The Secret Sauce of Learning Experience Design

What makes a learning experience stick long after the course ends? We pull back the curtain on the “secret sauce” of Learning Experience Design, also known as LXD, and break it into five essential ingredients—empathy, storytelling, interactivity, accessibility, and feedback—that you can apply right away to elevate any course, workshop, or training program.

In this episode, you’ll get practical reflection prompts, examples you can copy, and a focused action step to build momentum this week. Along the way, we highlight related episodes on UDL and accessibility for deeper dives, and we end with a reminder inspired by Maya Angelou: people remember how you made them feel. If this conversation helps you design with more heart and impact, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a short review—what ingredient will you tackle first?

🔗 Resources and Related Episodes:

If you’d like to explore today’s topic further, here are a few resources to check out:

📝 Learning Experience Diagram: Apply the five “secret sauce” ingredients to your own project with this companion tool.

🎧 Episode 44: Designing for Everyone: A Guide to Universal Design for Learning: A guide to UDL principles for inclusive learning.

🎧 Episode 65: Accessibility in Action: Inclusive Design for Every Learner: Practical tips for designing with accessibility in mind. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Episode Focus
• 0:50 Empathy and Learner Personas
• 2:01 Storytelling for Emotional Connection
• 3:06 Interactivity and Learner Agency
• 4:20 Accessibility and Inclusion with UDL
• 6:07 Feedback Loops and Iteration
• 7:18 Five-Ingredient Summary & Action Step
• 8:00 Maya Angelou Quote & Closing Thanks
• 8:28 Support the Show

Transcript

Jackie: 0:00

Hello, and welcome to the Designing with Love Podcast. I am your host, Jackie Pelegrin, where my goal is to bring you information, tips, and tricks as an instructional designer. Hello, instructional designers and educators. Welcome to episode 69 of the Designing with Love Podcast. What's the secret sauce of learning experience design? It's not just about tools or templates. It's about five essential ingredients that make learning truly stick. In this episode, I'll share what those ingredients are, along with practical tips you can apply to your projects right away. So grab your coffee, pull out your notebook, and settle in. Let's explore what makes great learning experiences memorable. Ingredient one, empathy and learner personas. First up is empathy. It's the foundation of great design. Think about the people you're creating for. Not just their titles, but their goals, barriers, and motivations. A quick way to do this is by sketching a simple learner persona. For example, designing a program for a corporate new hire is very different from designing for a graduate student. Their challenges, motivations, and learning environments couldn't be more different. Remember, when you design with empathy, you anticipate needs and remove barriers before they even happen. Here's a reflection prompt for you. Take a moment and jot down one learner you've designed for recently. What do you know about their challenges or goals? Keep that person in mind as we go through the rest of the ingredients. Think of it like this. Empathy is like the base of a sauce. It sets the tone for every other ingredient you add. Now that we know who we're designing for, let's explore how to connect with them on a deeper, more emotional level. Ingredient two, storytelling and emotional connection. Storytelling is powerful. People don't remember bullet points, but they do remember stories. Try framing your content like a narrative with a beginning, a challenge, and a resolution. For example, compliance training can feel dry, but if you create a scenario where the learner has to make a choice, suddenly it's personable, memorable, and meaningful. Remember, the more human your story, the more likely it is to stick. Here's a reflection prompt for you. Think about one course you've created. Was there a story, a case study, or even a quick example that learners really connected with? Circle that in your notes. That's your storytelling strength. Think of it like this. Storytelling is like adding spices. It transforms something basic into something memorable. Stories are powerful, but they come alive when learners get to play a role in them. That's where engagement and interactivity step in. Ingredient three, interactivity and engagement. Engagement isn't just about flashy tools. It's about giving learners choice and agency. Here you can start small. Add a reflection prompt, a branching question, or a quick role play. For example, in Articulate Rise, you could create a simple branching scenario that mirrors real world decisions. It doesn't have to be fancy. It just has to give learners a sense of ownership. Remember, engagement is about participation, not presentation. Here's a reflection prompt for you. Take a look at your notes. In your most recent project, where did learners actually get to do something? If nothing comes to mind, jot down one idea, big or small, that you could add to your next design. Think of it like this Interactivity is the heat that brings your recipe to life. It gets everything simmering. Adding interactive moments is exciting, but it's only effective if everyone can participate fully. That's why accessibility is our next essential ingredient. Ingredient four, accessibility and inclusion. Accessibility isn't just an extra step, it's part of great design. Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, gives a clear roadmap, offer multiple ways to engage, represent content, and let learners express what they know. That could mean adding captions to videos, providing alt text for images, or offering both audio and text versions of key content. Remember, inclusion strengthens learning for everyone, not just for those with specific needs. If you'd like to go deeper into these areas, I've actually covered both of these topics in past episodes. Episode 44, titled Designing for Everyone, a Guide to Universal Design for Learning, dives into UDL principles, and episode 65, Accessibility in Action, Inclusive Design for Every Learner, focuses on practical strategies you can use right away. I'll make sure to link both of these episodes in the show notes so you can easily find them. Here's a reflection for you. Pause for a moment and think about one course you've created. Would someone with limited vision or hearing still have the same learning experience? Write down one action, like adding captions or using clear contrast that you can try moving forward. Think of it like this. Accessibility is the seasoning that brings out the best in every ingredient. It makes the whole dish shine. Accessibility makes learning stronger for everyone, but no design is perfect the first time. The real magic happens when we listen, adapt, and refine. That's where feedback comes in. Ingredient five, feedback loops and iteration. Learning experience design is never truly finished. The best designers build in feedback loops so they can refine and improve. One way to do this is by piloting a module with a small group and asking two simple questions. What confused you? And what inspired you? For example, I once worked on an e-learning project that originally had long assessments. After gathering feedback, we broke them down into shorter checkpoints. Learners felt less overwhelmed and the results improved. Remember, feedback is a gift. It helps us see through our learners' eyes. Here's a reflection prompt for you. Write down one question you could ask learners after a course or activity. Make sure to keep it simple, like what was most useful or what was unclear. That's the start of your feedback loop. Think of it like this. Feedback is the taste test of design. It tells you if your recipe is working or if it needs just a little more spice. Now that we've gone through all five ingredients of this secret sauce, let's pull them together before wrapping up. So, what is the secret sauce of learning experience design? It's empathy, storytelling, interactivity, accessibility, and feedback. These ingredients blend together to create memorable, meaningful learning experiences. So here's my challenge for you. Look back at your notes and circle the ingredient you want to focus on first. Just one. That's your action step for the week. And if you'd like to go deeper, I'll link an interactive resource along with related episodes in the show notes so you can easily find them. Before I conclude, I'll leave you with an inspiring quote from Maya Angelou. People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. And isn't that the heart of learning experience design? Thanks for spending this time with me on Designing with Love. Until next time, keep designing experiences that learners will remember long after the course ends. Thank you for taking some time to listen to this podcast episode today. Your support means the world to me. If you'd like to help keep the podcast going, you can share it with a friend or colleague, leave a heartfelt review, or offer a monetary contribution. Every act of support, big or small, makes a difference, and I'm truly thankful for you.