Live vs. later: What’s the best way to learn?

In this age of streaming, on-demand, curbside pickup, and instant everything, it only makes sense that taking a course by watching videos when it’s convenient for you has to be the better way to go, right? Can’t sleep? Get out of bed and learn something. Get a last-minute invite to a BBQ? Skip class and do your learning later. Distracted by the cat walking on your keyboard? Rewind and the instructor will repeat herself word for word.

It just makes so much sense. Except, of course, until it doesn’t.

So, before you sign up for a video-based course, known in the instruction world as “asynchronous learning,” consider this highly biased advice from a school that’s been teaching courses live for the past pre-YouTube 52 years.

Strike One: There is no classroom buzz with video-based learning.

With in-person classes, and even Zoom classrooms, there is an unmistakable energy that comes from getting a bunch of people together who share the same career goals. In the live world, discussions flow freely, questions get bounced around, and the class turns into a melting pot of diverse perspectives. That’s not just hard to replicate when you’re learning solo while watching a video. It’s impossible.

Strike Two: Videos can’t answer your questions right now.

Grasping the concepts of, say, how to conduct a tree test or using the auto-layout feature in Figma to wrap multiple elements can be stumpers if the video you’re watching didn’t explain what to do in a way that sticks with you. While you can watch and re-watch a video, you can’t say “Could you go through that again a little differently?” or “What do you do if the Figma plug-in didn’t install properly?” In a live class with an experienced instructor and an ever-helpful TA, the chances of your brain being left in the dust are next to nil.

Strike Three: Video-based classes are too easy to blow off.

Successful learning involves equal parts of motivation and accountability. With all the demands on your time, and the allure of a multitude of distractions, actually making yourself sit down to watch learning videos is harder than it sounds.

This is where the seeming convenience of asynchronous learning bumps up against human behavior. Indeed, LinkedIn reports that the completion rate for online classes hovers at around 10%. It’s pretty tough for a class to teach you something if you don’t go.

With a live class, on the other hand, you become part of a tribe of knowledge-seekers. The camaraderie and support from peers create an atmosphere and accountability that drives you to show up, participate, and go the extra mile. So, for that matter, does the simple act of having the instructor take attendance.

Strike Four: An instructor on a video isn’t going to join your job-hunting network.

That old saying about “it’s who you know” remains ever-so-true when it comes to job hunting. You need connections, and ideally ones with very senior, very connected, well-respected pros.

Those relationships are difficult to develop when you watch someone on a video. Schmooze them all you want, but the medium of a pre-recorded video means they can’t answer back and make you part of their circle.

The flip side shows up when you take a live class. When you’re in the room — IRL or via Zoom — with experienced instructors, they’ll get to know your name, your work, and your career objectives. In short, you’ll build relationships, which means your instructors can steer you toward their friends and colleagues who can help you at job-hunting time.

There is absolutely a time and place for learning from asynchronous videos. Ever try to replace a bathroom faucet, put type on a curved path in Illustrator, or use a pastry bag for cake decorating without them? They’re indispensable.

But, if you’re trying to get smart about an entire design discipline overflowing with nuance, subjectivity, and complexity, video learning falls short. Our advice instead is to sign up for live classes. Then, after your class is over, reward yourself by watching a more entertaining asynchronous video. Ted Lasso, perhaps?

---

Larry Asher is the director of the School of Visual Concepts, a professional development training center that’s been helping designers and marketers advance in their careers for more than 50 years. SVC offers a year-long certificate program in UX Design and Content Design. All classes are taught live via Zoom. SVC has also led professional development team training sessions for Amazon, Nestle, Starbucks, Brooks Running, Zillow, Microsoft, the University of Washington, T-Mobile, and many others.

Behold the One-Sentence Creative Brief

Wouldn’t most of us say a well-conceived creative brief is a good thing? Done right, they make the work better by defining exactly what we’re trying to say and to who. Done wrong — or not at all—they lead to misfires, do-overs, and boring, ineffective work.

So, given all their goodness, why aren’t more people spending the time to write thoughtful, inspirational, well-structured creative briefs? It all goes back to that “spending the time” part. Good briefs take time. Great briefs take even more time. And time is one thing most of us never seem to have enough of.

Rather than toss in the proverbial towel and go back to directionless, brief-free project kickoffs, there is another way — the One-Sentence Creative Brief. Is it ideal? No. Is it better than nothing? Way.

