Change up your game! Using branching scenario games to add
engaging challenges to your training curriculum.
Branching scenarios are a great way to teach thought
processes, behavior, or communication skills, and to show the consequences of
choices, all while playing an immersive, challenging, and realistic game.
In order to be successful, the scenario should be realistic
and complex, should have a series of cascading choices, and should support two
or more choices that appear equally valid for each scene.
Branching Scenarios are so much fun to make and so exciting
for the learner that you’ll want to immediately convert all your existing
topics into the format.
The only bad news
about Branching Scenarios is that they aren’t a good match for all topics. Like
aged cheese, the films of Quentin Tarantino, and opera, they are only for
certain audiences.
They work very well for nuanced situations like cultural integration,
ethical choices, conversations where word choices are key (such a sales and
performance coaching) and customer service interactions that are “off-script”.
I have found through experimentation that this game doesn’t
really work to teach fact-based topics, such as “how-to” or “tips”. The end
result is very flat with the choices being very obviously right or wrong—no
real challenge for the player.
The best fit for Branching Scenarios is a very specific
situation where a series of decisions must be made, and these decisions lead to
consequences.
You need:
“An irate customer”
is the right direction, but we need the same level of detail an associate faces
on the floor– account history, product specs, scripting, and tools.
2. The common
mistakes or errors made during the process, and the consequences of same.
If we are teaching our learners to make nuanced choices
about sharing confidential documents, get your SME to tell you what happens
when an internal power point is leaked, and then write that into your scenario.
3. A clear,
actionable goal.
“Awareness” or
“compliance” is simply not enough.
What specific steps, behaviors, scripts, or actions does the
employee need to demonstrate, and how will we know they are being done? Drill
down deep to get the real performance objective to build a successful scenario
game.
Resource Guide for Branching Scenarios
This blog is an incredible warehouse of gems on e-learning,
instructional design, graphic design, and how to use PowerPoint and Articulate
to your best advantage.
This blog will change the way you think about creating
training materials. Highly recommended!!
Cathy Moore’s exceptional game. Use as inspiration for where
we can go with our Branching Scenario Games!
Branching Scenario Game tool.
So get out there and start branchin'!!
