On a recent flight, I observed the actions of one flight attendant that made this particular Delta employee “stand out from the rest.”
Let’s call him Sam.
Rather than bore frequent travelers with the usual, repetitive safety instructions in a monotone fashion, Sam did something unique.
In fact, it was the opposite of what you might have seen in the 1986 hit movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” where Ferris’ Economics teacher famously droned on with “Anyone, Anyone?” while students fell asleep.
True, Sam was required to perform his job duties and explain and model flight safety instructions. But rather, than sitting back and allowing his audience/customers to be passive recipients of the information, he included us in the process.
After explaining that there were four exits in the aircraft while simultaneously pointing to them, he suddenly stopped and asked with a twinkle in his eye, “So how many exits are there?” To my surprise, the normally drowsy half-listening crowd shouted back “four”!
Sam then spoke into the microphone and said, “I have extra snacks for the first person who can show me where their Safety Card is.” Once again, to my surprise, a gentleman in row one immediately whipped out his safety card from the seat in front of him, only to be rewarded with not one, but three extra Biscoff cookies.
Free food always motivates. Always.
Sam went on to say that the lucky winner in row one would now demonstrate how best to apply an oxygen mask to which the lucky winner and the rest of us laughed – appreciating his sense of humor.
As you can imagine, by now, Sam had all of our attention.
Do you see what Sam was doing?
Sam had created a space where the audience could participate. A participatory audience not only enjoys the experience more, but also directs riveted attention to what is being said. As cognitive psychology and the learning sciences prove, attention is an essential ingredient for learning and retention.
So what are lessons from Sam we can apply to online videos and video learning?
The bottom line is that in the age of digital multimedia, audiences want to participate.
Think about the popular reality shows where viewers are able to vote off participants or select winners from competitions. Think about your engagement in social media and your ability to post reactions or disagree with a post. Think about your ability to submit comments on YouTube and request topics you would like to see addressed in the near future.
As viewers, we want to be involved in process. Gone are the days of passive recipients.
So as we move forward to pioneer effective online videos, especially in the learning space, let’s remember what Sam taught us. We need to create a space where viewers can participate, and not just because . . . we’ll give them extra cookies.
Tune in next week, as we explore ways for viewers to participate in online videos you create.
What are your ideas for viewer participation?
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