When I run training for marketing teams on the creative briefing process, the One-Sentence Creative Brief shows up as the sixth item on a 14-part brief template, so it’s but one piece of a larger, integrated system. But the One-Sentence Creative Brief can be used on its own when there’s no time to work through the full brief. 

The reason this sentence shows up in the six spot is because it summarizes the discoveries made in the previous five sections. That means you’ll need to have some prior knowledge or do a little on-the-fly strategizing as you write your One-Sentence Creative Brief following this format:

(Audience) should (Think/Feel/Do) about (Product/Service) because (Single Most Compelling Reason).

Let’s break it down. The audience section is where you convey to the creative or design team who the effort at hand is aimed at. This is a great place to give some lifestyle hints rather than dry demographics. For example:

Moms who have reached the freak-out stage juggling work, kids, and keeping the house together…

People who believe they have a personal responsibility to help make the world a better place…

Tech bros who have ditched their cars because they don’t want to feel guiltier about contributing to global warming…

Next, we get to the behavior change we’d like the communications to prompt. Do we want our audience to know about something new (that’s a “think”), change their perception about a product or company for the better (that’s a “feel”), or visit a landing page to place an order (that’s a “do”). For example:

…should know there’s a service that will wash and fold the family’s laundry…

…should make others (especially members of Congress) aware of the scourge of child marriage by fearlessly joining our team of compassionate citizens,…

…should click to schedule a test ride…

The Product/Service piece of the sentence is pretty much a fill-in-the-blank exercise. For example:

…called LaundryOut.com…

…the World Vision Advocates,…

…of a VanMoof e-bike…

While writing the Product/Service info is the easy part, coming up with that Single Most Compelling Reason is where the true challenge lies. Here, you have to successfully come up with a few words that capture whatever it is that will incentivize your audience to change their mind or take some action. 

The best statements will give the creative or design teams enough specificity to focus their thinking, and yet not be so prescriptive that you kill their creativity out of the starting gate. This is also a place to avoid superlatives, overpromises, or vague statements like, “…because it is the best solution for anyone who wants an easy, affordable solution.”

Here are some worthy examples of statements that fit answer “most compelling” question:

…because you can tick this time-crushing task right off your to-do list.

…because you will feel you’ve done the right thing for children — especially young girls—who can’t champion this cause for themselves.

…because it has the design sensibility of Apple or Tesla with the conscience of Greta Thunberg.

When you put the components of the One-Sentence Creative Brief together, they provide in a compact, scannable form exactly the kind of touchstone statement creatives like to test their solutions against when they’re in the midst of brainstorming. 

For example:

Tech bros who have ditched their cars because they don't want to feel guiltier about contributing to global warming should click to schedule a test ride of a VanMoof e-bike because it has the design sensibility of Apple or Tesla with the conscience of Greta Thunberg.

With these 47 words that take only 10 seconds to read, designers, writers, and any kind of creative contributor can return again and again to confirm their ideas are solving the brief. And, for those situations where you want leadership’s buy-in, but you know they’re not going to wade through a multi-page creative brief, asking them to give their thumbs up to a 47-word sentence is a more-than-reasonable ask.

So, does the One-Sentence Creative Brief mean you can dispose of the one-, two-, or 17-page full creative brief? Yes, to the 17-page brief, because any brief of that length is too wordy to get a creative’s attention and should be disposed of. 

But the real answer to the question of ditching traditional briefs is “no.” If you have the time and brainpower to draft, circulate, and fine-tune a brief of a more conventional length, you should absolutely do it. That way the nuances and color commentary that can only be conveyed when you go beyond that single sentence can be shared with the creative team.

On the other hand, when you’re simply out of time, or you’re working on a minor project that doesn't seem to warrant a full brief, the One-Sentence Creative Brief can do 80 percent of the job with 20 percent of the effort.

When you think about it, doesn’t it just make sense that time-challenged marketing execs and PMs should start writing One-Sentence Creative Briefs because you’ll save your own stomach lining when your team produces work that’s so much more on-target right from the get-go?

---

Larry Asher is the director of the School of Visual Concepts, a professional development training center that's been helping designers and marketers advance in their careers for more than 50 years. SVC has led team training sessions on the creative briefing process for Amazon, Nestle, Starbucks, Brooks Running, Zillow, Microsoft, the University of Washington, T-Mobile, and many others.