TLB #47🧠 The "boring training" epidemic

A bi-weekly inside scoop on all the hottest events, juicy discussions, and oh-so-many other exciting things happening in our dynamic L&D community. 🧡

Hello Shaker,

Here’s all that you’ll experience in today’s issue:

💡Learning Bites: Why people dread learning & what to do about it

🗓️ Community Calendar: Be part of local hub meet-ups happening in your city

🖌️ Community Creations: Watch past L&D events organised by Shakers for Shakers

🔖 Resource Reel: A collection of resources on human behaviour, people management, system thinking and many more.

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Learning Bites 💡

Picture this: You walk into a training session, and within minutes, you’re drowning in dense slides, irrelevant content, and a never-ending monologue from the facilitator. Your brain checks out, your attention drifts, and you start wondering if that third cup of coffee was a mistake.

Sound familiar?

For years, learning professionals have battled the "boring training" epidemic—a condition that turns eager learners into disengaged attendees, making learning feel like a chore rather than an opportunity. But here’s the real kicker: People don’t hate learning. They hate ineffective, overwhelming, and uninspiring learning experiences.

So, what’s happening in the brain when people disengage? And more importantly, how do we fix it? Let’s break it down.

1. Cognitive Overload – The brain’s breaking point

We can only store a few pieces of information at a time. When we overload it by dumping excessive, unstructured, or complex content all at once, the brain shuts down.

Think of it like an overstuffed backpack: the more you cram in, the harder it is to find what you need.

According to Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988), there are three types of cognitive load that impact learning:

• Intrinsic Load: The complexity of the topic itself

• Extraneous Load: The way information is presented

• Germane Load: The effort required to process and store the new knowledge effectively

The real danger? Anxiety & Avoidance

Recent research shows that cognitive overload increases anxiety, which then leads to avoidance behaviour—in other words, learners disengage completely. So, if we’re not careful, we’re not just making learning harder; we’re making people actively resist it.

2. Psychological Threats – Fear of failure & judgment

Have you ever held back from answering a question in a session because you weren’t sure if you were right? That’s the affective filter in action.

Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis (1982) explains how anxiety, self-confidence, and motivation affect learning. When fear takes over, the "affective filter" rises, blocking cognitive function.

The brain isn’t just a learning machine; it’s a threat detection system. When people feel judged, embarrassed, or fear making mistakes, their amygdala (the brain’s fear centre) kicks in, triggering a fight-or-flight response.

If we create high-pressure environments with too difficult assessments, cold-calling, or overly competitive activities, we’re making it harder for people to absorb information—not easier.

3. Lack of Relevance & Purpose – Why am I even here?

People engage with learning when they see why it matters. According to Keller’s ARCS Model of Motivation (1987), four factors drive motivation:

• Attention – Does the session hook learners right away?

• Relevance – Is it tied to their real-world challenges?

• Confidence – Do they believe they can succeed?

• Satisfaction – Will they feel rewarded for learning?

The mistake? Too often, training programs focus on what learners need to know instead of why it’s important to them. Without immediate applicability, information fades fast.

If we know why people dread learning, the next question is: How do we design learning experiences that reduce resistance and make learning stick?

The key is aligning learning with how the brain processes, retains, and recalls information while addressing emotional and motivational barriers. Here’s how we can do it:

1. Learning Experience Design (LxD) – Strategies for engaging learning

The brain craves meaning, patterns, and emotions.

👉Dual coding theory (Paivio, 1971): Our brains process information through two channels—verbal and visual. When we combine words and images, learning becomes easier to encode and recall.

How to apply it:
✅ Use diagrams and mind maps alongside text.
✅ Keep visuals relevant, uncluttered, and aligned with the learning message.

👉Curiosity gap (Loewenstein, 1994): When there’s a gap between what learners know and what they want to know, curiosity kicks in. This motivates active exploration rather than passive consumption.

How to apply it:
✅ Start with provocative questions or surprising facts.
✅ Reveal information in phases, making learners eager for the next part.

👉Interleaving learning (Rohrer & Taylor, 2007): Instead of teaching concepts in isolated blocks, interleaving alternates between related topics, helping learners recognize patterns, make deeper connections, and improve long-term retention.

How to apply it:
✅ Blend complementary concepts—for example, instead of teaching leadership styles in one session and decision-making frameworks in another, integrate them by exploring how different leadership styles influence decision-making in high-pressure situations.
✅ Use case studies that require multiple skills—for instance, present a scenario where leaders must apply both strategic thinking and emotional intelligence to resolve a conflict, reinforcing both skills simultaneously.

👉Storytelling: Stories activate dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins, making learning more engaging and memorable.

