So You Think You Have Found The Perfect SME?

So You Think You Have Found The Perfect SME?

You have searched high and low in the organization – and you think you have found the perfect SME to be part of your project  – how do you ensure that they have all the skills that you need – that they can storyboard the learning experiences, that they can spin a good tale as a storyteller, that they can create assessments to truly see if your have learned something, and that they will be able to take the stage (in person or virtually) and facilitate a truly effective learning experience. You know what we mean right? How do you know if you have captured a unicorn? 

Ok – so the real talk here is there are no such things as unicorns and if you have found an SME willing to work with you on your learning project they, one – likely have a passion for the topic and two – have a passion for wanting to share their knowledge – but what can you do to ensure their success as an SME? 

We have taken the liberty, with the help of a friend, to create a curated list of resources that you can provide to your SMEs at the start of your project. We don’t expect that this list will make them expert, but certainly, build a foundation from which they will build upon.

Storyboarding (As curated by our friend Rob B)

• https://elearningindustry.com/12-tips-to-create-effective-elearning-storyboards 

• https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/a-simple-guide-to-creating-your-first-elearning-storyboard

•  https://trainingindustry.com/articles/e-learning/bam-pow-zap-storyboarding-for-e-learning-projects/ 

•  https://elearningindustry.com/create-storyboards-effective-elearning-tips

Story Telling 

• https://trainingindustry.com/articles/learning-technologies/use-video-storytelling-to-get-new-hires-up-to-speed/

• https://trainingmag.com/why-story-why-now/

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/celinnedacosta/2019/01/31/3-reasons-why-brand-storytelling-is-the-future-of-marketing/#7ae9480c55ff

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2019/12/11/use-power-of-storytelling-to-humanize-your-brand/#746a0db26171

• https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/yes-even-you-can-become-a-masterful-storyteller/

Assessment Development 

• https://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/05/6-tips-for-creating-powerful-assessments-for-your-students/

• https://elearningindustry.com/developing-good-online-assessments-guidelines

• https://ucat.osu.edu/bookshelf/teaching-topics/assessing-your-course/developing-an-assessment-plan/developing-an-assessment-strategy/

• https://community.articulate.com/articles/20-tips-for-writing-great-quiz-questions-and-response-options

Facilitation Skills (Live and Virtual) 

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/emc/2014/01/13/885/#433fab1569fb

• https://trainingindustry.com/magazine/may-jun-2018/transitioning-to-a-virtual-workforce/

• https://www.td.org/newsletters/atd-links/7-tips-for-virtual-training-success

• https://www.howspace.com/resources/how-to-facilitate-a-workshop

We hope that you find this list of resources useful as you work with your SME partners. If you have other resources that you use, we would love to hear about them – we are all on this journey together, as as we say around here, together we learn.