the quality of these productions vary widely. Just last weekend we were forced to watch a thirty-minute presentation on the importance of maintaining digital/file security, and the soldiers lost interest within five minutes. The message was important, but was lost due to excessive verbiage and boring presentation. I was embarrassed for the company that produced it.

Yet three months ago we saw a very effective presentation on suicide prevention, which featured what/if interactions that branched and provided coaching for the soldiers. Well-conceived and engaging.

It amazes me what passes for great teaching sometimes. I agree, less is often more.

So, great thoughts here…I enjoyed it.

-john