person writing with pen and paper

6 Tips for Writing Training Scenarios

By: Rachel Kolman November 22, 2023
Filed Under:

When offering training for employees, you might think to include company policies, best practices, and new teachings. 

However, it’s also important for employees to practice what they’re learning. Simply having a team read a handbook or telling them what to do in certain situations isn’t always the most helpful approach. 

Instead, scenario-based training gives a hands-on approach that can make your training efforts more successful. 

Scenario-based training is an instructional design strategy that uses realistic, interactive scenarios to demonstrate a concept to learners. Instead of traditional lecture-style learning, scenario-based training focuses on building stories or situations. 

When done correctly, training scenarios can lead to better learning outcomes, higher employee performance, and client satisfaction. However, successful training scenarios take work to get right and can be more time consuming. 

Here’s a quick overview of six tips for writing better training scenarios: 

  1. Understand your learners
  2. Remember the training objective
  3. Be realistic
  4. Challenge learners
  5. Use resources
  6. Take a storytelling approach

Let’s take a closer look. 

1. Understand your learners 

The effectiveness of scenario-based training will depend on how well the learners understand and relate to the scenario you create. The more you know who your learners are, the more you can complete the following: 

  • Clearly identify training needs. The same basic, generic training won’t apply to everyone. In fact, the more you know about your audience, the more your training will need to be tailored.
  • Present realistic scenarios. Workers in an office won’t relate to a training scenario that takes place at an outdoor worksite. Knowing the learners’ environment will set the scene for your training scenario. 
  • Craft relatable responses. When learners are presented with a problem, there’s a few things they’ll most likely choose from. Understanding your learners can help you incorporate other possible choices to test their skills. 

2. Remember the training objective 

Each training scenario needs to have a clearly-defined objective. For the most effective scenario-based training, focus on one objective and situation at a time. For example, don’t force your learners to learn both safety and performance review protocol in the same scenario. 

It helps to have your ideal learning outcome in mind. What do you want your learners to take away from this training scenario? Does the outcome align with the overall objective? 

For example, if your objective is to train your team on a new piece of software, a good outcome would be that by the end of the lesson, everyone knows how to use the software to complete a task. With that in mind, you can build a scenario that will demonstrate how the software completes a job-related task. 

3. Be realistic  

Scenario-based training will only work if the scenario would actually happen.  For engagement and retention, learners need to relate to the scenario. It should be real, relevant, and believable. 

Consider points #1 and #2 above: The more you know your audience, the more realistic you’ll be. And being realistic also means covering an appropriate amount of material in one training scenario that aligns with a real objective. 

This doesn’t mean your training scenario needs to feature routine, day-to-day tasks. You don’t have to shy away from stressful or emergency situations. While they may be rare, employees would benefit from knowing what to do if these situations ever happen. 

4. Challenge learners 

While scenario-based training should be realistic, that doesn’t mean it has to be easy. 

This means not making the solution too obvious. Don’t trick learners, but instead make them really think about the scenario, their choices, and the consequences. 

Challenging training scenarios can motivate learners by encouraging critical thinking. When learners engage in critical thought, it’s rewarding, like solving a complex puzzle. Make sure your scenario is complex enough to activate some critical thought and let learners reap the motivational benefits. 

5. Use your resources

When you’re writing a training scenario, you don’t have to rely just on your own knowledge. Reach out to existing staff members and subject matter experts. By reaching out to others, it can help in the following ways: 

  • Make sure the scenario is realistic. If you’re writing a training for tasks you don’t always perform yourself, you’ll want folks closest to the work to help make sure the scenario is realistic. 
  • Hone the details. Specifics are what bring realistic scenarios to life, so make sure to gather rich examples from your resources.  
  • Discover unique challenges. Asking your team about the biggest pain points and “what if” scenarios will make for unique scenarios and challenges to enhance learning. 
  • Use the right language. The lingo of the scenario should feel like the language the staff members know and use everyday. 

If you’re not sure that your training scenario will be effective, ignoring your available resources will only cause your course to fall short. Learners will notice inaccurate information, causing them to not take the course seriously. 

6. Take a storytelling approach

We know that scenario-based training needs to be realistic, but what about engaging? Consider the story you’re telling as you write your scenarios. Crafting a story for your scenario-based training will make it more engaging and relatable. Learners will most likely remember it, too. 

To take a storytelling approach, provide the following:

  • Background information. Set the scene by providing context information like setting, situation, and prior knowledge. 
  • Characters, with a relatable protagonist. Think of creating a profile of a typical coworker who needs the training you’re offering to carry through the scenario.
  • Plot. This is the basis of your scenario. What happens? What’s the outcome of the decisions to make? 
  • Challenge and solution. What’s the issue the main character faces, and how does your training solve it?  

Implement training scenarios with LearnDash  

Once you’ve created the content for scenario-based learning, start incorporating it into your online course. You can combine scenario-based learning and microlearning for an immersive and engaging learner experience.

If you don’t have online courses, or if you want to switch to a new platform, take a look at LearnDash. As the leading learning management system for WordPress, LearnDash LMS gives you complete control over your courses. Plus, you’ll have features like advanced quizzing, assignment management, and more. 

Try out the LearnDash demo today and see for yourself how easy it can be to create online training scenarios.

Rachel Kolman

Rachel Kolman has over 10 years of experience writing and editing for a variety of clients and brands. She is passionate about education, social change, pop culture, and video games. She lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and two cats.