Training, especially that aimed at adults, increasingly passes through the digital format. In fact, eLearning allows participants in the online course to use it anywhere and at any time, guaranteeing the flexibility necessary for those carrying out work or other activities. But it is not always easy for the creators of the lessons to attract the attention of a possible user and push him to choose to participate in that course. In the myriad of proposals that now populate the web, capturing new interesting students is increasingly difficult. For this reason, the introduction of an eLearning course has become increasingly important: a good initial presentation, capable of capturing the user's attention, can, in fact, be decisive in pushing the student to start the online training path.

The importance of a good introduction

An eye-catching video, an image or a few lines are enough to get students to start or give up on taking an eLearning course. The presentation is like the cover of a book: in a few lines and in a short time it must collect the main and most captivating information that convinces potential users to choose that particular course. By reading a few lines, listening to a short video or watching a quick presentation, potential students will decide whether it is worth lingering on the platform and taking part in the lessons it offers, or whether to move on and evaluate another of the numerous training courses offered on the web.

Read also “Advice for creating an online course trailer”.

In addition to representing an important showcase aimed at all potential students, the introduction marks a path that will accompany all the lessons, because it gives users an idea of ​​the topics that will be covered, the learning methods, the price of the entire course and on the objectives that everyone can achieve by participating. To ensure that the introduction of the course does its job, it is necessary to make it captivating and convincing, so that it can attract as many people as possible, arousing their interest and encouraging them to stop on the platform.

Achieving this objective passes both through some engagement strategies and through the transparency and clarity of information, to prevent users from getting the wrong idea of ​​the lessons and then risking being disappointed by their actual implementation. For this reason, a presentation of the course that is far from reality could be counterproductive and would give students a sense of illusion and failure to respect what was previously stated.

What to include in the introduction of an eLearning course?

To ensure that the presentation of the online training is successful, it is a good idea to include some fundamental information to give a clear picture to those who are preparing to enroll in the course. Here are some tips on the main topics to cover when introducing an eLearning course:

1. Specify the objectives of the course. Although they may seem obvious, it is always good to state clearly and explicitly what the objectives of the lessons are. The intent, in this case, is twofold: on the one hand, in fact, specifying the objectives allows students to immediately have a clear idea regarding the trend and topics of the course, on the other it also allows them to be motivated in the process of learning.
2. Indicates the program. To give users an idea of ​​the topics covered during the course, in the introduction it is a good idea to specify the different phases of the training path, perhaps inserting a link that takes you to a separate section from the presentation, which develops this topic better, specifying both the main topics that will be covered, and the commitment required by the course.
3. Anticipate the duration of the course. An eLearning course has the advantage of being able to be used anywhere and at any time. But to allow future students to organize their studies and plan their lessons in the best possible way, it is essential that they know the time it will take them to complete their training. Given the diversity of everyone's learning times, to provide this information in the most precise way possible we can rely on two pieces of information: on the actual duration of the audio, if the lessons are made up of audio and video files, or on the reading speed of the text based on the quantity of words, if the course is composed of a written text. In this way it is possible to obtain an approximate estimate of the duration of the course to be provided to students, to allow them to better evaluate the time it will take to follow the lessons.
4. Dwell on the results. Showing students the results they could achieve by taking the course can attract them and motivate them to sign up for lessons. There is nothing more convincing than demonstrating what practical results can be obtained from learning.
5. Indicate the costs. Surely, prospective students will also want to understand how much they have to spend to be able to participate in the course. Inserting this information already in the introduction allows you to present the training proposal with greater clarity and transparency. To be able to do this you need to be able to establish the right price for the online course.
6. Consider the target. Never forget who you are addressing. Always keep in mind the target for which you designed the course and insert information that may be of interest only to this type of audience, whether it is made up of children, adults or mixed.
7. Specify the tools used. If the course includes audio or video, it is a good idea to specify this already in the introduction, to avoid users starting to follow the course with the audio turned off or without headphones in a public environment. This would not allow them to follow the lessons adequately.
8. Talk to users. To ensure that the information reaches the users interested in the course who visit the platform in a clear way, it is essential to use simple and direct language, without using too many technicalities and calibrating it according to the people in front of you and according to the topic that they intend to deal with the lessons and the specificity that you want to give to the online training path. Words are important and, for this reason, it is a good idea for the course producer to know how to best orient himself among all the eLearning terms, to use them correctly and explain them when necessary.

How to make the introduction captivating?

As we have seen, for the presentation of an eLearning course to be clear and transparent, it is a good idea to introduce all the main information regarding the contents and structure of the lessons, as we saw in the previous paragraph. But this is not enough to capture the user's attention and convince him to participate in the online course we have presented. To make the introduction captivating, therefore, some useful strategies can be implemented to make the user perceive the uniqueness of the proposed lessons. Here are tips to make your introduction captivating:

1. Start by communicating a surprising fact to attract the attention of potential students: most people, in fact, may not be aware of the story they read and may be positively surprised and interested in finding out more. Make them understand that they can learn more about the topic by taking the course.
2. Insert an engaging animation or video. It can be useful to at least initially capture the user's attention and stimulate their interest, so that they remain "glued" to the screen and are encouraged to read the introduction entirely, getting a complete idea of ​​the course.
3. Consider a realistic scenario, to allow potential users of online lessons to immediately understand the practical application of their training.
4. Start with a question or challenge. To immediately stimulate users and arouse their interest, curious questions can be useful, which can be proposed in the form of a quiz or launched as personal reflections. Challenges also allow you to attract people's attention, because the motivation to solve them and complete them can push the future student to want to continue with the lessons, to understand what strategies he can implement to succeed in his goal.
5. Remember the importance of emotions. We have already talked about the emotional side of e-learning, which plays a fundamental role in learning, because it helps the student to internalize the concepts provided during the lessons, thus improving the learning experience. Human memory, in fact, is stimulated by emotional connections, which link life experiences to the emotions that are felt from time to time, depending on the situation. This allows you to remember certain concepts, when they are connected to previously felt emotions. The importance of the emotional side of eLearning is not only valid for the actual course, but must also be taken into consideration in the introduction to the lessons: starting with concepts, texts, videos or images that capture the user's emotional attention can be a useful strategy for involving people.

In a world where everything runs fast, the time available to trainers to capture the attention of potential students is less and less, especially when it comes to eLearning. For this reason, an attractive, clear and transparent introduction is essential to convince users to choose their course, rather than another of the many on the web.