Never Split the Difference

Project Overview

Audience

Readers and fans of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It (Harper Business; 2016) written by Chris Voss, a former top hostage negotiator for the FBI.

Tools

Figma, Google Docs, Canva, Epidemic Sound, Articulate Storyline

Responsibilities

As the Instructional Designer of this concept project, I was responsible for all aspects of this e-learning experience from initial ideation through to the final development in Articulate Storyline.

The Book's Core Message

Negotiation is at the heart of collaboration, and can make conflict potentially meaningful and productive. Negotiation holds the keys to unlocking profitable human interactions in all areas of life and in every relationship we have - and can be life-changing.

The Problem

Reading about the various negotiation tactics is passive. Passive learning makes it difficult to remember what you learn and even more challenging to bring about long-term changes in behavior.

The SBL-X Solution

I created active learning out of the book's content with an interactive, scenario-based learning experience (SBL-X). It provides four decision points where the learner gets to practice using a different negotiation tool. Using the tools makes learning active, and having a safe environment in which to try them out encourages the learner to fail. Unlike the "real world" where making incorrect choices has real-life consequences and repercussions, a "practice world" environment removes the fear-barrier to learning, encourages learner engagement - and improves learning outcomes.

The Process

I created this learning experience using a backwards design model.

• First, I formalized what I wanted the learner to be able to do at the end of the SBL-X. Being able to use the tools taught by Voss to negotiate successfully became the learning objective.

• Learning objective created, I then turned my attention to the Final Assessment: a reflection activity in which the learner gets to compare how their learning stacks up against the expert - the author. To remind the learner of the choices they had made long the way, each slide with the decision-choices was presented to them again, and they were asked to reflect on why their choice was correct. After jotting down their thoughts in the space provided, the reveal occurred: an excerpt from Voss's book in which he provides his expert take on why a particular tool works. Enabling the learner to compare what they wrote down with the expert's take helps to further close the knowledge gap.

• Only after determining the learning objective and final assessment did I proceed to designing the content of the SBL-X. I decided to make the setting an alien planet, with a story about a vengeful ex.

  • The story component (negotiating for your life) improves how much learners retain.

  • The disconnect of the context from the real world makes it easier to abstract the underlying principles and transfer what you learn to more situations in real life.

  • And combining both - a story with a fantasy setting - helps learning magic unfold. Retention and transfer are improved. According to learning expert Clark Quinn, PhD: retention and transfer are the holy grails of learning.

• After context and setting, I chose the content for the SBL-X: four of the negotiating tools taught by Voss.

• Then I storyboarded the experience to get a better feel for the flow of the narrative and the consequences of each decision.

  • Crafting decisions, particularly the incorrect decisions, is an art unto itself. If the wrong choice is too obvious, no learning occurs. So distractors need to be plausible. A guideline I follow is to use common mistakes or misconceptions as the distractors.

  • The functionality of this SBL-X was inspired by a branching scenario for overcoming cultural difference created by learning expert Cathy Moore called Connect with Haji Kamal. At each decision point in this SBL-X, the learner is given counsel from two alien mentors, each with an opposing opinion about what the learner should decide. Choose incorrectly, and you die. Choose correctly, and you live to make it to another decision point.

• Finally, I created a working prototype in Articulate Storyline. I added in unnerving background music to add to the emotional component of the SBL-X. The research is clear that emotions help us remember what we learn.

• Finally, it was time for feedback from experts like Dr. Luke Hobson to ensure this proof-of-concept was engaging, meaningful, and memorable.