How to apply it:
✅ Use real-world examples and learner experiences to illustrate concepts.
✅ Make stories emotionally engaging—conflict, resolution, and transformation.

👉Game-based learning & simulations: Games tap into intrinsic motivation, providing instant feedback, rewards, and challenges.

How to apply it:
✅ Use simulations and decision-making scenarios to practice skills.
✅ Introduce leaderboards, challenges, and micro-rewards for engagement.

👉Exploratory learning: Instead of passive instruction, allow learners to test, experiment, and discover.

How to apply it:
✅ Provide sandbox experiences where learners can explore at their own pace.
✅ Use experiential learning activities, like building models or role-playing.

2. Facilitation & Learner Engagement – Encouraging participation

Resistance often comes from a lack of autonomy, fear of failure, or perceived irrelevance. The role of the facilitator is to create a safe, engaging, and psychologically supportive environment.

👉Affective filter hypothesis (Krashen, 1982): When learners experience anxiety, low self-confidence, or fear of failure, a mental filter blocks learning. A low-pressure, supportive environment keeps this filter down.

How to apply it:
✅ Normalize failure as part of learning through debriefs and reflection.
✅ Reduce judgment with anonymous polling, small-group discussions, or individual reflections before public sharing.

👉 Scaffolded participation (Vygotsky, 1978 – Zone of Proximal Development): Learners move from low-risk to high-risk engagement as they build confidence.

How to apply it:
✅ Start with low-stakes activities (polls, reflections) before high-stakes ones (public speaking).
✅ Use peer mentoring to create a supportive learning structure.

👉Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977): People learn by observing role models and practising behaviours.

How to apply it:
✅ Create learning groups where people discuss, debate, and collaborate.
✅ Use role-playing, peer feedback, and observation-based learning.

👉Psychological safety (Edmondson, 1999): Learning environments should allow open dialogue, risk-taking, and failure without fear of ridicule.

How to apply it:
✅ Encourage objection-sharing: What makes learning hard for you?
✅ Model vulnerability—share your struggles around the context.

3. Instructional Design (ID) – Structuring Content for Optimal Learning

The way content is structured and delivered determines how well it’s processed, stored, and retrieved.

👉 Spaced retrieval (Ebbinghaus, 1885): Repetition over time strengthens memory recall.

How to apply it:
✅ Use learning nudges (reinforcement messages over days/weeks).
✅ Design microlearning experiences to space out knowledge retention.

👉The rule of three: Our brain processes information best in groups of three.

How to apply it:
✅ Present concepts in triplets—three takeaways, three key steps, and three-part frameworks.
✅ Break learning into three-minute micro-lessons.

👉Real-world context: Learning is most effective when immersed in authentic scenarios.

How to apply it:
✅ Use case studies, shadowing, and real-world application projects.
✅ Make training as close to the workplace context as possible.

Your turn!

We’ve explored why people dread learning and how to reduce resistance using neuroscience-backed strategies.

Now, over to you:
👉 What’s the biggest learning resistance challenge you’ve faced?
👉 What strategies have worked best for you?

Drop your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear how you tackle this! 🚀

Coming Up Next

Community Calendar 🗓️

Looking for ways to connect, learn, and grow with fellow professionals?

Check out our list of exciting events happening— from local hubs to community mixers and interactive playgrounds, there's something for everyone— curated by the hardworking Core Team at L&D Shakers for YOU!

Community Creations 🖌️

Check out our YouTube channel, where we break down key learning strategies, share expert insights, and showcase real-world applications. Watch, learn, and level up your L&D game!

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4. The hidden cost of conversations we never have- When teams avoid difficult conversations or address them superficially, they accumulate "conversational debt"—a hidden cost that erodes trust, stifles innovation, and hinders performance. Like financial debt, it compounds over time. This piece explores the signs of conversational debt and the different types that can quietly undermine teams.

5. Unlock Learner Brains: The Science of Creating Engaging Training- I stumbled across this article when I was working on today’s Learning Bite. (right timings, I know) In the article, Mike Taylor explores the real key to effective learning which is understanding how people actually process information.

6. 12 Systems Thinking resources: Books, articles, and more to get started - If you are keen to explore System Thinking and Systems Design and looking for a short list of articles, books, videos, and podcasts that explain the concept and its practical applications, then go read the article and get into the rabbit hole of System Thinking.

7. Little e-book of Career Conversations- Over 90 pages of coaching questions designed specifically for leaders and people managers. And it’s free, just for you!
   Designed to supercharge career conversations, included in the book are coaching questions you can use for: Self Coaching, Identifying Strengths, Exploring Career Aspirations, Encouraging Collaboration, Overcoming Obstacles, Influencing Others and Taking Action.

〜See you soon

Till then, keep spicing up your learning! 🧠🧂

Sejaal