“Can I take that again?” Ever had a trainee ask you that after a training event? I have . . . and you can too if you apply Disney-inspired, entertainment-based techniques to your training program. 

Walt Disney was a creative genius, a master showman, and an amazing teacher. His inspiration was so powerful that, years after his death, Disney team members would ask, “What would Disney do?” One thing Disney did was educate people through entertainment. He once proclaimed, “The gap between ‘entertainment’ and ‘educational’ represents an old and untenable viewpoint.” The entertainments Disney created was both informative and enjoyable, unlike some training programs. 

A key point, for instance, is the difference between logic and emotion in learning. We sometimes share the course objectives as a way to engage learners. The problem is that the objectives are what the organization wants the participants to learn, not what will motivate the learners to actually pay attention. The objectives are logical. When you reach people logically, you gain consensus. But, to change behavior, you have to reach them emotionally. Where logic proves, emotion moves. A Disney–inspired presentation starts instead with one overarching message point that matters to the learners. That message point is then applied as the anchor around which every element of the program aligns.

One of the reasons for Disneyland’s success was the ways in which the Disney experience aligned every element into an ordered and harmonious environment of happiness and well–being. Years later, learning guru Georgi Lozanov offered a similar observation about learning. He stated that facilitators should create an aura of joyfulness and then use that aura to suggest positive learning outcomes. When you merge the Disney and Lozanov approaches together, you begin to see a way to make learning environments conducive to real behavior change.

When entertainment and learning are aligned as Disney would do, the result is magical – learners pay attention, absorb information, and change behavior. In this insightful and engaging presentation, Lenn – the Mouse Man™ – Millbower, a 25-year Disney team member and author of the book Care Like a Mouse, shares the ways Walt’s entertainment principles can be applied to actual learning challenges. In this presentation, Lenn will answer a variation of the question: “What would Disney do . . . to make your training more successful?” 

This live event is free. A recording will be available after the event with an HRDQ-U Membership for Learning Professionals.